Pelleted Lettuce seed: have you used it?

[SewingDiva]

Maybe it's just me, but lettuce seed just drives me crazy (even though the end result is totally worth it!)

It's very "sticky" and I find it hard to sew it thinly enough so as not wast most of it by sowing too thickly or by getting it all over my hands (and clothes, and tabletop.)
I tried direct seeding lettuce seed tape, but early spring weather here in MA is kind of unreliable and I get better results from transplanting lettuce. So next year I'm thinking of spending the extra money to get pelleted seed, hoping that it will be easier to handle and sow by hand.

Have you tried pelleted lettuce seed? Supposedly it doesn't store as long as regular seed, but I wonder about that claim.

Any experience you may have to share is much appreciated. I'm thinking of trying Johnny's pelleted seed next year.

~Phyllis

 

[digitS']

I haven't used pelleted lettuce seed but for all the concerns you mentioned, pelleted carrot seed works well for me, Phyllis. The most important reason I like the carrot seed in pellets is that it germinates better and that's probably because the clay coating holds moisture well. Carrots can be slow to emerge, they are sown at a shallow depth and so there's plenty of time for the soil to dry out and the seed to fail.

Lettuce doesn't cause me nearly as much grief as carrots but you may find pelleting beneficial.

I learned that pelleted seed does, indeed, not store well. Seed probably shouldn't be encased like that for a long period of time - just a guess.

Steve

 

[silkiechicken]

Haven't used peleted seeds, but for the really tiny ones... I use a very long finger nail and scoop them up one at a time from a meat tray dish. The little dimples in the meat tray distribute out the seeds a bit so they are easier to pick up and evenly sow.

 

[patandchickens]

Also have you tried the "crease the packet and tap the seeds out" method. (Or you can crease a piece of paper, put the seeds on that and tap them out one by one to plant them... but IME the risk of sneezing or dropping the paper is too high )

Not that there's anything wrong with pelleted seed per se, it's just a lot more expensive

Big fan of the tap-them-out-one-by-one method of planting,

Pat