I have been talking a lot about different plants lately, but not enough about the seeds that we sell. To an extent it’s because I work every day with plants that are already sprouted and established, but it’s also because I’m already sold on growing from seed and I forget that some folks are not so familiar or confident with seeds. So today I am going to share with you just how wonderful it is to plant from seed!
Low Cost Gardening
The first thing that comes to mind is cost. Compared to an established plant, seeds are cheap. Incredibly cheap! For the $6.99 that you would spend to get one of the perennials at my nursery you would be able to fill an entire bed with plants grown from seed.
Flexibility
Seeds are also the most common form of propagation for vascular plants. This means they are the best adapted to surviving and growing in a large range of conditions. You can grow seeds in small pots and replant them as well as seeding them directly to the garden. Seeds give you the flexibility to plant according to your needs rather than forcing you into only one way of doing things.
Adaptability
The number of species offered in seed form are often much greater than what you would find at the local nursery. You can also find many seeds that are not hybrids and are good at reseeding and giving you plants that are the same as the parents. As time goes on and these plants create seed and those new seeds grow new plants, the genetics will shift slightly toward the traits that do best in your area. These hidden traits will become dominant and you will essentially have a new variety that is customized to your area. Just think how cool it would be to have a plant that is unique to you and your planting location.
A Deeper Understanding
You get to observe the entire life cycle of the plant when planting from seed. Plants often look different when they are young and go through different stages as they develop. This leads to not only a better understanding of that specific plant, but a better understanding of the whole plant world more deeply. And it is a little known fact that baby plants are every bit as cute as baby animals, and less messy!
The Best Way to Cover Larger Areas
Seeds are the only way to plant in quantity in large areas. Imagine trying to plant seedlings after a fire that covered thousands of acres. While there are a few species in limited areas that this can be done with, it is just not realistic to do with every plant over an extended area.
There are a lot of things seeds can do, and they do them very well. I invite you to go ahead and look at the offerings here at Nature’s Seed and find a few species that will work for you and make your home and farm a better, happier place.
Manana!