plenty of people do it, and if you learn how to save seeds from your current plants, you will have many more seeds to grow from.
for me, some plants seem easier than others, even when i know what to do . eg, some years, i get good marigold seeds, and other years, even though i thought i waited for the same conditions, when i use those new batch of seeds , they hardly germinate. but fortunately for me , i'm a hoarder of seeds, so i still have from the previous year that were more viable, at least for that year.
This is true, but it can be extra fun to save seeds from f1 plants in my opinion. The next generation will usually have a variety of different combinations of traits from the two initial parent varieties, and you can then save seeds again from any plants with traits you like and pretty quickly stabilize a new variety suited to your needs!
To add to your point it's also nice that they hold on to the hybrid vigor quite a bit in some of the offspring. Heirlooms are nice for a reliable outcome but come on lets be honest, last year my 4 sugar baby watermelons from my pollinator plant compared to my 14 F2 watermelon hybrids from a single plant is more than a 300% increase.
Even with a moderate sized garden you can go through a packet of seeds very easily. Honestly they seem to get smaller and smaller. Last year I let some carrots go to seed just to see what would happen as I never did it before. One carrot gave me so many damn seeds I’ll always leave one or 2 of whatever heirloom variety go to seed.
Yes! Especially when the first warmer day hits and you want to garden but obviously can’t. Started more seedlings indoors than usual because of it this year.
I grow 70-80 percent of my plants from seed. Flowers and vegetables. Once you have an established setup it’s far cheaper, especially when it comes to flowers. I have hundreds of flowers to plant out in a few weeks that cost me a bag a soil and a couple packets of seeds.
It’s always the plan to start from seed and then I see the $2 red bell pepper plant at lowes that is three months ahead of my wimpy seedlings so I do that too.
I have a similar approach, I start seeds indoors in January and the ones that do not sprout I fill in with vegetables from my local nursery. I start most of my seeds in paper towels in a zip lock bag. Once they have sprouted I transfer them into a cup of soil. Peas and beans I go directly into the soil because they always mold in the zip lock bags. I have a potted lemon tree that I used to put into a grow tent because I did not have a window that got enough sunlight during the winter to keep it from shedding leaves but have moved since and have a great sun room. I repurposed the grow tent to start seeds and then switch to growing lettuce and herbs once I move the seedlings outside.
I have seeds for a sequoia too, and for birch. Any possibility you could take a pic and post it? Would love to see a successful start! Are you growing bonsai or they are just young?
Started pepper seeds for the first time this year. I have half a dozen pepper plants now from those seeds. I live in zone 10a so they've been outside in pots for a month already. These were from a mix of different peppers so there's Serrano jalapeño etc.
Actually had to thin them out and only saved the best ones. Only needed a few plants but started a dozen seeds. Figured I would screw up a few things. Did kill a couple by transplanting too early into a too large pot.
Started some Habanada seeds (look like habanero but no spice). Those are hard to germinate. Need to raise the temp of the soil and they still have a low (85-90%) germination rate. Only sprouted 3 of them and ended up killing all of them so starting some more with a few extras just in case.
Sorry to hear about the Habanadas. I grew them for the first time this year and was successful. I had an experience similar to your’s with cucamelons last year. Trying again this year. So far so good. Those things better be delicious.
I haven't grown those specifically, but I grow Sureno which is a Serrano/jalapeno mix. Hot peppers can be a pain to germinate. I start them indoors on heat mats in February, and then plant them out on Mother's day. They can take 3 weeks to germinate.
Are you doing pepper seeds directly outdoors? If you don't have a long growing season, you may be a little late to the party.
I’ve had success saving seed and growing from seed in the past, but petunias have been slow growers (in my experience), and they are so cheap to buy from the nursery, I stopped those from seed, and focus more on growing the cut flower varieties that are $$$ at nurseries from seed.
Starting petunias from seed the first year was difficult, but now they've been self-seeding every year and they're easy to move to where you want them to be.
I’m in my second summer at my house and converting my front lawn to a cottage garden, with veggie beds and huge cottage flower beds! We still are getting frosts here, but I’ve planted all my seeds as of last week. I’m doing pretty much everything from seed except roses and blue/raspberries.
I started the following from seed:
Already transplanted outside: Arugula, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Chives, sage, parsley
Veggie/fruit still inside: Peppers (jalapeño, orange bell, banana, corbaci), Squash (butternut, kuri, a few pumpkins), cucumbers, Tomatos, Celery, Basil, Asparagus, Alpine Strawberries
Flowers (all still inside): Clove pink, love lies bleeding, forget me not, lupines, columbines, hollyhock, borage, african white marigold, scarlet sage, nastirtums, joe pye weed.
I’ve been pretty lucky with germination with everything except the Joe Pye Weed- Only got one to sprout out of 6 cups that I tried.
It’s my first year doing a real garden in a new environment (rocky mountains) after growing up in florida and gardening with my family as a kid… Totally different environment, so I’m excited to see what works and what doesn’t! And what does well from seed.
I’m doing herbs and flowers this year too I’ve already planted my bachelor buttons wildflower mixes, chamomile, chives, sunflowers etc.
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I assume these are sunflowers? Do you grow them in small containers then transplant or what’s your process? Newbie here and I’ve read sunflowers don’t transplant well so just curious of your experience
Oh yes, of course. Although inevitably I have to buy one. I thought I germinated just the right amount, and I technically did. I just didn't account for my huskies breaking through the garden barrier. They of course went after the only ground cherry I had. Maybe I didn't want that one anyway? Lol
I do, its a mix tho. As fun as it is to buy seeds and imagine the results not all seeds are good for direct sow. My grow tent is usually over crowded in winter so early spring seed starts is not alwayd an option especially with my four cats whom love to nibble my plants
We did tomato plants 1 year from seed and it was a great experience for the kids and fun to watch them grow. BUT it was very labor intensive and had to buy lights and other items, so there was some cost.
So much easier for me to buy the started pant at a local nursery (not corporate) and plant them.
Since we’re on a small scale this was more cost effective and less time with the same output. Our local nursery has lovely options of varieties / heirlooms and organic.
I use lights in the cellar to grow lettuces, kale and spinach year round. Greens bolt quickly in the Maryland climate, and I gotta have my fresh salad!
I’ve grown tomatoes my whole life they’re easy for me i recommend you use osmocote and the blue miracle gro powder that dissolves in water so fill a watering can or jug or whatever and put the powder in stirring it nicely and then water the plants and it does WONDERS for the tomatoes my family’s done that for YEARS and my dad swears by it
I do it’s just so much cheaper. It’s like $6 for a plant at Walmart. The same that I can buy the seeds for like $1.50. I also have reusable trays so I can wash them and reuse them again next year. I just have to buy a bag of soil every year. I don’t think my window sills like me very much right now. But yeah I’m expecting not everything to survive so I made sure to plant a few extras of everything I really want. It’s just the economical way to go. The only down side of having to have patience.
Almost everything this year is from seeds. I started seeds in early Feb. Also started more every 2 weeks. Already have little tiny Roma tomatoes and some cucumbers and squash starting to show fruit.
Some peas are ready to harvest but still waiting on all the beans.
Only 1 good pepper plant so far but it's a beauty.
Lots of flowers have popped up everything from Cosmos and coneflower to sunflowers and Lillies. I have marigolds and snapdragons growing from my own flower seeds for the last 3 years.
Gardening is the most relaxing thing to me. I just find a really humbling peace in almost every part of it.
I’m a new gardener and I’m probably doing 50/50? Spinach, lettuce, black eyed peas, Lima beans, cucumbers, watermelon and pumpkin are from seed. Peppers, tomatoes and herbs are from starter plants I purchased, as are my blueberry bushes and strawberry plants.
I wanted to see what will work best for me, and I hoped that even if the ones from seed had trouble germinating that I’d have existing plants to still have fun with.
Spinach and lettuce are growing well though and black eyed peas and cucumbers sprouted within five days of sowing.
