To grow from seed or not? That is the question!

[AllotmentMummy]

I'm torn between whether to grow from seed for my first year on the allotment or whether to just buy plug plants. Rocket Gardens have some nice selections of veg patches and from memory I think I worked out the average price per plant could be quite low if you went for a bigger collection. Problem is they have quite a few plants in those collections that I am not so interested in. I'm already planning on growing quite a few perennial and annual flowers from seed for my cut flower patch, so am not sure if I also have time to grow lots of veg from seed. I'm thinking a mix and match approach might be the best idea - growing some things from scratch like pumpkin, squash etc, getting a root veg collection from Rocket gardens (pretty good value at £15 for 60 plants I think?) and then buying some more plug plants from the garden centre. What sort of cost is it per plug plant from the garden centre? I saw them years ago but can't remember now. I know it'll be much cheaper to grow the veg from seed but realistically how much work is it? I have a seven bay heated progagator arriving in the next few days and I have a greenhouse at home so I do have some good resources to grow from seed. I also have two very small children who keep me quite occupied! If I am going to grow some which are the easiest to grow from seed yourself, and which are best picked up from the garden centre? Would love to hear your experiences, thanks

[mcdood]

I grew everything from seed in my first allotment year, apart from onions and shallots from sets. I sowed most into modules but a lot can go straight in the ground in fact some are better that way (carrots, parsnips). Seeing plants growing from seed is what gives me the biggest gardening buzz to be honest.
You can multi sow beet , spring onions, turnips and even leeks in modules and plant out that way which saves on pricking out tasks. I'd be filling that greenhouse with seed trays

[veggiechicken]

I grow from seed -its cheaper. Some plug plants can cost almost as much as buying a fully grown veg from the shop.
Also, the last thing I would buy as a plug plant would be Root vegetables because its so easy for the roots to be stunted or damaged when transplanting. Best sown direct.

[Small pumpkin]

Seeds

Or you will miss out on the most exciting part of gardening. Watching seeds germinate. No matter how many years you've been growing things the excitement and fascination never leaves you.

[toomanytommytoes]

Looking at the Rocket Garden's root veg collection, for £14.99 (+£5.99 postage) you get:

10 parsnips
20 carrots
10 beetroot
5 swedes
10 turnips
5 celeriac

The parsnips and carrots won't transplant well and you'll likely end up with stunted and grotesque roots (I've tried transplanting seedlings of both and neither time went very well, even trying my hardest to keep the taproot straight). Beetroot is really easy to grow from seed, direct into the soil seem to do better than module sown for me. Last year was my first growing swede/turnip and they were very easy to get going sown direct. I find most brassicas simple to get going from seed in module trays in an unheated greenhouse, but protecting them from pests later on in their life much more tricky! Celeriac I have never grown so cannot comment.

Probably the only plugs I would consider buying from them are peppers/chillies/tomatoes/aubergines, but you should be OK with the heated propagator and greenhouse.

[Nicos]

I suppose it depends on how pressed for time you are.
It's so much easier with plug plants, but very little variety within the type of veg. TBH it does take some time to realise what variety of beetroot you might prefer!

If you are very pressed, and can afford to , then go down the root of plug plants for this year at least.
I always buy some plug plant lettuce to fill in gaps when our own sown lettuce aren't yet ready to put out.
Always buy baby leeks too and a couple of tomato plants. And a few different varieties of brassicas.
I have almost no windowsills, no greenhouse nor polytunnel and just a tiny blow away. You do what fits in with your lifestyle, which might vary from year to year.
Do try sowing a few things directly into the soil for sure though!!!! It's incredibly exciting regularly checking on their germination and growth!

[Nicos]

^^^^ see, you are going to get loads of different advice on here!...that's the fun of it. Listen to what others do, and importantly..why. Then decide for yourself

[Snadger]

Seeds

Or you will miss out on the most exciting part of gardening. Watching seeds germinate. No matter how many years you've been growing things the excitement and fascination never leaves you.

I couldn't have put it more succinctly myself!

[Snoop Puss]

I buy plug plants for some types of veg and grow from seed in the case of others, so I do a mix and match. I don't have a propagator, greenhouse or sunny windowsill, though, and the last frost can be quite late here.

Where are you based? If your last frost is quite early, it may be you don't need to buy any plug plants, especially if you've got a heated propagator and a greenhouse. And also what are you hoping to grow?

