Purchasing Seedlings Offers 5 Advantages Over Starting Seeds Yourself
Tell Me When to Buy Seedlings, Not Seeds: A Gardener's Guide
Tending to a garden is a rewarding experience, especially when you grow a plant from a tiny seed. However, seed started plants aren't always the best option, and with good reasons. Here are some scenarios where opting for seedlings over seeds makes more sense, based on expert advice from horticulturist Laura Matter, who leads the Natural Yard Care Program and Garden Hotline for Tilth Alliance in Seattle, Washington.
*Laura Matter's Pro Tips:*
- Space and Time Constraints Indoor seed starting can be cumbersome, involving heat mats, specialized medium, trays, pots, grow lights, and constant care. Started seedlings require as many as three months before they are outdoor-ready. Adding more small plants to larger pots and gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions (hardening off) takes extra space and effort. Opting for seedlings in these situations saves you the hustle, and you'll have quality plants that growers have already nurtured to their best potential.
- Seeking Instant Gratification Life's too short to wait for seeds to grow, and there are times when you'd prefer an instant flowering garden. For example, buying a six-pack of marigolds or zinnias gives you that instant pop of color, bringing a much-needed boost to your planters or garden without wasting time.
- Growing Warm-season Crops Some plants, like basil, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and eggplants, need specific growing conditions and timeframes. In areas with a short growing season or a late start, purchasing seedlings is a safer way to ensure success due to the knowledgeable growers at nurseries timing their production precisely.
- Woody Herbs, Perennials, and Biennials Plants like lavender and sage grow slowly, taking months to produce mature plants suitable for transplanting. Perennials such as asters, bee balm, and yarrow take several seasons to establish, and biennials like leeks or parsley complete their life cycle in two years. This makes it more beneficial to buy mature starts rather than attempting to grow them from seeds at home.
- Growing Tiny Seeds Handling very small seeds like poppies or snapdragons can be challenging. They are often sown too close together, making it difficult to separate them later. To make it easier, some gardeners use seed tape, but tiny seeds are hard to manage altogether. In such cases, it makes more sense to buy seedlings, saving you the trouble of dealing with tiny seeds.
If you're short on time, space, or just craving an instant garden, buying seedlings can be a lifesaver and deliver the vibrant, flourishing garden you've always dreamed of.
Plant Seedlings Ready? Here's the Essential Guide on How to Care for Them
- Tending to seedlings requires a substantial amount of time and resources, involving specialized equipment like heat mats, trays, and grow lights, making it a more manageable choice to buy seedlings when dealing with space and time constraints.
- For those seeking instant gratification in gardening, opting for seedlings like marigolds or zinnias can provide the desired pop of color in planters or gardens, bypassing the time-consuming process of growing plants from seeds.
- When it comes to warm-season crops such as basil, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and eggplants, purchasing seedlings is a strategic decision in areas with a short growing season or a late start, ensuring the best chances for a successful garden.
- Slower-growing plants like woody herbs, perennials, and biennials, such as lavender, sage, asters, bee balm, yarrow, leeks, or parsley, benefit from being purchased as mature starts rather than attempting to grow them from seeds at home.
- The challenge of handling very small seeds like poppies or snapdragons can be mitigated by purchasing seedlings, saving gardeners the trouble of dealing with the intricacies of managing tiny seeds.
- For the time-strapped gardener, buying seedlings can be a practical solution for achieving a vibrant, flourishing garden, providing relief from the demands of seed starting and offering quality plants that have already been nurtured by experts.
- To ensure a successful transition of seedlings into your garden, it's essential to have the right advice and guidance on garden care, which can be found in reliable resources like Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) and local gardening experts offering advice on edible gardening, vegetable gardening, and perennials, as well as tips on typhis, soil tilth, and readying your plants for a healthy start.
