Should I plant seeds or seedlings?
- Should I plant seeds or seedlings?
- How should I space my plants?
- Can I grow crops vertically?
- How do I make a marker?
- How do I plant seeds in soil-beds?
- How do I transplant seedlings?
There are advantages to growing plants from seed ahead of the normal planting season and transplanting them as seedlings in your garden.
Virgin soils harbor insects and diseases. These frequently kill seeds just as they are sprouting or pushing through toward the light.
Learn More
- Home Seedling Production Grow-Bed Gardening (pp. 58-60) The Mittleider Gardening Course (pp. 105-121)
- Building an Inexpensive Seedling Greenhouse Grow-Bed Gardening (pp. 61-74)
- Importance of the Greenhouse in Disease and Insect Control Food For Everyone (pp. 487-540)
Cold soils delay germination. Prolonged germination and retarded growth have a permanent adverse effect on plant growth and yield.
Healthy seedlings, grown in a protected environment, have the advantage of fast germination and a well-developed root system. When transplanted in the garden, they are better able to resist any antagonistic forces. Thus, yields are better and the crops mature earlier. This lengthens the growing and harvesting period and makes it possible to raise two crops of some vegetable types in the same soil-bed during one growing season.
In summary, plants transplanted in the garden from seedlings
- are stronger and more vigorous
- mature earlier
- produce more uniform and larger yields
- cut costs on weed and insect control
You can purchase seedling plants at nurseries or you can grow them yourself in your own inexpensive greenhouse.
Dr. Mittleider grows most crops first in the seed house and then transplants to the garden. However, he seeds certain crops directly into the soil.
Click on the Transplanting/Planting Guide to see a chart that shows which plants respond well to transplanting and which are best planted directly from seed.
Garden Genius
Click on Planting Guide and indicate which of your crops you will plant from seedlings and which you will plant from seed. Alternatively, The Garden Wizard can help you do it easier and faster.
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FREE GREENHOUSE PLANS!
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What's New
Complete Mittleider Gardening Books now available on one cd-rom. Read more.
Tip of the Day
It's Spring Planting Time! For those of you in the Northern hemisphere who have winters, March and early April are the time you need to be preparing your soil and planting the hardy vegetable crops such as radishes, peas, cabbage and broccoli.
The freeze/thaw cycles of winter have broken up and loosened most soils, so as soon as it's not muddy, go in and give everything a good weeding with the 2-way hoe (see Tools). Weeding thoroughly this early gives you the upper hand, and is very important.
If you grew a Mittleider garden last year, your beds will be easy to re-make. Just apply Pre-Plant and Weekly Feed to the bed area, then till them in, place strings on your stakes, and re-make the beds.
Be sure to re-check the level of each bed accurately, since they may have changed a little. Do not be satisfied with anything more than 1" fall in a 30'-long soil-bed. Good Gardening!
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