Cheating

[aylithuk]

I am planning out my gardening for the growing season and I got to thinking would it be ‘bad’ if I paid for some established 9 cm vegetable varieties that are generally a pain in the *** to germinate from seeds.

As much as I love sowing from seed, I do have the money to buy garden ready plants. Thinking here tomatoes, peppers and squashes. I know it limits varieties etc but it’s not like you don’t have access to the ‘tasty’ ones - IMO.

Do people ever feel they are not really growing if they don’t start everything from seeds?

just wondering 😄

[nick the grief]

No not at all ... I considered getting some grafted tomatoes this year but didn't in the end. Thing is if its an open pollenated variety you can save your own seed and eventually it will be tailored to your growing conditions and the seed is fresher.

I have on occasion gone to a local nursery and bought veg plants because I've had a spare bit of ground and need then. My friend used to buy his because he didn't have any heat in his greenhouse so they were better than he could produce.

[Snadger]

I personally am a cheapskate and enjoy growing stuff from seed.

If I hadn't the facilities to grow from seed, and wasn't a cheapskate, I would do as you intend doing and have no recriminations.

[ameno]

I grow everything from seed, but mainly because I, too, am a cheapskate.

I feel I should point out that tomatoes and squash are actually very easy to grow from seed, especially as the squash "plants" one can by in a garden centre usually only have seed leaves yet, and not even any true leaves.

The trick with squash is to pre-sprout the seeds. Sandwich them between damp tissue and put them somewhere warm (airing cupboard, behind the fridge, etc.) They should sprout in 2-5 days, and once they've sprouted just pot them up into 9cm pots of compost and put them somewhere warm and bright. As long as the seeds are decent, you should get close to 100% germination this way.

[greenishfing]

I usually grow my (and my extended family's) plants from seed but on several occasions after dire failures of my efforts I have bought baby plants and told them to do the same. Whatever works for you and fits into your life. There is no right and wrong way.

[annie8]

I grow from seed, but there are a few things I have bought as plants. Certainly leeks as I have always struggled to grow them from seed. I don’t think you should feel bad about buying things as plants if you want to and if you struggle to get them from seed successfully. Obviously it is a bit more expensive, although I find with leeks that it is still really cheap for the number you get in return.

[Bren In Pots]

Its not cheating you're growing veg and so long as you're happy that's all what matters.

I like to grow from seed because growing veg is one of my hobbies and I look on any veg/fruit produced as a bonus.

[Jungle Jane]

I thought this was going to be about uni students being able to cheat with their online exams,by being online with friends at the same time as their 24 hour exam. That’s big style cheating going on right now.
What you’re doing isn’t cheating because you’re still growing the plants that wouldn’t have survived if you didn’t do the work. I like sowing from seed tho,I prefer doing things myself to save me paying someone else to do it,that’s why I don’t have a good hairstyle lol

[Right Shed Fred]

I don't think this is bad at all. You can even get massive multi packs of plugs which are a complete range of veg.

[aylithuk]

Thanks guys. Good to get every ones views on it.

I’ll give growing squash from seed and buy maybe 3 plants. What the worse that could happen?

I end up with 10 squash plants 🤣

[Nicos]

We grow certain plants each year but often end up buying plug plants to fill gaps from failures or just because we've not got the seeds.
I dont have windowsills or a greenhouse and the blowaway doesn't really hold very much.
Not cheating, but making the most of the situation!

[Snoop Puss]

I grow quite a lot of things from plug plants because I don't have much in the way of facilities for starting plants off from seed. I buy leeks, onions, aubergines and pepper plants, and overwintering brassicas, as I don't find looking after the seedlings easy in the hot weather. Much more successful if I buy plants that have got a head start and some roots already developed.

Tomato plants I grow from seed because there's better variety. Plus of course anything I can start off in the ground or late on.

So no, I don't regard it as cheating. It's just dealing with the circumstances we face.

Best wishes for a great growing year.

[burnie]

I tend to grow veg from seed, as now I'm retired it is part of the hobby and I have the time, I have bought plants before and if I see something I would like to grow, I may well do again, you still have to nurture them to get an edible crop, so that's gardening too.

[goosander]

Grow all my plants from seed just because I enjoy doing so. Like looking to see how they are doing. My wife has lots of friends who now seam to depend on me. The thing I notice is that the older people give you the pots back washed and the younger ones just throw them away.
Used to rear a lot of parakeets/budges/pheasants/quail etc. and it is the same excitement watching them grow.

Bob.

[Martin H]

I mostly grow from seed. Sometimes I look for plug plants to fill gaps or compensate for failures, but I'm usually disappointed. The range of available plants is very limited and stock doesn't get looked after. Round here, the garden centres seem more interested in selling gifts, cakes and overpriced things in full bloom.