To start your garden, should you grow from seed or buy young plants to transplant?
The Advantages to Growing from Seed
It can be cheaper to grow from seed. Depending on what you plan to grow, a package of fifty seeds might cost you $1 to $2, while six plants could cost you $12 to $20.
It can be easier to find the variety you’re looking for when buying seed than trying to find a specific young plant at the local nursery. In buying seeds, you have many options including buying seed at the grocery store, a local farm store, or by mail.
It can give you a greater sense of accomplishment to grow your plants from seed.
The Advantages to Growing with Transplants
It can be less time consuming. Instead of planting a seed and tending the plant in all stages of its growth, you can simply prepare your bed, buy plants, and possibly plant them the same day.
It can take less space and materials. If growing from seed early in the season to have plants ready to transplant outdoors for the growing season, you have to have a sunny place indoors or some other light source to grow them. You have to have plant pots, potting soil, and other growing materials on hand.
It can be less time sensitive. There is a certain amount of guesswork to determining exactly the right time to start your seeds indoors. The right time depends on a lot of factors including whether spring temperatures come early or late, the amount of rainfall, or the amount of cloud cover. If you start your seeds too soon, by the time temperatures are right, your plants may be leggy and past their prime. On the other hand, if spring comes late, you can travel to the local nursery and see what plants are available to plant at the right time.
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