Garden Seed Shopping Guide
5 questions to ask for a thriving garden.
Spring is almost here and it’s the perfect time to start thinking about what you want to plant in your garden. Shopping for seeds can quickly get overwhelming as a gardener. There are so many varieties available and variables to consider. So what seeds should you buy to have the most success in the space that you have?
I created this seed guide to help simplify the seed section, if you buy seeds in store or online. After seed shopping for many seasons, I realized that I was asking myself these five questions.
Do I enjoy eating this vegetable?
How long does this plant need to grow in the area I live?
How early do I need to start this plant?
Do I have enough space to grow this?
How will I cook and store what I grow?
By asking myself these questions in the beginning and spending a little time evaluating what I buy, I save time, money and potential frustration. Before I go through the 5 question there are a few things to touch on.
First, define your garden goals
First, I encourage you to define your garden goals. Jess from Roots and Refuge Farm calls it your "why" of gardening. Knowing why you are gardening is super helpful when making decisions for your space.
My garden is a form of creative expression. I love creating beautiful spaces, and enjoy growing healthy, whole food to make fresh meals with. Maybe your primary goal is to grow food to become more sustainable, or maybe gardening is more therapeutic and you want to surround yourself with beautiful things. Your goals will change what you decide to grow. Before the start of each season, I redefine what this is to make sure I’m shopping for the right seeds, and making the best choices for my space.
Pre-started seedlings vs. seeds
There are two ways to plant your garden with pre-started seedlings or from seed. Most of the time, garden centers are limited to common varieties of seedlings, so I usually opt for starting most of my plants from seed. Although I've found it easiest to buy harder-to-grow plants like strawberries, rosemary, dill, oregano, and thyme as pre-started seedlings. Stretch yourself and experiment with a couple of new seed varieties each season, and then go for some more usual plants from the store.
What brands of seeds should I buy?
These are some of my favorite seed companies I buy every season that have reliable, high-quality seeds.
Baker Creek: Online only store with very unique varieties of veggies and flowers. They have great prices and free shipping.
Hudson Valley Seed Company: Online and in stores. One of my favorites is the Silver Slicer Cucumber. Must try! More pricey, but really cool artwork on the seed packets.
Renee’s Garden Seeds: Online and in most stores. Beautiful flowers and great options for heirloom veggies. They provide the most helpful information on their seed packets and give very specific growing instructions for their plants.
Johnny’s Seeds: Online only. Have more of a standard selection of seeds, and focus on making the most successful, reliable crops for gardeners.
Ask yourself these 5 QUESTIONS when seed shopping.
Do I enjoy eating this vegetable?
How long does this plant need to grow in the area I live?
How early do I need to start this plant?
Do I have enough space to grow this?
How will I cook and store what I grow?
Question #1 Do I enjoy eating this vegetable?
When buying seeds for your garden it's good to think about what kinds of vegetables you enjoy eating. It may seem like an obvious question to ask but planting foods that you will actually eat is important. It can be fun to experiment sometimes but having a vegetable sit in your garden that you don’t know what to do with can be frustrating. It can be really tempting to try growing everything but if you don't have room to grow rows and rows of veggies then every plant needs to have a purpose.
I have a list of some things I don't grow simply because I don't eat them or I don't have the room. Beets are one of those things. No one in my family likes them very much and it is just not something I cook with often enough. The longer you garden, the more you start to narrow down what you like and don't like to grow. I find myself making the most room in my garden for things like green beans, tomatoes, peas, lettuce, and strawberries because they are some of my most productive crops, and my favorite to cook with.
Another way you can think about this is by looking at what you buy the most at the grocery store. Especially with food costs going up, I try to make it a goal every season to replace grocery store produce with food from my garden and the farmer’s market. Spending 3 or 4 dollars on one cucumber is hard for me to do when I can grow something so much fresher and better-tasting at home.
Question #2 How long does this plant take to grow in the area I live?
