To figure out whether to plant seedlings or use seeds in your vegetable garden, there are a few things you should know beforehand. If youCreate a vegetable patch in spring, you can either grow small plants or buy solid seeds. However, there are pros and cons to using your own seeds or previously grown seedlings for this. While seeds are inexpensive compared to the cost of vegetable seedlings, there are other factors you should consider when making your decision.
How to Decide Whether to Plant Seedlings or Grow Seeds
Growing vegetables from seeds may not be practical for long-season crops in regions with short growing seasons. For this reason, most gardeners buy from long-term onesPlants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant seedlings or established potted plants from the nursery. In the other case, they start growing their seeds indoors weeks before planting time. If you buy vegetable seeds and start growing them yourself, you will have a wide variety of varieties to choose from. For example, there are thousands of tomato varieties that gardeners can choose from seed. However, if you want to plant seedlings, you will only have a few dozen varieties to choose from at best. The choice between direct sowing and transplanting seedlings depends on a few basic questions:
- Can the vegetablesgerminate easily from seeds?
- Is the growing season long enough for vegetables to mature when planted from seed?
- Do the vegetables need special care to grow well from seeds?
- Is transplanting vegetables a good idea?
The answers to these questions will determine how you create your vegetable garden. To some extent, your answers will depend on your regional climate. In southern gardens, where the growing season runs from February to November, there is plenty of time to grow tomatoes and peppers from seed. However, in a northern climate where the growing season lasts only five months, a gardener may run out of time.
Choosing between seedlings and small plants for transplanting
Even in southern climates, some plants, such as tomatoes and peppers, benefit from seeds that you first grow in your home or purchase as transplants. These plants often face challenges when started from seeds sown directly in the garden. For example, if you plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants as seedlings, they are very susceptible to fungal diseases that can occur in garden soil. You may succumb to fuming, but this is something you can control better in a warm indoor environment. They also need warm soil and good light, which is easier to achieve with a heat mat and indoor grow lights. So even in long-season gardens, it may be better to start from seeds indoors or purchase the trickier plants as seedlings.
The seed packet itself provides a wealth of information to help you make your choice. The time until maturity is an important factor. This will tell you how long after the seeds germinate the plant reaches maturity. If the package states that maturity is reached after 75 days, you will only receive the seedling after this time. The other factor is thatthe time of sowing. The packaging will tell you when the seeds should be planted relative to the last frost date in your area. This might even suggest that seeds need to be started indoors up to eight weeks before the last frost. These mostly involve vegetables that you should plant as seedlings unless you are up to the challenge of growing them indoors.
If you want to plant seedlings or grow seedlings
If yourGarden beds preparedand are ready to plant, the easiest way would be to purchase the seedlings. You sacrifice variety for convenience, but busy gardeners will appreciate the high-quality, finished seedlings. Additionally, it can be difficult to find a good spot for your starting lineup. Initially, flower pots or planters don't take up too much space. However, as the plants grow out, they may do so out of the original space. In such cases, you will need to repot them into larger containers. However, space is not the only consideration. If you can't provide enough light, starting your own seeds will be a frustrating waste of time and money.
Growing your own seedlings also takes time. Most vegetables and annual flowers require 6 to 8 weeks of growth before you can bring them into the garden. If you don't have time to take care of the growing seedlings or maybe oneHave spring break planned, then you are better off buying seedlings for transplanting. Whatever the reason, be sure to read your seed packets or seed catalogs carefully for advice on planting your chosen vegetables and flowers. Plants that prefer no-till include root crops, annual poppies, nasturtiums, corn, beans, peas, and fast-growing vegetables such as spinach and arugula.
Vegetables to sow directly in the garden
Root crops and vegetables with long taproots, such as carrots, generally do not transplant well. You should rather sow these directly. Some fast-growing plants, like peas and summer squash, don't benefit from growing indoors. This is because plants you sow directly into the garden quickly catch up with transplants. Here aresome common vegetables, which you can usually direct sow: beans, beets, carrots, corn, cucumbers, garlic, lettuce, parsnips, peas, pumpkins, radishes, turnips, salsify, zucchini.
Suitable vegetables for transplanting as seedlings
Although it is possible to grow almost any vegetable from seed, slow-growing vegetables can often be planted as seedlings that you have previously grown at home. The following are generally more convenient to transplant into the garden than established seedlings: artichoke, basil, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chard, chives, collards, eggplant, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, mustard greens, Parsley, peppers and tomatoes.
Grow vegetables from roots or tubers
There are also a handful of vegetables that you cannot normally plant from seeds or as seedlings, but can be grown from root divisions or bulbs. For example, you can plant asparagus from annual roots or grow it from seeds. Garlic and shallots can also be planted from cloves. As for horseradish, you can plant it from root cuttings. You can also plant onions as cuttings, although these plants can also be grown as seeds. You can grow potatoes from small plants or divisions, while rhubarb can be planted from root crowns. You can also plant sweet potatoes as cuttings.
Whether you purchase direct seed, seed or seedlings, you should decide on a strategy well in advance of planting time. Get your plants in the ground as early as possible. This will give them enough time to get used to the weather and give them as long a growing period as possible.