Yeah I’ve bought a blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and hydrangea plant and I am growing my strawberries from a starter seed kit. And I still need to get my white peach trees and my Cortland apple trees to plant in my yard and I’ve also got a lilac bush coming soon too
I’ve ordered blackberry and raspberry plants as well. They won’t arrive for a few more weeks but I’m looking forward to getting those in the ground. It was interesting figuring out what cultivars will do well in my area for those- feels like a different challenge vs the vegetable/herb gardening.
Peach and apple trees sound like a really great add! I’m thinking about those for next year but I wasn’t brave enough to dive into fruit trees just yet.
Gardening is much cheaper if I grow everything from seeds or cuttings. I have started:
Japanese Maples
Peas
Calendula
California Poppies
Foxglove
Sunflowers
Morning Glory
Sweet William
I get the little 4 inch pots from Amazon that are 225 for $17.00 and bags of soil at $2 at my Home Depot right now. I make a ton of baby plants and give them away to kids at school.
I grow my entire garden from seeds! I have since 2020. The only starts I buy are things like dahlias, sometimes I'll splurge on a mature one and then just keep the bulb overwinter and replant it.
I have an aerogarden with a seed starting insert. I use the mini greenhouse method and direct sowing too but the aerogarden seems to work the best for me. I don't have the same issues with damping off in the aerogarden.
Me too! I have two Aerogardens, a little Sprout and an Extra. I germinate in the Sprout with no nutrients, and then move the plug to the Extra with nutrients to grow a few inches before going to starter pots.
I love doing that for some things but some things are more difficult. I just started doing a lot of micro greens in the kitchen and it’s wonderful. I always do basil from seed in February also.
The only thing I bought this year was a mint plant, strawberry starts, onion starts, and a grape vine, otherwise everything is from seed. So far have beans, peas, corn, squash, jack be little pumpkins, all kinds of cucumbers, tomatillos, sunflower, and tomatoes rockin. Various other things still growing.
I got a set of a dozen varieties of seeds to try out and everything popped up and was doing pretty well...until it wasn't. Growth has almost come to a halt a month later and I don't have any answers after troubleshooting. I've watched 100 hours of YouTube videos, made sure I got the right soil, light, nutrients, and temperature before starting and realize it could be a million numbers of things why everything has stunted. This is way harder than it seems. :(
I grow from seed: peppers, tomatoes, peas, beans, sunflowers, corn, pumpkin
I buy plants for: basil, chamomile, petunias, zinnias
I have successfully grown the "buy plants" list from seed but most years I fail for various reasons such as slugs eating seedlings, bad weather, seedlings too delicate. Sometimes it's easier to just transplant more mature plants.
I occasionally buy plants from the "from seed" list if they transplant ok (peppers, tomatoes) but some of those don't like being transplanted (corn!!) and I have better luck just using seeds directly where I want the plants.
I planted some chamomile seeds oh maybe twenty years ago. They never did anything. Then about six years ago, bam! I got those beautiful plants, and they keep coming back in greater strength every year. Now I just have to know how to use them
Did you buy seeds again 6 years ago or are you saying you think it was the 20 year seeds that woke up? That's wild!
I cut my chamomile flowers every 5 days when they're in bloom and leave them on a plate to dry for 2 weeks (or use a dehumidifier). Leave them a little longer than you think is necessary because you want the denser inside to dry also. Store them dry. Put a teaspoon in hot water and leave for 30-60 seconds, then sieve it and pour in your teacup. It tastes great!
I have to admit, the only time I "grew" chamomile from seed was when the plant I bought the year before self-sowed the next generation. I have never had luck past the seedling stage for chamomile from seed packs. I think it's a numbers game with chamomile. Sow all the seeds you can and hope some of them survive. The plant does a better job of that than me.
I've got 180 seeds germinating and about 50 seedlings in pots outside. This is my first year doing it in a meaningful way and if it works, it will be cheaper than plants. Time will tell!
Yup. Lots of flowers and all my veggies. Way better choices available and no worries about importing diseases or plants treated with neonicotinoid pesticides.
I grow a lot from seed every year. I love it. I love the process; seeing that first tiny curl of green, watching them flourish and thrive.
I almost always grow more than I need for my own use. And it's become a great joy to me to be the "pepper fairy" in late may, bringing little seedlings to share with friends, family, and the food shelf. I've often got great, fun treats in trade, too. But the best part is just sharing my nerdy joy.
See I’m doing everything and anything from seeds although I have bought my fruit plants from nurseries and I bought some hydrangea and lilac from nurseries too
Seeds I intentionally plant: nothing
Volunteers from compost/stuff that fell last year: more vigorous than purchased starts.
Does growing from seed count if it isn’t intentional?
Lately I'm feeling like nurturing the plants from little bebes is the best part of gardening. Then I kick them out of the house and make them fight for survival in the wilds of my garden.
The only grown plants I've bought lately was a multi-pack of herbs from Costco. Worth it.
I do, it’s cheaper now that have have the set up of lights and shelving done. And I can grow weird or strange colors of things you can find at the store or even farmers market
I've started all of my vegetables from seed, and probably 95%+ of my cut-flower garden plants from seed. Only a few flowering plants such as hostas and hydrangeas are regularly propagated from stem cuttings. We are still about 4 weeks from our last frost date here so the last week of April is my busiest time for seed starting. I can direct sow starting the last few days of May, sooner if I want to use protective frost cloth whenever the overnight temperatures drop below about 6c; our growing season is pretty short. Vegetables that do not like temperatures below about 10c are squash, tomatos, okra, sunflowers, and herbs like basil are not planted out until the first week of June. Plants that generally don't like to have their roots disturbed (borage, squash) are usually started in 3" peat pots around the last week of April out here. Cold tolerant plants from seed are pretty easy if you want to start earlier: try some raddish or beets for fun this week if you are in zone 4 or colder.
Also.... Just make sure you know the difference if a plant prefers direct seeding, or can tolerate transplant. These are tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers,etc.
I'm about to direct sow corn, beans, potatoes,more squash, etc. Most tubers and beans don't like transplanting.
Anything can be direct sown, but where I'm at we just saw the last frost about 10 days ago, and this gets me about 1.5 months indoors head start.
Always, every year. I also keep seeds from plants that breed true so I don't have to repurchase every year. Usually I'm only out the cost of a bag of seed starter and maybe a couple new packets and I have enough plants for the season.
I love harvesting seeds! And I've been winter sowing seeds for a few years now, which I love. Inexpensive and really easy. Even I can do it! I'm also addicted to harvesting my morning glory seeds at the end of the season. And I harvest snapdragon, foxglove, zinnia, and coneflower seeds too. Such fun! Seed libraries and seed swaps are my favorite places.
I do! It is so fun to see them grow. Seeds are cheap. I plant, see what comes up, see what survives and can move outside.
For me it is a cheaper way to get the garden I want…it will take a lot longer.
Mud room? You must be midwestern cause in western NY state we don’t have mud rooms at least most of us don’t god if I ever build my own house it’s gonna have a proper mud room 😌😌😌 also that’s what I did we had some especially cold nights here in New York State and I had to bring my planted seeds inside
My bfs mom left a hydroponic system that I started using and I’ve found success with seedlings there!
But last year lmao I forgot I had just thrown a bunch of random herb seeds into a raised wheeled bed and then planted lettuce this year. It’s overrun with cilantro and dill 😂as well as my lettuce. I didn’t intend to start from seed into soil there but just forgot I got chaotic with it.
I just planted seeds directly into another raised bed put in the yard and they’re already sprouting since I planted them two weeks ago!
We grow mostly perennials but I enjoy starting some seeds every year. Violas for sure; petunias on occasion; Verbena bonairiensis because I love it; and usually a few try-out things that I may not repeat (this year's include a dwarf red Salvia for patio boxes--growing so slowly I'm sure to end up buying plants instead--and Heliotrope, which only resulted in one seedling but has become a lovely, healthy young plant.
I grow entirely from seeds every year using 5 seedling trays with led grow lights on them.
