I realize I over seed, since I never seem to cover the area that I am supposed to get. When following the label it seems that there will be too much exposed dirt where weeds and original vegetation could take hold again and start to dominate again over the plot mix.

Can't herbicide the ground any more due to Ontario pesticide ban. I rip up the ground multiple times with a harrow for the preparation of a new location.

Do you over seed or do you make a real effort to follow the rate exactly? Wondering if I am just throwing money away by over seeding.

I always over seed and dont have any problems.

if you get a high percentage of germination your growing plants will have to compete with each other and might not grow to their potential.

There are rates for planting seeds and for broadcasting. Each are based on the number of plants per acre after germination. Some can be seeded at higher rates than others. One condition where overpopulating would work is with high deer density or smaller plot which will get hammered. The logic behind this is the deer will consume part of growing plants allowing the remainder to grow.

You have to consider the size of the plant at maturity and not while they are seedlings.

As posted earlier, over population, in majority of the cases, will cause competition between plants. This can mean crops dying or being stunted and not reaching their potential.