Selecting Quality Seed

Providing Top Quality Seed is What United Seeds has Been Known For.

With the help of the National Turf Evaluation Program, ( NTEP ) we literally sift through hundreds of varieties that will ultimately meet the needs of our customers. Varieties that we select must perform well in our area to be even considered for use in our mixes and blends.

Above Picture: University of Nebraska Turf Farm, Mead, NE

Two areas of seed quality that we look at are:

Genetic - What can be seen, or the inherent aspects of the seed.
Generic - What can be measured. The physical attributes of the seed.

Genetic qualities that we look for in cultivar selection are:

Disease Resistance
Spring Greenup
Wear Tolerance
Insect Resistance
Frost Tolerance
Drought Tolerance
Seedling Vigor
Density
Color

Generic qualities include:

Purity
Germination
Inert Amount
Weed Content, if any
Noxious Weeds, if any
Other Crop Seeds, if any

MAKE THE COMPARISON, CHEAPER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER!!

Blue Tag Seed Certification

United Seeds is an approved conditioner to recieve selected varieties from our grower/suppliers, mix or blend them in our facilities and blue tag them.

Blue tag certification is granted by the Nebraska Crop Improvement Association.

This "extra" step of Blue Tag Certifying guarantees that you are getting the seed that you are paying for.

How to read an Analysis Tag

They Do What!!!!

From our "Believe It Or Not" file, comes something trully conduct unbecoming a seedsman. Go into your local big box store or hardware store, grab a grass seed mix or blend and take a gander at the label. Does it contain annual ryegrass? More often than not, it will. Why do retail packages of grass seed contain annual ryegrass? It is simple...........

Annual ryegrass is cheap to produce, the seed companies can create larger margins using annual ryegrass and still maintain one simple objective, keep the customer happy in the short run. If the customers see green, they are happy.
As the name implies, annual ryegrass is well........annual. It will last for one year and that is it.

So you say that neither of those reasons are that bad, what is the harm in adding ryegrass to mixes and blends for quick growth?

Annual ryegrass is very competitive, it's objective is to grow as quickly as possible and produce seed in one season. This means it compete with the grasses that you do want.
Annual ryegrass has a pale green color to it, is stemmy and otherwise better used in areas where only temporary cover is needed.

Does United Seeds use annual ryegrass in their Certified Blue Tag Mixes and Blends? Well, mixes and blends containing annual ryegrass cannot be Blue Tag Certified anyway, so that says it all.