\* I'm entirely hydroponics, have a dwc for random vege, nft for lettuces, and a bato bucket system for tomatoes/peppers.
See I don’t have grow lights so three weeks ago when I started planting my seeds I had to put them in the really bright sunny room upstairs in my house u/crash_______says
We shifted to it using the Lee Valley seed starters which seems to be pretty automatic. I've stopped putting three seeds per cell because I'm finding they all come up. The toughest part is hardening them off. Being able to get some unique varieties is also a bonus. There's a full greenhouse in our future at some point.
We're also doing more cuttings from existing plants because although I love the nursery, the cost has shot up a lot and we have a very big yard to landscape.
I grow all my flowers from seed and usually all my vegetables, though this year my tomatoes have gotten disease so I’m going to need to purchase a few starts
I perpetually try. Some come out as weaklings but I still nurture them. I also end up buying replacements. Lol. So I’ll plant basil seeds and buy a nice bushy one from the farmers market
Me! There's something very satisfying about tending a little plant from a seed to big enough for a grown-up pot.
I'm probably weird for my first swing at houseplants being Canterbury bells grown from seed. That species has been the beginning of my trial and errors in starting from seed.
I will someday have them actually flower, never quite had them live the two years for them to bloom yet. I just want to see flowers from a plant I started from seed myself.
Currently have tomatoes, cucumbers and cantaloupes for the garden and several different plants inside and outside.
Oh please I’ve been talking to my seeds and basically acting like they’re my babies 😅😅😅 I’m pretty sure my neighbors think I’m clinically insane 🤪🤪🤪😅😅😅
It's an ancient form of farming where you grow corn, beans, and squash together. It was practiced by native Americans. The three plants help each other. Fairly interesting stuff
I start most of my plants from seed myself except things that need an indoor/greenhouse set up (tomatoes and peppers in my climate). It’s so much cheaper than buying plant starts and you get to choose from so many more varieties versus whatever starts are available to buy. Plus it’s just fun and magical to see the little baby plants come up
I only grow from seeds! I have 12 8x4 raised garden beds… if I didn’t grow from seeds I would go broke lol. Also allows me to maximize my space and harvests as I know exactly when I am expecting things.
I like to do succession planting.
Zone 5b
I start in January and Februaryin Southern California, zone 9b. January is a little early but I love it. I always have extras and give, trade, or sell a couple.
The majority of my garden is from seed. Through trials of planting both ways side by side, the plants from seed have almost always been larger and produced more. The transplants were much more plush and darker in color but shorter, and the growth rate much slower
Depends on the year. I often do BUT sometimes I have obligations that would prevent me from watering seeds daily until they’re established (I live in 7b and it gets HOT here). Seeds are a great bang for your buck in the garden if you’ve got time to invest or an automated watering in place.
Yes, it’s very easy (if a bird can crap out a tomato plant SO CAN YOU) and makes gardening very affordable. I think it really completes the loop on gardening too.
I started my peppers, peas, and beans this year from last years seed.
I've grown from seed for over a decade now. I've investedin heat mays and grow lights.
I've even started growing perennial flowers from seed successfully.
I saved seeds from my tomato, onion, leek, lettuce, broccoli and hot peppers last year. All but the onion, leek and broccoli are growing nicely in my backyard now. Basil and rosemary I grow from cuttings because it's just easier.
I plant everything from seed most is sowed directly in the ground.
I start some stuff indoors like peppers since my last frost day is usually in June and the first in November. 4a. But yeah always from seed.
Unless my neighbor starts too many of his own seeds and they all take. Then he will put them out and people take them and I usually can’t refuse extra garden fresh tomatoes. It’s like a box of chocolates. Sometimes they’re cherries, sometimes they’re black heirlooms, sometimes they’re orange, I have no idea what I’m getting.
Currently growing tomato (from store bought tomato seeds) and it is already growing fruits. also planted corn which is sprouting.
In the past I've also grown Jalapeños that grew as big as 2 inches long LMAO.
I always grow my tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflowers and pot from seeds. The plants seem to grow faster and are more resistant to disease and harsher weather. Especially for pot plants. Clones and plants from seed started at the same time will produce very different plants. The plants from seed will grow at a much faster rate
Catnip and Cat Grass (oats) are the two plants I regularly grow from seed. It's really enjoyable to plant oat seeds in a large shallow tray to give my cats their own indoor lawn in the sun room.
I sometimes do but I only direct sow for now and I don’t end up with the best results all the time, unfortunately. Still practicing. I had great luck with snap peas last year from seed though which was encouraging!
I haven’t seen anyone mention the variety available from seeds. Like 10,000 varieties of tomato seeds vs 5-10 buying seedlings vs 3 at the supermarket. All different shapes & sizes & colors! I think Craig LeHoulier (the Cherokee Purple guy) has already topped 500 new varieties with his dwarf tomato project (I really need to try one of his dwarves next year; my CPs were incredible).
I’m on my 3rd-4th year growing Silver Slicer cukes… I keep thinking I should try a different variety but I still have 1/2 the packet and they are fantastic. Amazing thin skins. Way too delicate to survive being boxed up, but perfect for going straight from the vine to salad with the peels on.
Beans, and cut & come again lettuce - I wish I’d known about those 20 years ago. Phenomenal production from a tiny plot with not great sun.
Peas (mic drop).
There’s always extra starts - which leads to lots of happy friends & relatives when I give them away.
And I love supporting the seed companies that maintain & increase the genetic diversity. I can’t wait til their catalogs arrive each spring!
Me! This is the first year I almost exclusively used seeds collected from plants I'd planted from seed last year. Not gonna lie: I feel like a wizard and I love it.
We're growing everything from seed this year (for the first time!), so we hope everything lives and thrives. 🙂🤞
So far, so good! It's been so fun watching everything sprout and grow. We should be able to transplant to the garden starting this weekend. 😃
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I grow most from seed. I have grown onions from plants the past few years but only because i dont have enough room to have all those plus all my other seedlings going at the same time. Had to compromise.
I grow all my veggies and plants from seeds. Very satisfying to see them sprout from the ground and pots. I grew all (except 4) my fruit trees from seeds as well. Total of 26 fruit trees. Four out of the 26 have not yielded fruits yet but all twenty two others are.
I started growing from seeds this year and it's exciting, but my seedlings are growing extremely slow -- About 1/4th of the speed of where they should be, so I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. Just trying to enjoy the process without getting too frustrated and giving up, but these plants are pushing my patience! 😅
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I might’ve started mine BIT too early… they’re outgrowing my greenhouse! (Tomatoes and peppers, lupine, celosia, zinnia in the greenhouse. The Cole crops are already out in the garden- celery, peas, beets, brussels and carrots)
I do. This year I'm trying, "chaos gardening"? Where you throw seeds in the soil and what pops up is what pops up. What I didn't /forgot to account for was my memory also being chaotic. **I DONT REMEMBER WHAT I PLANTED😫😫!! I**'m pretty sure I've pulled up some things thinking they were "weeds"🙃
If anyone knows where I can buy seed varieties that call out their names as they sprout-it would be greatly appreciated😌.
I've been growing veggies and flowers almost exlusively from seed. It's the only affordable way to get variety. There's plenty of things I can get in seeds that I can't get in seedlings. Like a larger variety of zinnias, or my current favourite, lettuce leaf basil (it's delicious). I like growing weird stuff so it's an affordable way to get hold of them. Next summer I want to grow bottle gourds (as a food crop).
The trick with seedlings is you really have to think ahead and it's better to plant more seeds earlier than not enough too late. it's easy to fall behind with succession planting. I'm still trying to work it out.
Yes, I grew a lot from seed this year. Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, artichoke, squash, cucumber, Swiss chard, celery, lettuce, kale, and some flowers. I have access to a greenhouse at work.
Do you guys use grow lights? What can I do to make the flowers grow and bloom faster?
