• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Frugal Gardening

Simple ways to save money while you garden

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Garden Frugally
  • Buy These
  • Privacy Policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

I’m New to Gardening: Is Starting From Seed Worth It?

February 24, 2020 by Steph Coelho Leave a Comment

Starting From Seed

‘Tis the season to start fielding questions from curious friends interested in starting a garden. One of my friends recently moved into a new home and is keen to grow a few incredible edibles in her available outdoor space. She’s unsure of whether to bother with seed starting and wondered if she’d be better off simply buying plants at a local nursery.

What should she do? Here’s a breakdown of the two options.

Benefits of Seed Starting

Seed starting is a great way to get started with gardening. Here’s why:

  •  There’s so much choice. When you’re starting from seed, you have a whole slew of plants available to you. You’re not stuck with the single variety available at the local nursery. 
  • You have control over plant growth. You decide the products used to grow your plants. Do you want to use organic methods? Go right ahead! When buying from a nursery, you may not have all the information about a plant’s history. You also need to pay close attention to any hitchhikers when purchasing plants from someone else. Are there pests hidden in the foliage? Are there any signs of disease?
  • It’s a rewarding process. There’s nothing that compares to the feeling of watching a plant go from seed to harvest. It’s a seriously fulfilling adventure. 

Of course, seed starting also has plenty of drawbacks. It requires time and effort. You’ll need to watch your plants for signs of distress and work to ensure they have everything they need (light, water, nutrients, and room to grow). 

While seed starting setup costs vary significantly, there’s some initial investment required. Though, it’s easy to start seeds on a budget. 

The risk of failure is probably the biggest potential drawback, but I’m of the option that failure is the best way to learn!

Benefits of purchasing from a nursery

I think buying from a nursery has its pros, especially if you’re just starting and plan to work in a small space. Buying a handful of plants isn’t much more expensive than starting a shelving unit full of seeds. 

  • Plant availability. While you have a lot more variety at your fingertips when starting from seed, you’ll find hard-to-grow plants at your nursery. Things like asparagus, fruit bushes, and fruit trees are tough to grow from seed but are readily available at local nurseries. 
  • Simplicity. If you’re a busy person, the time required to take care of seedlings is something to consider. Buying from a nursery is easy and requires minimal effort. 
  • Questions answered. At specialized nurseries, the staff is available to answer all of your questions, which is super useful if you’re totally new to gardening.

Of course, there’s no reason you can’t do both! Last year, contaminated soil mix caused most of my seedlings to die, and I was left with only a handful of viable starts. I ended up buying a bunch of plants at my local nursery to make up for my devastating loss. 

Can you think of any other benefits to either option that I forgot to mention? Let me know! Leave a comment with your thoughts.

Filed Under: seed starting Tagged With: plant nursery, seed starting

Previous Post: « 5 DIY Tips That’ll Transform Your Home
Next Post: How to Get Free Worms for Your Garden »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
  Thank you for Signing Up
Please correct the marked field(s) below.

1,true,6,Contact Email,21,false,1,First Name,21,false,1,Last Name,2

Ridiculously Expensive Raised Garden Bed

Check Out This ADA Compliant Raised Bed

Popular Posts

  • Vinegar Uses In GardenVinegar Uses In Garden by Steph Coelho 1. Clay Pot Cleaning: Vinegar will remove the white salt…
  • Troubleshooting the Seed Starting Process: Using Old SeedsTroubleshooting the Seed Starting Process: Using Old Seeds by Steph Coelho I'm typing this up on a gloomy day here in…
  • Frugal Container GardenFrugal Container Garden by Steph Coelho Pots and planters can be an expensive item if you're…
  • Garden For FreeGarden For Free by Steph Coelho Is it possible to have a lush flower garden, produce…
reasons to start a garden

5 Reasons to Start a Garden This Spring

Normally,  I don’t need to think of reasons to start a garden. I’m intrinsically motivated to start anew each spring. In the dead of winter, I usually get incredibly excited about the prospect of gardening in March. As soon as the seed catalogs arrive, I start to plan. I dream about the new varieties I…

Read More

5 Common Gardening Myths You Should Forget About

The gardening world is rife with anecdotal information. Since I started gardening over 10 years ago, I’ve run into my fair share of common gardening myths. People love to make big claims about their gardening techniques. It turns out, though, that while the “secret sauce” might have some truth to it, it’s usually a lot…

Read More

Close up of person holding radishes

Gardening Goals for the New Year

Oh, how time flies! It’s already 2021 and I can’t even remember what I did gardening-wise in 2020. It’s all a blur. So let’s talk gardening goals for this year. Do you have any gardening plans for this year? Any gardening goals you’d love to achieve? Whether you’re thinking of starting a new garden or…

Read More

baking soda for weed control

How to Use Baking Soda for Weed Control

I’ve dealt with some nasty weeds in my day. I’ve also tried a lot of methods to get rid of said weeds. A lot of those so-called “tried-and-true” methods are actually bogus. Like so many gardening pieces of wisdom, a lot of weed control tricks aren’t really useful. What about baking soda for weed control? Does…

Read More

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework