To start from seed or not to start from seed, that is the question.

The gardening centers and home improvement mega-stores have beautiful seedlings to purchase come warmer weather, so why plant your own seeds? I could say, “for the pure joy” but that would be a lie…anyone who grows their own plants know there is a lot of time and patience getting those little seedlings strong enough to consider planting outside, knowing you’ve lost many along the way, only to have heartbreak of seeing the entire lot demolished by cutworms in one night! But yes, there is a reason to try your own seeds…the gardening centers typically buy from wholesalers who grow vegetable (and flower) plants that are reliable, forgiving of the novice gardener, and tolerant to a variety of growing conditions. There is a lot of positive things to be said for that! And there is an increasing number of organic options appearing ever day! However it doesn’t mean these vegetables are the tastiest for your palate or best producer for your growing conditions. A tomato variety that excels in Massachusetts may limp along in San Francisco or fry to a crisp in Nebraska. Starting vegetables from seeds allows you to customize your vegetable garden to your tastes and locations…we customize everything in our lives, right down to our toothpaste, why not your harvest?

So is seed growing for everyone? No! But over time, anyone can be a convert. For starters, start with seeds that prefer to be “direct sown”. These plants do not like there roots disturbed and would prefer to be planted directly into the garden. For the novice gardener or the gardener that can not set up a pre-frost grow space, these are the seeds I would focus on buying and then use the hot start seedling flats from your garden center. These seeds are typically your root vegetables (i.e. turnip, carrot, beets, radishes), legumes (i.e. beans, peas), leafy greens (i.e. lettuce, kale, spinach) and melons / squashes (i.e. zucchini, cucumber, winter and summer squashes, cantaloupes, watermelon).

If you would like to try the direct sow seeds, ignore the hot start species and look here.

The other group of plants for seed starting are those with a long growing season that prefer a hot start (i.e. tomatoes, eggplants, peppers) also many hours of sunlight to make be strong. Putting these seeds on a window shelf will give you lanky plants that will disappoint you their whole growing season assuming they survived their transplant outside. For these plants, I strongly recommend a grow system which will require a space commitment in your home…you need a place to have the grow lights and also a location that four-legged companions or young children won’t choose to take a nibble. My grow system also has what is called propagation mats which allow for bottom heat to the roots of the seedlings giving them more base strength.

A compromise, if there’s a variety of hot start plants that you really have a hankering for is to have seedlings shipped to you. Many seed companies offer a selection of their seeds as started plants so you can have the best of both worlds…the variety you want without the commitment of a seed starting system. If going with this option, look at what the company offers for a guarantee for the seedlings, it would just take an unusual hot or cold spell to make those seedlings stressed in their shipment truck.

One last thing to consider looking at would be tubers / bulbs / roots that you can purchase as seed plants.  Plants that would fall into this category would be potatoes, onion sets, shallots, garlic, asparagus and cane crops (i.e. raspberries, blackberries).

Happy seed shopping!