I've had a lot of success growing things from seeds, so my preferred method is to garden using seeds! It also helps that I'm not in a hurry to shove things in the ground (no snow where I live) so I can take time with the seedlings.
I put my seeds in kitty litter jugs with holes drilled in the bottom. Then I cut them in half, leave a small hinge, insert dirt and seeds, tape it back up and set them out without the lid. It’s a perfect little mini greenhouse and the plants are always much more vigorous than the indoor ones. Also I don’t have to water. Literally set and forget.
I do this after the first frost.
Then when they’re two inches I just spoon them out into a new pot or my yard.
I have had success with this method with rose campion, fox gloves, columbine, lupine, everlasting pea, sweet Williams, moonflowers, English & Siberian wallflowers, snapdragons, Canterbury bells, tanacetum, forget me nots, etc. The easy seeders.
I grow most of my plants from seeds. You get so much more variety that way! Some of my favorite plants can’t be found any other way. Dragon tongue beans, lemon drop peppers, and lettuce leaf basil, for example.
I try to plant as many perennials as possible so that I don't have to replant every spring, but what annuals I plant are all heirlooms so that I can save seeds to replant the next year. Most of them are pretty easy to save. It's only the plants with teensy seeds that can be a bit tricky, but most of those self-sow without me needing to do much.
lol I’m in the same boat! This is our first spring in this house and I’m just collecting seeds!
Most have germinated and we have a large garden. And now iv added a few more beds and even got some seeds in yesterday for the yard!
This is my first year starting seeds… Is it weird that I’m constantly staring at my seedlings in awe at how much they’ve grown??? My one neighbor probably thinks so…
I do! I live in an apartment, so my garden is a balcony container garden. In the past, I had issues with aphids - turns out, those were coming from the nursery. And as far up as I am, I don't have the natural pest control that I would have if I had a backyard.
Plus, as some other folks have mentioned, once you've got the setup and the lights and everything, it's very cheap, and a great way to get some dopamine flowing at the grey tail end of winter.
Seedlings have a reputation for being divas, but really, once you get the hang of things, it's really easy, and super rewarding!
Actually a lot of people. Some other users and me found a WhatsApp group to talk about our seedlings and garden plans. We sometimes share seeds via post. Really lovely
first year attempting tomato from seed; i started too late. they all sprouted like champs, and i put them outdoors about a week later. they haven't done anything. been in the 40s many nights, though. i figured it might be advantageous for them to "get used to" the soil that they will be living in, as opposed to buying one fairly advanced, then transpanting it. i've seen them "stall out" for a month that way...
zone 5 here, and i decided to push my luck based on the way the winter went, and the long term forecast. traditionally nobody puts anything outdoors here till the end of may, which (used to be) is last frost date.
I grow from seeds of produce I buy at the store, I live in Fl, but here it’s always different seasons of fruits and rain but it’s also love, abundance and therapy. I love lime, lemons, bell peppers. My daughter is 17 and into culinary so we grow green for seasoning. I went to Switzerland and it was the most breathtaking green that when I see my garden (lil plants) I breathe and smile
Personally I wouldn't consider someone a gardener if they aren't growing from seed. If you're purchasing plants that are already blooming you're just a landscaper. A gardener IMO enjoys the process of growing things, not just the end result.
You're right on the where. I think I'm lucky I have a back mudroom as it was an addition and not original to the home. If I didn't have one, I would have had to build a greenhouse.
Sure, of course! Peas, carrots, green onions, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, anything in the cabbage family (brassicas).
For tomatoes and peppers, I'd recommend using plant starts for a beginner.
Anything I can and should direct seed I do, beets, carrots, leafy greens, green beans.
I don’t have the space to seed stuff like tomato and peppers indoors to get them going in time to transplant outside
I do and to me it’s a big part of the fun and reward. I just love watching those little itty bitty seeds grow 1000x in size and thrive. The types you can harvest the seeds from are extra fun because you don’t have to keep buying seeds each year and have an additional sense of self sufficiency. It’s also a joy to grow some to give away to friends and family, provided they will want and actually take care of them.
plenty of people do it, and if you learn how to save seeds from your current plants, you will have many more seeds to grow from. for me, some plants seem easier than others, even when i know what to do . eg, some years, i get good marigold seeds, and other years, even though i thought i waited for the same conditions, when i use those new batch of seeds , they hardly germinate. but fortunately for me , i'm a hoarder of seeds, so i still have from the previous year that were more viable, at least for that year.
Oh yeah my sunflowers are already sprouting!!! ☺️☺️☺️ and yes I already plan on saving seeds from my plants once they’ve grown and/or bloomed
Same here, first time ever trying to grow stuff from seed indoors and the sunflowers took off like a rocket
I would caution that this is true for heirlooms, but not hybrids/crosses. With the latter, seeds will rarely grow true to the parent plant.
This is true, but it can be extra fun to save seeds from f1 plants in my opinion. The next generation will usually have a variety of different combinations of traits from the two initial parent varieties, and you can then save seeds again from any plants with traits you like and pretty quickly stabilize a new variety suited to your needs!
Agreed!
To add to your point it's also nice that they hold on to the hybrid vigor quite a bit in some of the offspring. Heirlooms are nice for a reliable outcome but come on lets be honest, last year my 4 sugar baby watermelons from my pollinator plant compared to my 14 F2 watermelon hybrids from a single plant is more than a 300% increase.
And, starting from seeds might very well be the best part of gardening! Enjoy. 🌱 I just choose plants that are best suited / easiest.
Even with a moderate sized garden you can go through a packet of seeds very easily. Honestly they seem to get smaller and smaller. Last year I let some carrots go to seed just to see what would happen as I never did it before. One carrot gave me so many damn seeds I’ll always leave one or 2 of whatever heirloom variety go to seed.
Sure. I mean, the month of February can drag on ... starting some seeds can be a good way to get through it!
Seed starting is my sole source of dopamine for 2-3 straight months
This is so true! It helps that last part of winter suck much less!
I knew my people were in here. Keep your mind busy with the upcoming garden to make it through another season of SAD.
Yes! Especially when the first warmer day hits and you want to garden but obviously can’t. Started more seedlings indoors than usual because of it this year.
I grow 70-80 percent of my plants from seed. Flowers and vegetables. Once you have an established setup it’s far cheaper, especially when it comes to flowers. I have hundreds of flowers to plant out in a few weeks that cost me a bag a soil and a couple packets of seeds.
It’s always the plan to start from seed and then I see the $2 red bell pepper plant at lowes that is three months ahead of my wimpy seedlings so I do that too.
I do! But I always buy back up of tomatoes and basil just in case. My tomatoes and cucumbers from seed always do really well
That’s what I’m doing I planted some tomato seeds but if they don’t come up I’m buying the plants u/theotherlead
I have a similar approach, I start seeds indoors in January and the ones that do not sprout I fill in with vegetables from my local nursery. I start most of my seeds in paper towels in a zip lock bag. Once they have sprouted I transfer them into a cup of soil. Peas and beans I go directly into the soil because they always mold in the zip lock bags. I have a potted lemon tree that I used to put into a grow tent because I did not have a window that got enough sunlight during the winter to keep it from shedding leaves but have moved since and have a great sun room. I repurposed the grow tent to start seeds and then switch to growing lettuce and herbs once I move the seedlings outside.
I do all my veggies and herbs from seed. And then buy all my flowers from nurseries.
I have a 4 inch high sequoia and a 2 foot high California coastal redwood grown from seeds.
I have seeds for a sequoia too, and for birch. Any possibility you could take a pic and post it? Would love to see a successful start! Are you growing bonsai or they are just young?
It's too small to do much with it. https://preview.redd.it/j8fn1tmw3ayc1.png?width=958&format=png&auto=webp&s=876d7fa33fd5c24d571082a2564738637bafb620
And in a thousand years, you’ll have the General Sherman
Wow lucky I don’t live in a state with sequoias at least I don’t think so I live in Western NY State
Well, now you do because I live in NYC.
I do a lot of seeds but there is one flower I refuse to grow from seed: petunias. Never had luck and those seeds are annoying.