Agree totally with VC and toomanytommytoes: don't bother with a roots collection, as you're likely to be disappointed by the result. Plus, for what they're offering, you could spend 20 pounds in the supermarket and get a lot more veg for your money. So long as the ground is warm enough (meaning probably later than the first sowing date given on seed packets in my experience), you'll do much better sowing root seeds directly in the ground than trying to transplant them unless you start each plant in an individual, deep paper pot and then transplant the whole lot, paper pot and all. This is a bit of a faff, but it's something lots of people do with parsnips to ensure germination and a long growing season.

Lots of people grow onions from sets, so they're easy. Growing from seed is more satisfactory, in that onions are less likely to bolt from seed. But if it was impossible to grow from sets, no-one would ever bother. Leeks are perhaps worth buying as plug plants, as they need a very long growing period to bulk up.

Brassicas don't need a heated propagator and will usually germinate quite readily in a module in an unheated greenhouse so long as the soil isn't too cold. You could buy plug plants, to save effort though. But don't bother buying a collection if you're not that interested in a lot of what's on offer.

If you buy plug plants for tomatoes, you'll really restrict your choice, as there are far more varieties available as seed. They're also surprisingly expensive as plants in the UK. If you only want a small number of aubergines and peppers, you might consider growing them from plug plants, though.

Squash, melons and courgettes are easy to start from seed, especially if you have a heated propagator and don't try and jump the gun and start them off too soon, leaving you with a plant that's desperate to be in the ground but conditions are still far too cold. Ditto sweetcorn.

Lots of the online seed suppliers sell collections of plug plants, although the quality of the plants on arrival seems to vary. I've never bought online, only direct from nurseries.

The other point is that seeds are very cheap compared with plug plants. Most people where I live grow from plug plants and nurseries abound. This means that plug plants are cheap here. An aubergine or pepper plant only costs me around 25 pence. Likewise tomato plants. They might not be as big as the ones my mum buys for five pounds in her garden centre in the UK, but at that price I wouldn't be buying many if any. Five quid buys a lot of packets of seed at places like MoreVeg or Premier Seeds Direct.

[Scarlet]

I'm with SP, the best bit for me is the seed sowing stage! But if you are a new grower when that seed packet is in your hand it's tempting to bung the lot in a seed tray and that's where it all goes pear shaped.
Pricking out hundreds of seedlings is no fun.

Work out how many plants you want of each and stick to the number, sow a few extras in case of disasters ( you always need a few back ups) but don't go overboard - remember those seeds will also be good for next year or a second sowing later on in the season.

Early on in the season when the weather isn't great, pottering in the green house is all you can do, If you can plant thinly in module trays, or singly in small pots, its not that time consuming - just don't sow hundreds. The last thing you need is to prick out 500 cauliflower seedlings.

[Chestnut]

Depending how old your children are, they might enjoy helping? Probably best done when you have 1 adult per child available, but my friends 2 year old daughter loved sowing seeds and watering with her toy watering can (which had a very fine rose so ideal for seedlings).

I am lucky my greenhouse is at home, so no need to travel to it. 10 mins each day for opening/closing door and watering when the seedlings get bigger. Extra half hour at weekends for sowing /potting on of big plants.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Seeds

Or you will miss out on the most exciting part of gardening. Watching seeds germinate. No matter how many years you've been growing things the excitement and fascination never leaves you.

I couldn't have put it more succinctly myself!

Must be a dau for agreeing as I also agree

[spamvindaloo]

Seeds are cheaper plus (if you are careful to isolate) can be free if you save your own. You can gets loads of seeds in a packet, enough to last two or three seasons in some cases and you can easily afford to sow twice as many as you need and select the best. There's also masses more selection.

Sets are much easier for onions though and dirt cheap. I'm also personally inclined to just buy a couple of tomato plants like sungold, gardeners delight, Shirley etc from the garden centre because they're cheap enough if you just want a few plants.

[bikermike]

I would do a mix. seeds, especially early ones, can be quite susceptible to lack of water (and indeed over-watering). Also, if you grow them in propagators, you have the risk of them growing very leggy if you don't take them out at the right time.

I have also had very limited luck getting anything to grow from seed at my allotment, I suspect wildlife eat them as they sprout.

I do a mix of bought plants and seeds (mainly seeds). I tent do start a lot of seeds (including carrots and parsnips) off in loo roll centres in the greenhouse. You can then transplant these without disturbing the roots.

plants I tend to buy
- courgette/squash
- some tomatoes
- fruit bushes

[4Shoes]

Seed every time - until you run out of time