Soak Beet Seeds Before Planting [The Truth Behind Soaking Seeds]
For years people have told me to soak my beet seeds prior to planting. The advice says it will help them germinate faster. I’ve also heard that it helps prevent soil rot and seed maggots; however, I’ve never seen any real evidence of this myself.
This year I decided to run an experiment with 3 types of beets. I used a golden beet (Touchstone), a red beet (Bull’s Blood), and a common baby beet type (Early Wonder) to see how soaking would affect them.
Here are the results.
Should I Soak Beet Seeds Before Planting
This year I planted 12 beet seeds of three varieties in a cell seed starting tray. I planted 6 seeds that were soaked in warm water for 24 hours and 6 seeds that were not soaked at all.
I left the seed tray outdoors with soil temperatures ranging from 68°F to 78°F for one week. I checked the soil temps daily both in the morning and in the afternoon when it was the hottest with my soil thermometer.
And I also kept the cells consistently moist. Here’s what happened.
Golden Beets
In one week, I had 5 of 6 golden beets germinate which were soaked prior to planting. Only 2 of 6 of the non-soaked seeds germinated within that week.
So I would say for golden beets, this soaking them first made a huge difference.
Red Beets
With the Bull’s Blood beets, I had no difference between the seeds that were soaked and the ones that were not. Both had 5 of 6 cells germinate within a week’s time.
I did notice that the bull’s blood seeds were larger than the others and I wonder if that had something to do with it.
Soaking these seeds did nothing to improve my germination rates.
Baby Beets
I also had little difference with the Early Wonder Beets. I had 4 of 6 beets germinate which were soaked prior to sowing. And I had 3 of 6 beets germinate that were not soaked prior to planting.
Again, with these beets (which are also a red beet type) I noticed very minimal difference with soaking the seeds.
Another Georgia Seed Soaking Experiment
Back in 2021, Tony Walsh, from Georgia, made a video doing a similar experiment. He doesn’t mention the variety of beet seeds he used, but he directly sowed both soaked and non-soaked seeds in a 4x4 raised bed to see how soaking the seeds would impact germination.
He found that most of the soaked seeds came up about 1 week earlier than the non-soaked seeds.
Should You Soak Beet Seeds Before Planting Conclusion
So, would I soak my beet seeds prior to planting? I don’t soak most of my beet seeds prior to planting unless they are golden beets. I just didn’t see that much of a difference when I planted soaked and non-soaked seeds side-by-side for red beets.
However, if you have the time to do so, it won’t hurt anything. I just don’t like to do extra work unnecessarily.
There is one exception to this. Beet seeds germinate best in soil that is consistently moist. If you’re growing in the Southwest or any warmer climate, it can be challenging to keep the soil moist.
Here in Southern California, it’s sunny most of the day, even in winter. That can make it challenging to keep the top 2 inches of soil moist when directly sowing outdoors in the garden.
Soaking your seeds the day before directly planting outdoors may help you combat soil mishaps if you have trouble keeping the top layer of soil moist.
How Long to Soak Beet Seeds
If you choose to soak beet seeds, I’ve found it’s best to soak them for at least 24 hours in warm water (not hot).
Each seed has a protective coating around it so it can survive in the wild. The coating helps keep the seed intact until the right temperature, light, and moisture conditions are present to grow a new plant.
Soaking for a full day helps soften and break away that protective seed coating.
