Well y’all, this amateur gardener is on a roll! I’ve done something I’ve never done before- planting vegetable seeds and trying to get them to germinate!
I shared a few weeks ago on how to grow seedlings, but this time, I decided to try my hand at actually sowing tiny seeds!
I’m a little late in the game when it comes to seed germination, I know a lot of people start doing this in early spring to get a head start. But hey, better late than never right?!
And I don’t even have to worry about the last frost date or anything because it’s so warm here now! So I guess I will just have a very late summer harvest, but oh well, that’s fine with me!
I’ll be sharing everything I did and show you guys just how easy it is to start your own vegetable garden from scratch!
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What Seeds Should I Use?
If you’re looking for the highest quality of seeds, I strongly recommend checking out Seeds N Such! They are a small, family-run business based out of Georgia and I always love supporting a small business like that versus big box stores!
All their seeds are sustainably sourced and non-GMO. They are also carefully chosen for high germination. And being a 1st time gardener, I have to say I am so excited and impressed with how many seeds I was able to germinate.
I honestly didn’t go into this little experiment very hopeful, I thought I wouldn’t have luck with turning seeds into healthy seedlings, but to my surprise, I actually made it happen! The seeds I chose for my container garden are as follows:
- Sun Sugar Hybrid Tomato Seeds
- Diva Cucumber Seeds
- Big Beef Hybrid Tomato Seeds
- Yum-Yum Hybrid Mix Pepper Seeds
- Fooled You Jalapeno Hybrid Pepper Seeds
- Green Magic Hybrid Broccoli Seeds
- Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach Seeds
But, Seeds N Such offers so many more options too! I actually had a hard time selecting which ones I wanted. It honestly made me want to have a bigger garden so I could order more seeds!
Maybe next year I will expand and start my spring garden a little earlier than this year! If you’re looking for specific types of vegetables, they definitely have it!
They offer a very wide variety of plants so I am sure you will find exactly what you are looking for there.
How To Start Planting Vegetable Seeds
The first thing I did when it comes to plating vegetable seeds is order a seed starting tray. I got a reusable one so I could use it year after year too.
Another item I ordered was a specific seed starter soil mix to put in the tray. You want a good seed-starting mix for the best results.
So once I got everything in, I filled the seed trays with the garden soil. Then, I got out my seed packet and read all the directions first too.
That’s another great thing about Seeds N Such. Each type of seed packet has their own specific instructions to help you produce young seedlings from them!
Next, I started to sow seeds per the packet’s recommendation. The good thing about the transplant tray I got is that is is alphabetized.
That way, you can easily keep track of where you planted each seed. Once I got all the seeds planted, I placed the tray outside on our screened in porch.
Now, if you’re doing this in early spring before all the frost is over, you will want to keep this inside in a space where there is natural light. Then, you can transplant them outside when it is warmer.
When To Transplant Seedlings
So after planting everything in the trays, it’s just a waiting game. I do think I made the mistake of overwatering at first because I thought they needed plenty of water.
But, turns out I was wrong on that! You don’t want to overwater it at all. I think that’s why it took a little longer for my seeds to actually germinate.
Usually based on soil temperatures and outdoor conditions, it takes about 1-2 weeks for seeds to start germinating. And I will say that my broccoli and sun sugar hybrid tomatoes started to germinate within a week.
But, everything else took a little longer than 2 weeks. So I think that was mainly because I was a little too overzealous watering at first. You want to wait until the soil surface is dry before watering again.
To transplant the seedlings, you want to make sure that they develop their set of first true leaves first. That shows that the seedling has developed enough to handle the stress of being moved.
Also, you can check the bottom of the tray and see if roots are starting to develop. If you see roots poking out, it’s a good indication that the seedling needs more space.
The tray I got has individual cell packs, so you can easily remove one seedling at a time and leave others in the tray until they are ready to transplant.
You also may need to “harden off” the seedlings to prevent transplant shock. This means you should gradually acclimate your seedlings to outdoor conditions.
But, like I said, I already started mine outdoors because there was no danger of frost since I am so late in the game!
You’ll definitely want to do that though if you’re doing this in early April. Once my seedlings were all ready, I transplanted them into my raised garden beds!
Watch Your Vegetable Seeds Grow and Thrive!
Well, now that everything is transplanted into their larger containers, you can just sit back and wait. It has been so much fun to watch them grow into young plants.
And I cannot wait for when they are a mature plant and I can actually start harvesting from them too. There’s nothing like growing your own vegetables and having the satisfaction of picking everything out from your own garden.
Y’all know I love to cook too, so having fresh vegetables on hand to cook with is always a huge plus! I think planting vegetable seeds and watching them grow is way more satisfying than just placing a starter plant into your raised garden bed.
Yes, it’s more work and effort, but it feels so rewarding when you are done! And like I said, Seeds N Such has the highest quality of seeds and so many more options to choose from rather than just going to your local garden centers.
Do you plant your own seeds too?? I’d love to hear all your tips and tricks below. Like I said, I am a very amateur gardner so this whole experience is new to me. But, I am learning as I go and loving it!
Now that I kinda know what I am doing, I cannot wait to start my garden at the right time next year too! And, of course, I am sure I will be sharing some fresh veggie recipes coming up here soon this summer so be sure to stay tuned for that as well!
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