New Market, Va. ? A fellow I know says real gardeners get things growing by starting with seed. Filling your garden with bedding plants, the gentleman suggests, is simply landscaping.

He’s taking propagation styles to extremes, of course. But there are many reasons for starting your flower or vegetable gardens with the seed you harvested or bought rather than simply transplanting some potted plants from the big box stores.

“Growing from seeds is one of the best values in gardening,” said Karen Park Jennings, owner of the George W. Park Seed Co. Inc., a 168-year-old seed house in Greenwood, S.C. “You can get more plants from seed than you can any other way. Seeds cost pennies to plant versus dollars to plant for started varieties.”

People who garden with seed also are rewarded with more nutrition in their diets, Jennings said.

“You have a wider selection to choose from by using seed over plants. You can control your nutritional input in plants better by using seed,” she said. “Heirlooms plus many vegetable varieties produced for home gardening are better (tasting) overall from seed than from the plants you get from commercial growers. They’re bred more for flavor. You won’t find that at your local nursery.”

Greater satisfaction

Research is skimpy but it’s believed that only around one in 10 gardeners starts with seed, said Nona Koivula, executive director of the National Garden Bureau Inc., in Downers Grove, Ill. The bureau is trying to counter that by spearheading a national campaign under the theme “Great Gardeners Use Seed.”

“There are several reasons for this (low number),” Koivula said. “The people who were taught to garden from seed by their parents, grandparents or teachers are more likely to garden from seed later on in their life. It requires time. You can’t just sow seeds and walk away. You have to nurture that seed. Many people are too busy to start from seed, and they would prefer to purchase plants.”

Koivula believes gardeners get more satisfaction from their hobby when they start by using seed rather than by buying seedlings.

“You can see the process from the very beginning to the end, when you harvest vegetables containing still more seeds,” she said. “It’s a complete cycle of nature.”

Along with the money you save, the greater plant selection and the self-gratification, gardening with seed allows you to stretch your growing season. The process begins with the arrival of the first seed catalogs shortly after Christmas. Then come garden planning, crop selecting and seed starting – placing those tiny living dots into a growing medium and waiting for the miracle that transforms them from inert to thriving. Dozens of sprouts will emerge in a few days if you’ve provided the proper combination of water, soil, heat, fertilizer and light for germination.

It’s likely they will be shooting upward from trays placed under fluorescent lights, in sun rooms and greenhouses or from every south-facing windowsill in your home. That can come four to 10 weeks before the threat of the last killing frost has passed and the ground has warmed enough to be worked.

Basic rules

The time for starting your seeds generally depends upon how quickly they grow as seedlings and when they safely can be moved outdoors.

There are a few rules to follow if you’re to succeed at starting seed indoors:

¢ Decide if you want to grow hybrids. “Hybrid seed often costs more than seed of non-hybrid varieties,” a University of Missouri Extension fact sheet says. “However, hybrids usually have increased vigor, better uniformity, better production and sometimes specific disease resistance or other unique cultural characteristics.”

¢ If you’re saving seeds from crops you harvested, then think twice about saving anything from a hybrid. Hybrids often don’t grow to resemble their parent plants. It’s safer to stick with self-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties.

¢ Know how to harvest and warehouse seed properly and how long seed should be saved. Seeds lose germination as they age. “Seeds should be kept dry and cool to ensure good germination at planting,” the University of Missouri horticulturists say. “Laminated foil packets ensure dry storage. Paper packets are best kept in tightly closed cans or jars until seeds are planted.”

¢ Be selective when choosing a growing medium. That means not using any of your standard, garden-variety topsoil if you hope to avoid plant disease. “The medium used for starting seed should be loose, well drained and fine-textured,” the Missouri fact sheet says.

Recommended reading

¢ “Park’s Success With Seeds,” by Ann Reilly ($24.95)

¢ “Burpee Seed Starter,” by Maureen Heffernan ($19.95)