Start from seed or start from "pre-started" plants bought?

[Scerakor]

There are advantages and disadvantages to both sides and I wanted to hear what kind of consensus this forum came to. I'm going to guess that due to the nature of this forum the results are likely going to be largely in favour of starting from seeds.

Starting from seeds takes more time but can save you a bunch of money in the long run. Save the seeds from the previous year and use them for your garden in the next year and it saves you even more.

Buying the plants pre-started from the nursery saves you time and effort in starting them youself from seed, but you end up paying the price (literally) for these plants. Some find that the prestarted variety transplant in their garden better than ones they have started themselves and end up growing better in the longrun.

What do you usually do when the garden season comes around? What are some more advantages / disadvantages to each of these options?

 

[ChanellG]

I start flowers from seed and I have started herbs from seed. Because of the time it takes to get fruit to grow from blossom to harvest, and because I don't have a greenhouse, I would say buying plants from a reputable nursery with organic practices would be the best thing for small-scale city gardeners to do. That way you don't suffer from "watched pot" syndrome.

 

[zigs]

I grow most of my veg from seed, i'll buy from a nursery to replace failures or if they've got something unusual.

 

[claudine]

Personally, I feel that growing a plant from a seed is much more rewarding, I feel very proud of all my vegetables that I was taking care of from the very beginning. It's probably only self-suggestion but in my opinion they taste better

 

[catwalker90]

I love starting from seeds just because it's really exciting for me to see how it grows every day. Also, as said above it's cheaper and you also get to make sure it gets all the care it needs. Sometimes, I see plants in nurseries and greenhouse and they don't look too healthy.

 

[happyflowerlady]

I do a mix of both . I like to find the variety of plant I want to grow, and then start it from seed, but if I am at the store, I also usually get some of the thing that either didn't come up, or that I don't have any preferred variety.

And usually, around the end of June, they start clearing out a lot of the plants at Lowes, and even at Walmart, so when they put them on clearance, I usually get some of those, as well.

 

[limcid]

I think it's okay to experiment with pre-started plants, especially if you've had some failure growing the same plant from seeds. It could be a way to learn whether it's the growing environment you have, or if it's something you're doing wrong during the early stages of growth. It's faster than restarting from seeds.

 

[headfullofbees]

I prefer to start from seed, for a few reasons:
1) I have a greenhouse and can bring them on for the local climate.
2) I know precisely what stresses the plants have been subjected to.
3) They're not so tender as to fail when I try to planr them.

 

[dconklin]

I tried one year to plant everything from seeds and didn't do as well here. This year I bought my plants already started except for snap peas. My younger daughter wanted to try them so we bought the seeds and planted them directly into the garden.

Last year I had tomato plants grow from the seeds of the tomatoes the year before. I didn't actually save the seeds, I just didn't throw out all of the tomatoes that fell off at the end of the season.

 

[cmdr-apollo]

For vegetables (peppers and tomatoes, mostly) I buy those 'pre-started' plants. I don't know if I could trust myself to start them from the beginning - but I do plan on experimenting with that soon.
For herbs and flowers, I usually start with seeds. It's so much more rewarding and fulfilling, and usually not difficult (depending on the type).

 

[TheBrit]

Have never bothered to give growing from seed any real effort. Think to be able to do the job properly a small greenhouse is needed or a spare room in the house.
Have planted from bulb many times though with various success.
Those planted around the borders amongst the shrubs etc. had quite a low success rate, around 40%. Those planted into some of the tubs faired better with around a 55-60% success rate.

 

[ACSAPA]

I've grown some herbs from seed. But I buy ornamental plants based on looks, so if I see a good looking small plant, I buy it and raise it until it grows into a big plant. My Alocasia Polly was bought for looks and I bought it as a small plant. I don't really start houseplants from seed because it hasn't gone well in the past.

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Seeds for me every time.......find it so rewarding and feel so proud when I see our garden looking beautiful from all the nurtured little seeds.