Why are my seeds pink, blue, or purple?

It can be surprising, exciting, or maybe even worrisome to open a seed packet and find brightly colored seeds.

Some seed companies apply a colorful shell around their seeds to help them germinate (begin to grow) and to help you see them when planting. In fact, these are called "easy to sow" seeds. The colorful coating on the Grow This! Challenge seeds is an all-natural mix of clay, perlite, and FDA-approved food coloring. It makes direct sowing/seeding into an outside garden (versus seeding inside first) easier, and helps you see where they seeds are going when you are spacing them in the soil to plant. However, the coating does add a few days to the germination time as compared to uncoated seeds.