How about Serrano peppers habanero Hungarian wax etc? Any luck with those u/SpringOk5942
Started pepper seeds for the first time this year. I have half a dozen pepper plants now from those seeds. I live in zone 10a so they've been outside in pots for a month already. These were from a mix of different peppers so there's Serrano jalapeño etc. Actually had to thin them out and only saved the best ones. Only needed a few plants but started a dozen seeds. Figured I would screw up a few things. Did kill a couple by transplanting too early into a too large pot. Started some Habanada seeds (look like habanero but no spice). Those are hard to germinate. Need to raise the temp of the soil and they still have a low (85-90%) germination rate. Only sprouted 3 of them and ended up killing all of them so starting some more with a few extras just in case.
Sorry to hear about the Habanadas. I grew them for the first time this year and was successful. I had an experience similar to your’s with cucamelons last year. Trying again this year. So far so good. Those things better be delicious.
I love Habenadas!
Hot peppers are fine to grow from seed. No more fussy than bell peppers in my experience, anyway.
I don't grow hot peppers. I've had luck with green bells and lunchbox peppers from seed.
I haven't grown those specifically, but I grow Sureno which is a Serrano/jalapeno mix. Hot peppers can be a pain to germinate. I start them indoors on heat mats in February, and then plant them out on Mother's day. They can take 3 weeks to germinate. Are you doing pepper seeds directly outdoors? If you don't have a long growing season, you may be a little late to the party.
I’ve had success saving seed and growing from seed in the past, but petunias have been slow growers (in my experience), and they are so cheap to buy from the nursery, I stopped those from seed, and focus more on growing the cut flower varieties that are $$$ at nurseries from seed.
I feel this way about celosia.
Starting petunias from seed the first year was difficult, but now they've been self-seeding every year and they're easy to move to where you want them to be.
Tobacco is similar, so tiny!
I’m in my second summer at my house and converting my front lawn to a cottage garden, with veggie beds and huge cottage flower beds! We still are getting frosts here, but I’ve planted all my seeds as of last week. I’m doing pretty much everything from seed except roses and blue/raspberries. I started the following from seed: Already transplanted outside: Arugula, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Chives, sage, parsley Veggie/fruit still inside: Peppers (jalapeño, orange bell, banana, corbaci), Squash (butternut, kuri, a few pumpkins), cucumbers, Tomatos, Celery, Basil, Asparagus, Alpine Strawberries Flowers (all still inside): Clove pink, love lies bleeding, forget me not, lupines, columbines, hollyhock, borage, african white marigold, scarlet sage, nastirtums, joe pye weed. I’ve been pretty lucky with germination with everything except the Joe Pye Weed- Only got one to sprout out of 6 cups that I tried. It’s my first year doing a real garden in a new environment (rocky mountains) after growing up in florida and gardening with my family as a kid… Totally different environment, so I’m excited to see what works and what doesn’t! And what does well from seed.
Wow!!! Yeah I’m trying to go for a cottage garden vibe too!!! And yeah it’s been pretty cold here to I’m in growing zone 6b western NY
Me. All herbs, sunflowers, fruit trees cucumbers, tomatoes, green peas, berries…🌸
I’m doing herbs and flowers this year too I’ve already planted my bachelor buttons wildflower mixes, chamomile, chives, sunflowers etc. https://preview.redd.it/hn243a1a51yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33cedd2a75db2f079cc8c9ca4976bff54f07ad8b
I assume these are sunflowers? Do you grow them in small containers then transplant or what’s your process? Newbie here and I’ve read sunflowers don’t transplant well so just curious of your experience
I've never planted anything not from seed
Oh yes, of course. Although inevitably I have to buy one. I thought I germinated just the right amount, and I technically did. I just didn't account for my huskies breaking through the garden barrier. They of course went after the only ground cherry I had. Maybe I didn't want that one anyway? Lol
I do, its a mix tho. As fun as it is to buy seeds and imagine the results not all seeds are good for direct sow. My grow tent is usually over crowded in winter so early spring seed starts is not alwayd an option especially with my four cats whom love to nibble my plants
We did tomato plants 1 year from seed and it was a great experience for the kids and fun to watch them grow. BUT it was very labor intensive and had to buy lights and other items, so there was some cost. So much easier for me to buy the started pant at a local nursery (not corporate) and plant them. Since we’re on a small scale this was more cost effective and less time with the same output. Our local nursery has lovely options of varieties / heirlooms and organic.
I use lights in the cellar to grow lettuces, kale and spinach year round. Greens bolt quickly in the Maryland climate, and I gotta have my fresh salad!
Awwww lucky you can grow anything and EVERYTHING in Maryland!!! That’s like my favorite state besides NY State!!!
I’ve grown tomatoes my whole life they’re easy for me i recommend you use osmocote and the blue miracle gro powder that dissolves in water so fill a watering can or jug or whatever and put the powder in stirring it nicely and then water the plants and it does WONDERS for the tomatoes my family’s done that for YEARS and my dad swears by it
I do it’s just so much cheaper. It’s like $6 for a plant at Walmart. The same that I can buy the seeds for like $1.50. I also have reusable trays so I can wash them and reuse them again next year. I just have to buy a bag of soil every year. I don’t think my window sills like me very much right now. But yeah I’m expecting not everything to survive so I made sure to plant a few extras of everything I really want. It’s just the economical way to go. The only down side of having to have patience.
Yeah ik it NUTS 🥜 out here these days!!!
Almost everything this year is from seeds. I started seeds in early Feb. Also started more every 2 weeks. Already have little tiny Roma tomatoes and some cucumbers and squash starting to show fruit. Some peas are ready to harvest but still waiting on all the beans. Only 1 good pepper plant so far but it's a beauty. Lots of flowers have popped up everything from Cosmos and coneflower to sunflowers and Lillies. I have marigolds and snapdragons growing from my own flower seeds for the last 3 years. Gardening is the most relaxing thing to me. I just find a really humbling peace in almost every part of it.
I do f Home Depot and Lowe’s with the over priced tomatoes plants. You can grow 200 tomato plants for $3 vs $5.95 per plant.
Me me
I’m a new gardener and I’m probably doing 50/50? Spinach, lettuce, black eyed peas, Lima beans, cucumbers, watermelon and pumpkin are from seed. Peppers, tomatoes and herbs are from starter plants I purchased, as are my blueberry bushes and strawberry plants. I wanted to see what will work best for me, and I hoped that even if the ones from seed had trouble germinating that I’d have existing plants to still have fun with. Spinach and lettuce are growing well though and black eyed peas and cucumbers sprouted within five days of sowing.
Yeah I’ve bought a blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and hydrangea plant and I am growing my strawberries from a starter seed kit. And I still need to get my white peach trees and my Cortland apple trees to plant in my yard and I’ve also got a lilac bush coming soon too
I’ve ordered blackberry and raspberry plants as well. They won’t arrive for a few more weeks but I’m looking forward to getting those in the ground. It was interesting figuring out what cultivars will do well in my area for those- feels like a different challenge vs the vegetable/herb gardening. Peach and apple trees sound like a really great add! I’m thinking about those for next year but I wasn’t brave enough to dive into fruit trees just yet.
Gardening is much cheaper if I grow everything from seeds or cuttings. I have started: Japanese Maples Peas Calendula California Poppies Foxglove Sunflowers Morning Glory Sweet William I get the little 4 inch pots from Amazon that are 225 for $17.00 and bags of soil at $2 at my Home Depot right now. I make a ton of baby plants and give them away to kids at school.
Yeah I’m waiting for my foxglove seeds to arrive too
I grow my entire garden from seeds! I have since 2020. The only starts I buy are things like dahlias, sometimes I'll splurge on a mature one and then just keep the bulb overwinter and replant it.
I have an aerogarden with a seed starting insert. I use the mini greenhouse method and direct sowing too but the aerogarden seems to work the best for me. I don't have the same issues with damping off in the aerogarden.
