Next to being able to save seed from your own veggies, I think the ability to grow your veggies from seed is one of the most valuable skills to have. It is easy to learn, needs a minimum of kit and does not require a huge amount of time, money or effort, but why should we bother?
I’m glad you asked!
Reasons to grow from seed –
1. Save Money – A cheap punnet of 8 to 10 veggie seedlings can cost around $4.00 (AUD, 2023) and some can even run as high as $8.50, whereas a packet of 750 lettuce seeds can be had for as little as $2.00.
2. Variety – As far as commercially available seedlings go, you would be lucky to find 3 or 4 varieties of, say, tomatoes available at the hardware or nursery, whereas there are over 200 varieties of tomatoes that can be grown from seed. There may be a variety out there ideally suited to the environment you are growing in, and if you grow from seed you can try out as many as you want! Also, if you want to try growing an unusual vegetable, it may not even be available as a seedling and growing from seed may be your only option.
3. Grow your own – As I mentioned above, being able to save your own seed is a valuable skill to have, but to be able to capitalise on that of course, you also must be able to grow vegetables from your saved seed.
4. You can grow root crops – Root crops need to be direct sown where they are to grow and do not do well if raised in a punnet then transplanted. I know that it is possible to buy carrot seedlings in punnets, but they will not do well and are a waste of money. The seeds need to be sown directly, and a knowledge of growing from seed will assist!
5. Resilience – You can store seed, home grown preferably, but commercially available as well. This will increase your options should there be personal issues like unemployment, or if there were to be something more widespread, like another pandemic. In the middle of the Covid pandemic, when there was a renewed interest in home growing, seedlings and then seed became difficult to get. If you are used to growing your own veggies from seed, you won’t be reliant on others for seedlings and so more resilient in your food growing.
6. Spread the Harvest, reduce waste – One of the things with buying, say, a punnet of 8 to 10 lettuce seedlings, is that they all go in the ground at the same time and mature at the same time. So, unless you have a big family it is highly likely that you will harvest two or three of your lettuces before the rest start to bolt to seed and become bitter. Sowing your own means you can grow as many as you want, when you want, reducing the amount of your crop that doesn’t get eaten.
7. Control – You will know what has been applied to the seedlings, and what has not. There is no way of knowing if commercial seedlings have been treated with chemicals of some type. Note - If you want to grow organically and are growing from commercial seed, check the packet to ensure that the seeds have not been coated with a fungicide prior to being packaged. It should make note on the packet that the seeds are not suitable ‘for food, feed or oil’.
8. Satisfaction – it is remarkably satisfying to be able to harvest and eat a vegetable which you have nurtured throughout its entire life journey, from germination to maturity.
Whether you are direct sowing your seeds, or sowing into punnets to grow your seedlings, it is worthwhile from so many angles. It is a simple skill worth acquiring, why don’t you give it a go today?
If you want to know more, check out our eBook - 'Growing from Seed' (Sixth eBook down the list) and/or watch our YouTube 'Growing from Seed' Playlist.
