Thread: Do you have any experience with growing your own veg?

I have seeds and I am not sure if they are still any good or not, I bought them a good 10 years ago lol

I was considering finally using them but I have no idea where to begin with them. I was looking on Amazon at buying a few gardening/farming books on the topic but I would prefer to get some tips from people rather than a book. Just curious if anyone here grows their own stuff.

Yeah, i have a garden in my back yard.

I'd say buy starter plants and skip the seeds. You can skip ahead a few weeks/months that way and get extra weeks of production. If you want to use seeds, start growing them inside now in egg cartons or cups.

Originally Posted by Zemekis

Yeah, i have a garden in my back yard.

I'd say buy starter plants and skip the seeds. You can skip ahead a few weeks/months that way and get extra weeks of production. If you want to use seeds, start growing them inside now in egg cartons or cups.

How much more are starter plants compared to seeds? I never actually considered this so I am not sure how the prices run for baby plants. I would like to save time and get them to produce faster.

Originally Posted by KorinKitty

How much more are starter plants compared to seeds? I never actually considered this so I am not sure how the prices run for baby plants. I would like to save time and get them to produce faster.

A bag of seeds shouldn't run you more than a dollar. a single starter plant that's maybe 1-1.5 months old should be $2.50 - 3 each. Sometimes there are bundle deals at the nursery like 4 Tomato plants for $4 or something. They're all different prices, and some will be cheaper than my estimate above.

When you say "how much more"...if a bag contains 30 seeds for $1 and a single starter plant is $2 then that means a starter plant is 60x more expensive than a single seed. The fact that you probably only need a few plans per year and can expedite the process by 1-2 months is where the real value is. Someone spent their time raising that plant and watering it daily & using their shelf space in a greenhouse to get it to that point. You get to see the exact plant you're going to get rather than planting seeds and hoping for the best. You'll get those bonus weeks of peak veggie production as well.



If you're concerned about saving a few dollars you can always grow your own starters as I suggested, and that is how the serious horticulturalists go about it. Set up a card table or something near a window and buy maybe 40 Solo cups. Your house/apartment oughtta be warm enough in March to get started on some plants, it's sort of the best of both worlds. Seed prices, but you'll have ~1 month old plants when it comes time to stick them in the ground in April (may be sooner or later than that depending on where you live).

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Zemekis

A bag of seeds shouldn't run you more than a dollar. a single starter plant that's maybe 1-1.5 months old should be $2.50 - 3 each. Sometimes there are bundle deals at the nursery like 4 Tomato plants for $4 or something. They're all different prices, and some will be cheaper than my estimate above.

When you say "how much more"...if a bag contains 30 seeds for $1 and a single starter plant is $2 then that means a starter plant is 60x more expensive than a single seed. The fact that you probably only need a few plans per year and can expedite the process by 1-2 months is where the real value is. Someone spent their time raising that plant and watering it daily & using their shelf space in a greenhouse to get it to that point. You get to see the exact plant you're going to get rather than planting seeds and hoping for the best. You'll get those bonus weeks of peak veggie production as well.



If you're concerned about saving a few dollars you can always grow your own starters as I suggested, and that is how the serious horticulturalists go about it. Set up a card table or something near a window and buy maybe 40 Solo cups. Your house/apartment oughtta be warm enough in March to get started on some plants, it's sort of the best of both worlds. Seed prices, but you'll have ~1 month old plants when it comes time to stick them in the ground in April (may be sooner or later than that depending on where you live).

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information, this does help. I just want to make the most of my time and make sure I get enough from my efforts. Buying the starters sounds like a better choice but I have been looking around here and it seems like most places by me are either out of stock or don't stock them to begin with. Might have to just do them myself! Should I use small styrofoam cups to start them in? I don't have the plastic ones. I could get them but it seems like styrofoam would be easier to work with when it comes time to transfer them.

Originally Posted by KorinKitty

Thanks for the information, this does help. I just want to make the most of my time and make sure I get enough from my efforts. Buying the starters sounds like a better choice but I have been looking around here and it seems like most places by me are either out of stock or don't stock them to begin with. Might have to just do them myself! Should I use small styrofoam cups to start them in? I don't have the plastic ones. I could get them but it seems like styrofoam would be easier to work with when it comes time to transfer them.

Either one will work. You're probably overthinking it at that level. I just did mine last night actually:

Originally Posted by Zemekis

Either one will work. You're probably overthinking it at that level. I just did mine last night actually:

Oh nice. yeah I have to make sure I label everything. How many seeds do you do per cup? I know some seeds likely won't sprout if I use my older ones. I will get some new ones soon but I know I need to get them started soon so they are ready for Spring.

An old work colleague of mine had an allotment and was really successful with it. But it takes a lot of work it seems to be able to grow your own stuff to a good standard, to be honest, I'm happy to just keep buying from the supermarket.

A little progress update for anyone who's interested.