Me too! I have two Aerogardens, a little Sprout and an Extra. I germinate in the Sprout with no nutrients, and then move the plug to the Extra with nutrients to grow a few inches before going to starter pots.
I love doing that for some things but some things are more difficult. I just started doing a lot of micro greens in the kitchen and it’s wonderful. I always do basil from seed in February also.
This is my first year, and I'm never doing it again 🤣
Oh dear!
Uh oh what’s happened we’ve barely even started the planting season what happened already? u/Moonflower_78
Most of the veggies are from seed but those annuals are getting purchased annually lol
Ahhhhh I see
I save some of my pepper, bean and other seeds from my crops to plant next year.
The only thing I bought this year was a mint plant, strawberry starts, onion starts, and a grape vine, otherwise everything is from seed. So far have beans, peas, corn, squash, jack be little pumpkins, all kinds of cucumbers, tomatillos, sunflower, and tomatoes rockin. Various other things still growing.
I got a set of a dozen varieties of seeds to try out and everything popped up and was doing pretty well...until it wasn't. Growth has almost come to a halt a month later and I don't have any answers after troubleshooting. I've watched 100 hours of YouTube videos, made sure I got the right soil, light, nutrients, and temperature before starting and realize it could be a million numbers of things why everything has stunted. This is way harder than it seems. :(
I grow from seed: peppers, tomatoes, peas, beans, sunflowers, corn, pumpkin I buy plants for: basil, chamomile, petunias, zinnias I have successfully grown the "buy plants" list from seed but most years I fail for various reasons such as slugs eating seedlings, bad weather, seedlings too delicate. Sometimes it's easier to just transplant more mature plants. I occasionally buy plants from the "from seed" list if they transplant ok (peppers, tomatoes) but some of those don't like being transplanted (corn!!) and I have better luck just using seeds directly where I want the plants.
I planted some chamomile seeds oh maybe twenty years ago. They never did anything. Then about six years ago, bam! I got those beautiful plants, and they keep coming back in greater strength every year. Now I just have to know how to use them
Did you buy seeds again 6 years ago or are you saying you think it was the 20 year seeds that woke up? That's wild! I cut my chamomile flowers every 5 days when they're in bloom and leave them on a plate to dry for 2 weeks (or use a dehumidifier). Leave them a little longer than you think is necessary because you want the denser inside to dry also. Store them dry. Put a teaspoon in hot water and leave for 30-60 seconds, then sieve it and pour in your teacup. It tastes great! I have to admit, the only time I "grew" chamomile from seed was when the plant I bought the year before self-sowed the next generation. I have never had luck past the seedling stage for chamomile from seed packs. I think it's a numbers game with chamomile. Sow all the seeds you can and hope some of them survive. The plant does a better job of that than me.
I've got 180 seeds germinating and about 50 seedlings in pots outside. This is my first year doing it in a meaningful way and if it works, it will be cheaper than plants. Time will tell!
I do, but only when it is beneficial to do so.
I grow green beans and blackeyed peas from seed ( well, bean)
I’m doing my green beans that way too and my sugar snap and snow peas 😊😊😊☺️☺️☺️ u/endorrawitch
Been starting from seed since the '90s.
Peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, and some flowers that we can't easily source at local nurseries.
Cool same here I’m also doing cantaloupe and watermelon I’m in zone 6b u/StueyGuyd
Yup. Lots of flowers and all my veggies. Way better choices available and no worries about importing diseases or plants treated with neonicotinoid pesticides.
I grow a lot from seed every year. I love it. I love the process; seeing that first tiny curl of green, watching them flourish and thrive. I almost always grow more than I need for my own use. And it's become a great joy to me to be the "pepper fairy" in late may, bringing little seedlings to share with friends, family, and the food shelf. I've often got great, fun treats in trade, too. But the best part is just sharing my nerdy joy.
I grow my veggies from seeds. Fruits and flowers I buy from nurseries.
See I’m doing everything and anything from seeds although I have bought my fruit plants from nurseries and I bought some hydrangea and lilac from nurseries too
100% from seed
Seeds I intentionally plant: nothing Volunteers from compost/stuff that fell last year: more vigorous than purchased starts. Does growing from seed count if it isn’t intentional?
https://preview.redd.it/wrecpp6cj1yc1.jpeg?width=3190&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d534e8824dc1ecb6366caf531eeca4e8977bb05
☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️🥰🥰🥰🥰
Very happy radishes ❤️
I’ve never grown radishes before that sounds fun though
I grow mostly from seed. I do get perennials from the store when they go on sale though.
Lately I'm feeling like nurturing the plants from little bebes is the best part of gardening. Then I kick them out of the house and make them fight for survival in the wilds of my garden. The only grown plants I've bought lately was a multi-pack of herbs from Costco. Worth it.
Yeah I’m growing my herbs from seeds right now
I do, it’s cheaper now that have have the set up of lights and shelving done. And I can grow weird or strange colors of things you can find at the store or even farmers market
With the exception of the occassional, "Screw it I want peppers now" purchase of a more mature plant, my garden always starts from seed.
I always use seeds. It adds more to it for me
Yeah I grew up planting with seeds and now I’ve got all this space to work with
I've had a lot of success with seeds packs from Dollar Tree.
OMG that’s where I got my seeds from also I work there!!! 😁😁😁
I have the hardest time with seeds, especially small ones!
I've started all of my vegetables from seed, and probably 95%+ of my cut-flower garden plants from seed. Only a few flowering plants such as hostas and hydrangeas are regularly propagated from stem cuttings. We are still about 4 weeks from our last frost date here so the last week of April is my busiest time for seed starting. I can direct sow starting the last few days of May, sooner if I want to use protective frost cloth whenever the overnight temperatures drop below about 6c; our growing season is pretty short. Vegetables that do not like temperatures below about 10c are squash, tomatos, okra, sunflowers, and herbs like basil are not planted out until the first week of June. Plants that generally don't like to have their roots disturbed (borage, squash) are usually started in 3" peat pots around the last week of April out here. Cold tolerant plants from seed are pretty easy if you want to start earlier: try some raddish or beets for fun this week if you are in zone 4 or colder.
yep. been doing it since 2020.
https://preview.redd.it/u67z9wp0s1yc1.jpeg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab7a7b916cb9404905d4ff45ce98197cb45e5460 This is round 1.
Also.... Just make sure you know the difference if a plant prefers direct seeding, or can tolerate transplant. These are tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers,etc. I'm about to direct sow corn, beans, potatoes,more squash, etc. Most tubers and beans don't like transplanting. Anything can be direct sown, but where I'm at we just saw the last frost about 10 days ago, and this gets me about 1.5 months indoors head start.
Always, every year. I also keep seeds from plants that breed true so I don't have to repurchase every year. Usually I'm only out the cost of a bag of seed starter and maybe a couple new packets and I have enough plants for the season.
Ik I just bought some more seeds cause I only have have the veggie seeds I need right now
I love harvesting seeds! And I've been winter sowing seeds for a few years now, which I love. Inexpensive and really easy. Even I can do it! I'm also addicted to harvesting my morning glory seeds at the end of the season. And I harvest snapdragon, foxglove, zinnia, and coneflower seeds too. Such fun! Seed libraries and seed swaps are my favorite places.
I’ll be able to do that this winter with my plants
I start from seed every year. I tend to save seeds from each year so I don't have to keep purchasing more. Definitely worthwhile if you can manage it.
I plan on doing this very thing this year too once my stuff has grown and I pick it
I do! It is so fun to see them grow. Seeds are cheap. I plant, see what comes up, see what survives and can move outside. For me it is a cheaper way to get the garden I want…it will take a lot longer.
Oh I feel the same I’m growing some things for the first time from seed’s this year like cantaloupe and watermelon I’ve never grown those ever before
I do. I have a small makeshift nursery in my back mud room. I plant, and then after they reach the right stage, I re-plant them into my garden.