Every seed packet has an approx. number of days to harvest listed on the back. When picking the vegetables to grow in your garden it's important to know how long it takes to grow something from seed to when you harvest. To do this you need to know the length of your growing season.
Tip: You can figure out how long your season is by researching your first and last frost date. I explain how to do this in the Gardeners Glossary: 13 key terms every beginner gardener should know. As long as you have enough time for the plant to produce a harvest before your first frost then you can grow it, as long as the temperature doesn’t drop below freezing.
For new gardeners, I would stay away from plants that might take too long to harvest from. This would include melons, cabbage, some onions varieties, and winter squash. Anything listed around 100 days or more can take too long depending on where you live. As a beginner gardener, it can be more motivating to harvest veggies quickly than to wait all season for one melon to ripen. I would stick with produce that takes a relatively short time to mature and focus on veggies that you can plant multiple times in one season. Some would include lettuce varieties, radish, peas, beans, tomatoes, herbs, strawberries, green onions, carrots, and cucumbers.
Question #3 Does this plant need to be direct sown or started early indoors?
Reasons to start seeds indoors would include:
You live in a colder climate and need a jumpstart on your shorter growing season.
You want to try unique varieties you can’t buy as seedlings.
Wanting to plant a warm-season crop that requires an early start to ensure you get a harvest by summer.
Resource: Here’s a great guide on How to Start Seeds Indoors if you are new to spring seed starting.
Direct Sowing vs. Starting Indoors
Here’s a list of plants that are typically direct sown and started indoors. This is not a strict list but more of a general guideline, showing what varieties thrive best under each situation. It’s always a good idea to read the seed packets for specific instructions on planting.
Direct Sow in Garden
Carrots
Green Beans
Peas
Lettuce
Beets
Boy Choy
Sunflowers
Cucumbers
Spinach
Squash (Winter and Summer)
Start Indoors and Transplant
Peppers
Tomatoes
Melons
Leeks
Onions
Celery
Eggplant
Kale
Broccoli
Question #4 Do I have enough space to grow this plant?
To make sure you have enough space to grow a plant your need to consider a few things.
1. What is the growing habit?
2. What is the plants estimated maturity size?
Plants that take up a lot of space
Melons
Corn
Potatoes
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Squash
Tomatoes
Think about if it vines vertical or if it sprawls on the ground. If you are unsure the seed packet should give you some information to help, but if not look the plant up online. Plants like zucchini, melons, and tomatoes naturally sprawl out on the ground and need lots of space, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow them you just need to find a variety that’s created for smaller spaces.
Look for labels that say container friendly or use the word “mini” or “dwarf”. These seeds should also have the maturity height and will specify if it’s good for smaller growing spaces. If you only have space on a patio for some containers consider planting varieties that don’t grow more than 3 or 4 feet tall. Most varieties have smaller versions that are more suitable for smaller containers so don’t worry if you don’t have much room you can still plant a garden.
Lastly pay attention to information on trellising, and support. Some varieties of tomatoes can grow 6 ft tall or more require support to grow vertically, so having the proper trellis is key.
Here are some of my favorite small space gardening varieties:
Dwarf Sugar Snap Peas
French Breakfast Radish
Question #5 How will I cook and store what I grow?
Eating fresh veggies from your garden is the best but sometimes it can get hard to come up with ways to eat them. Knowing how to cook and store what you grow is one of my favorite parts of growing my own food. Cucumbers are one of the best to store. Make a quick pickle or throw together some easy Tzatziki sauce for a simple dip or throw on a sandwich.
Growing a garden makes you think about how you can eat vegetables in new ways. Tomatoes that are overripe and slightly mushy can be perfect for pasta sauces and roasting. Another of my favorites is slow-roasted garden veggies. Toss with some olive oil, herbs, salt, and a squeeze of lemon. Becomes a great side for any meal and stores well in the fridge for a few days. The options are really endless, so feel free to experiment.
Tip: If you need help with finding new ways to eat veggies and eat more seasonally try this cookbook Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden it’s one of my current favorites.
Happy Gardening!