Seeds or Seedlings? How to Get Your Garden Started

Growing delicious herbs and vegetables start with knowing your goals and when you want to plant, says Rebecca Cuttler, a Houzz Contributor.  Cuttler continues, every spring, garden centers fill up with rack upon rack of baby plants. It can be tempting to buy these nursery-grown seedlings, especially if you’re new to gardening — but are they really the right choice for you? Nursery-grown plants have some disadvantages as well. In general, a single flat of lettuce plants costs about the same amount as an entire package of hundreds of lettuce seeds — often enough to supply your whole garden for several years if properly stored. Store-bought plants are sometimes less healthy than homegrown seedlings, as they may have been shipped from a far-off nursery and cared for under less-than-ideal conditions. Buying plants versus planting seeds. Buying plants from a store certainly seems convenient. They’re already growing and visible, and seem easier to plant than a pack of seeds. Store-bought plants are handy if you got a late start to the season and missed the opportunity to sow seeds at the right time. They can also take some of the guesswork out of starting a garden. In some cases, such as with perennial plants that take years to mature, they can be worth the extra cost. Cuttler shares with us 8 surefire vegetables and herbs for beginning urban gardeners,  plants you should consider buying; tips for planting your nursery-bought plants; plants best started from seed and ways to grow from seed.

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