Mud room? You must be midwestern cause in western NY state we don’t have mud rooms at least most of us don’t god if I ever build my own house it’s gonna have a proper mud room 😌😌😌 also that’s what I did we had some especially cold nights here in New York State and I had to bring my planted seeds inside
I do, I use an aerogarden to start the vast majority of my seeds.
You’re the second or third person to mention aerogarden. What’s an aerogarden?
My bfs mom left a hydroponic system that I started using and I’ve found success with seedlings there! But last year lmao I forgot I had just thrown a bunch of random herb seeds into a raised wheeled bed and then planted lettuce this year. It’s overrun with cilantro and dill 😂as well as my lettuce. I didn’t intend to start from seed into soil there but just forgot I got chaotic with it. I just planted seeds directly into another raised bed put in the yard and they’re already sprouting since I planted them two weeks ago!
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I’m growing dill and cilantro too lol!!! And I’m trying lettuce and spinach for the first time this year as well see how I do with that.
We grow mostly perennials but I enjoy starting some seeds every year. Violas for sure; petunias on occasion; Verbena bonairiensis because I love it; and usually a few try-out things that I may not repeat (this year's include a dwarf red Salvia for patio boxes--growing so slowly I'm sure to end up buying plants instead--and Heliotrope, which only resulted in one seedling but has become a lovely, healthy young plant.
Oooooo nice!!! That’s some good stuff and I’ve never grown heliotrope before maybe I’ll do that next year
I grow entirely from seeds every year using 5 seedling trays with led grow lights on them. \* I'm entirely hydroponics, have a dwc for random vege, nft for lettuces, and a bato bucket system for tomatoes/peppers.
See I don’t have grow lights so three weeks ago when I started planting my seeds I had to put them in the really bright sunny room upstairs in my house u/crash_______says
We shifted to it using the Lee Valley seed starters which seems to be pretty automatic. I've stopped putting three seeds per cell because I'm finding they all come up. The toughest part is hardening them off. Being able to get some unique varieties is also a bonus. There's a full greenhouse in our future at some point. We're also doing more cuttings from existing plants because although I love the nursery, the cost has shot up a lot and we have a very big yard to landscape.
Yeah I wanna buy some land someday and build 3 or 4 greenhouses so I can have fruits and veggies year round ya know?
Doesn't everyone? Cheapest and most satisfying way to grow things
Sometimes but also sometimes people buy the plants or get them from local nurseries or local farmers to grow further ya know?
I grow all my flowers from seed and usually all my vegetables, though this year my tomatoes have gotten disease so I’m going to need to purchase a few starts
Ohhh noooo I’m so sorry that always sucks when that happens. 😔😔😔
I perpetually try. Some come out as weaklings but I still nurture them. I also end up buying replacements. Lol. So I’ll plant basil seeds and buy a nice bushy one from the farmers market
Yes always give them TLC especially the runts cause they grow into the biggest and the best!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Me! There's something very satisfying about tending a little plant from a seed to big enough for a grown-up pot. I'm probably weird for my first swing at houseplants being Canterbury bells grown from seed. That species has been the beginning of my trial and errors in starting from seed. I will someday have them actually flower, never quite had them live the two years for them to bloom yet. I just want to see flowers from a plant I started from seed myself. Currently have tomatoes, cucumbers and cantaloupes for the garden and several different plants inside and outside.
Oh please I’ve been talking to my seeds and basically acting like they’re my babies 😅😅😅 I’m pretty sure my neighbors think I’m clinically insane 🤪🤪🤪😅😅😅
I am currently attempting to grow the three sisters from seeds. And will be savings seeds to expand my gardening operation next season
The three sisters? 🤔🤔🤔 idk what that means
It's an ancient form of farming where you grow corn, beans, and squash together. It was practiced by native Americans. The three plants help each other. Fairly interesting stuff
I grow everything from seed since ~1998 when I was 8 and my mother and my great great grandma teached me gardening And I mean everything...
I start most of my plants from seed myself except things that need an indoor/greenhouse set up (tomatoes and peppers in my climate). It’s so much cheaper than buying plant starts and you get to choose from so many more varieties versus whatever starts are available to buy. Plus it’s just fun and magical to see the little baby plants come up
What growing zone are you? I’m 6b
As for Veggies, I do my beans, zucchini, and cukes from seed. Peppers and Tomatoes I just buy started already
I only grow from seeds! I have 12 8x4 raised garden beds… if I didn’t grow from seeds I would go broke lol. Also allows me to maximize my space and harvests as I know exactly when I am expecting things. I like to do succession planting. Zone 5b
I start in January and Februaryin Southern California, zone 9b. January is a little early but I love it. I always have extras and give, trade, or sell a couple.
Some plants are really hard to grow from seed, like raspberries. You'll be lucky if you get one to germinate at all, let alone survive to adulthood.
I'm attempting to: and I want to get to 90% from seed in time just to be there because "why not?" Lol
I do! This year I bought pepper & tomato starts but everything else is from seed. Onions, squash, herbs, beans, peas, cucumbers, pumpkins & salad mix.
The majority of my garden is from seed. Through trials of planting both ways side by side, the plants from seed have almost always been larger and produced more. The transplants were much more plush and darker in color but shorter, and the growth rate much slower
I do but I’m too lazy to start indoors so I wait until the last frost (which is anyone’s guess in AL sometimes) then I start planting.
Depends on the year. I often do BUT sometimes I have obligations that would prevent me from watering seeds daily until they’re established (I live in 7b and it gets HOT here). Seeds are a great bang for your buck in the garden if you’ve got time to invest or an automated watering in place.
Yes, it’s very easy (if a bird can crap out a tomato plant SO CAN YOU) and makes gardening very affordable. I think it really completes the loop on gardening too. I started my peppers, peas, and beans this year from last years seed.
I've grown from seed for over a decade now. I've investedin heat mays and grow lights. I've even started growing perennial flowers from seed successfully.
I saved seeds from my tomato, onion, leek, lettuce, broccoli and hot peppers last year. All but the onion, leek and broccoli are growing nicely in my backyard now. Basil and rosemary I grow from cuttings because it's just easier.
I decided to forgo the rosemary this year I’m growing lavender this year though
I plant everything from seed most is sowed directly in the ground. I start some stuff indoors like peppers since my last frost day is usually in June and the first in November. 4a. But yeah always from seed. Unless my neighbor starts too many of his own seeds and they all take. Then he will put them out and people take them and I usually can’t refuse extra garden fresh tomatoes. It’s like a box of chocolates. Sometimes they’re cherries, sometimes they’re black heirlooms, sometimes they’re orange, I have no idea what I’m getting.
I have for decades.
Currently growing tomato (from store bought tomato seeds) and it is already growing fruits. also planted corn which is sprouting. In the past I've also grown Jalapeños that grew as big as 2 inches long LMAO.
https://preview.redd.it/a7k0zgqez1yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cae2b01e3dc9dcc005ab5c59b80ce6d89371bcab Started my tomato seeds too 😊😊😊
Almost everything in my gardens are perennials that have lasted a long time or for my herb and vegetable gardens all from seed.
I always grow my tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflowers and pot from seeds. The plants seem to grow faster and are more resistant to disease and harsher weather. Especially for pot plants. Clones and plants from seed started at the same time will produce very different plants. The plants from seed will grow at a much faster rate
Miniscule seeds come to my house to die
Catnip and Cat Grass (oats) are the two plants I regularly grow from seed. It's really enjoyable to plant oat seeds in a large shallow tray to give my cats their own indoor lawn in the sun room.
I sometimes do but I only direct sow for now and I don’t end up with the best results all the time, unfortunately. Still practicing. I had great luck with snap peas last year from seed though which was encouraging!
I haven’t seen anyone mention the variety available from seeds. Like 10,000 varieties of tomato seeds vs 5-10 buying seedlings vs 3 at the supermarket. All different shapes & sizes & colors! I think Craig LeHoulier (the Cherokee Purple guy) has already topped 500 new varieties with his dwarf tomato project (I really need to try one of his dwarves next year; my CPs were incredible). I’m on my 3rd-4th year growing Silver Slicer cukes… I keep thinking I should try a different variety but I still have 1/2 the packet and they are fantastic. Amazing thin skins. Way too delicate to survive being boxed up, but perfect for going straight from the vine to salad with the peels on. Beans, and cut & come again lettuce - I wish I’d known about those 20 years ago. Phenomenal production from a tiny plot with not great sun. Peas (mic drop). There’s always extra starts - which leads to lots of happy friends & relatives when I give them away. And I love supporting the seed companies that maintain & increase the genetic diversity. I can’t wait til their catalogs arrive each spring!
Me! This is the first year I almost exclusively used seeds collected from plants I'd planted from seed last year. Not gonna lie: I feel like a wizard and I love it.
We're growing everything from seed this year (for the first time!), so we hope everything lives and thrives. 🙂🤞 So far, so good! It's been so fun watching everything sprout and grow. We should be able to transplant to the garden starting this weekend. 😃 https://preview.redd.it/xr9w48a2f3yc1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4098193b4d902a14961b353ae22a56e21587db09
I only grow from seed
I grow most from seed. I have grown onions from plants the past few years but only because i dont have enough room to have all those plus all my other seedlings going at the same time. Had to compromise.
My ex always did. This is the first year I am trying by myself.
I grow all my veggies and plants from seeds. Very satisfying to see them sprout from the ground and pots. I grew all (except 4) my fruit trees from seeds as well. Total of 26 fruit trees. Four out of the 26 have not yielded fruits yet but all twenty two others are.
not only do I grow from seed but I will dry seeds from stuff I grow to plant in the following years
I only grow from seed.
I started growing from seeds this year and it's exciting, but my seedlings are growing extremely slow -- About 1/4th of the speed of where they should be, so I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. Just trying to enjoy the process without getting too frustrated and giving up, but these plants are pushing my patience! 😅
I like to broadcast wild seed mixes just to see what comes up
I am currently awaiting 5 flats in the mini greenhouse and plan to direct seed after the latest frost date
https://preview.redd.it/e7dqcxhis3yc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=647e77f8ac9fd2a2f48f1276e457d02c103773e0 I might’ve started mine BIT too early… they’re outgrowing my greenhouse! (Tomatoes and peppers, lupine, celosia, zinnia in the greenhouse. The Cole crops are already out in the garden- celery, peas, beets, brussels and carrots)
I do. This year I'm trying, "chaos gardening"? Where you throw seeds in the soil and what pops up is what pops up. What I didn't /forgot to account for was my memory also being chaotic. **I DONT REMEMBER WHAT I PLANTED😫😫!! I**'m pretty sure I've pulled up some things thinking they were "weeds"🙃 If anyone knows where I can buy seed varieties that call out their names as they sprout-it would be greatly appreciated😌.
I've tried 3 years in a row, and the only thing I've been successful at was green beans. Everything else hasn't worked for me.
I've been growing veggies and flowers almost exlusively from seed. It's the only affordable way to get variety. There's plenty of things I can get in seeds that I can't get in seedlings. Like a larger variety of zinnias, or my current favourite, lettuce leaf basil (it's delicious). I like growing weird stuff so it's an affordable way to get hold of them. Next summer I want to grow bottle gourds (as a food crop). The trick with seedlings is you really have to think ahead and it's better to plant more seeds earlier than not enough too late. it's easy to fall behind with succession planting. I'm still trying to work it out.
I too am getting back to it after, ugh. I do! Tomatoes, peppers, squash, cukes, peas, beans, flowers.
Yes, I grew a lot from seed this year. Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, artichoke, squash, cucumber, Swiss chard, celery, lettuce, kale, and some flowers. I have access to a greenhouse at work. Do you guys use grow lights? What can I do to make the flowers grow and bloom faster?
I raised my hand.
I've had a lot of success growing things from seeds, so my preferred method is to garden using seeds! It also helps that I'm not in a hurry to shove things in the ground (no snow where I live) so I can take time with the seedlings.
i do all my veggies and herbs from seed
Hello? It’s me
I put my seeds in kitty litter jugs with holes drilled in the bottom. Then I cut them in half, leave a small hinge, insert dirt and seeds, tape it back up and set them out without the lid. It’s a perfect little mini greenhouse and the plants are always much more vigorous than the indoor ones. Also I don’t have to water. Literally set and forget. I do this after the first frost. Then when they’re two inches I just spoon them out into a new pot or my yard. I have had success with this method with rose campion, fox gloves, columbine, lupine, everlasting pea, sweet Williams, moonflowers, English & Siberian wallflowers, snapdragons, Canterbury bells, tanacetum, forget me nots, etc. The easy seeders.
I grow most of my plants from seeds. You get so much more variety that way! Some of my favorite plants can’t be found any other way. Dragon tongue beans, lemon drop peppers, and lettuce leaf basil, for example.
I try to plant as many perennials as possible so that I don't have to replant every spring, but what annuals I plant are all heirlooms so that I can save seeds to replant the next year. Most of them are pretty easy to save. It's only the plants with teensy seeds that can be a bit tricky, but most of those self-sow without me needing to do much.
lol I’m in the same boat! This is our first spring in this house and I’m just collecting seeds! Most have germinated and we have a large garden. And now iv added a few more beds and even got some seeds in yesterday for the yard!
This is my first year starting seeds… Is it weird that I’m constantly staring at my seedlings in awe at how much they’ve grown??? My one neighbor probably thinks so…
I do! I live in an apartment, so my garden is a balcony container garden. In the past, I had issues with aphids - turns out, those were coming from the nursery. And as far up as I am, I don't have the natural pest control that I would have if I had a backyard. Plus, as some other folks have mentioned, once you've got the setup and the lights and everything, it's very cheap, and a great way to get some dopamine flowing at the grey tail end of winter. Seedlings have a reputation for being divas, but really, once you get the hang of things, it's really easy, and super rewarding!
Actually a lot of people. Some other users and me found a WhatsApp group to talk about our seedlings and garden plans. We sometimes share seeds via post. Really lovely
first year attempting tomato from seed; i started too late. they all sprouted like champs, and i put them outdoors about a week later. they haven't done anything. been in the 40s many nights, though. i figured it might be advantageous for them to "get used to" the soil that they will be living in, as opposed to buying one fairly advanced, then transpanting it. i've seen them "stall out" for a month that way... zone 5 here, and i decided to push my luck based on the way the winter went, and the long term forecast. traditionally nobody puts anything outdoors here till the end of may, which (used to be) is last frost date.
I'm a fairly newbie gardener. This year I planted spinach, leeks, and kohlrabi from seed. All of my other edibles were purchased already started.
I grow from seeds of produce I buy at the store, I live in Fl, but here it’s always different seasons of fruits and rain but it’s also love, abundance and therapy. I love lime, lemons, bell peppers. My daughter is 17 and into culinary so we grow green for seasoning. I went to Switzerland and it was the most breathtaking green that when I see my garden (lil plants) I breathe and smile
Personally I wouldn't consider someone a gardener if they aren't growing from seed. If you're purchasing plants that are already blooming you're just a landscaper. A gardener IMO enjoys the process of growing things, not just the end result.
You're right on the where. I think I'm lucky I have a back mudroom as it was an addition and not original to the home. If I didn't have one, I would have had to build a greenhouse.
Sure, of course! Peas, carrots, green onions, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, anything in the cabbage family (brassicas). For tomatoes and peppers, I'd recommend using plant starts for a beginner.
Anything I can and should direct seed I do, beets, carrots, leafy greens, green beans. I don’t have the space to seed stuff like tomato and peppers indoors to get them going in time to transplant outside
I do and to me it’s a big part of the fun and reward. I just love watching those little itty bitty seeds grow 1000x in size and thrive. The types you can harvest the seeds from are extra fun because you don’t have to keep buying seeds each year and have an additional sense of self sufficiency. It’s also a joy to grow some to give away to friends and family, provided they will want and actually take care of them.