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Seed Savvy
Q. Can you suggest some garden plants that are easy for beginners to grow from seed?
A. Suggested seeds for beginners:
Vegetables
Ornamentals
Onions (Sets)
Lettuce/Salad Mixes
Peas
Green Beans
Garlic (Cloves)
Tomatoes
Beets
Winter & Summer Squash
Cucumber
Basil
Chives
Sunflower
Sweet Pea
Marigold
Nasturtium
Columbine
Zinnia
Bachelor Buttons
Cosmos
Morning Glory
Purple Coneflower
Yarrow
Q. How do I know whether I should start seeds ahead of time indoors or plant them directly in
the garden?
A. Much of the time, seeds are started ahead of time indoors to get a head start on the growing season.
In some locations with a relatively short growing season, starting seeds indoors is the only way
to guarantee at least a chance of having flowers or a vegetable crop. Starting annual flowers from
seeds indoors shortens the wait for flowers during the growing season. Fast growing vegetable
crops like lettuce and radishes are typically planted directly in the garden. Some plants, like sweet
corn, carrots, beets, cucumbers and green beans don’t tolerate transplanting very well and grow
much better when directly seeded in the garden. Plants that require a long growing season to
produce fruit are usually started indoors. Tomatoes and peppers are two popular examples. Seed
packets and catalogs will typically advise whether a given seed is best direct seeded or started
indoors.
Q. Why are my sweet corn seeds pink?
A. Some plant seeds are particularly susceptible to soil-borne fungal diseases that damage or kill the
seed or the new seedling. Some seed companies add chemical treatments to the outer surface of the
seed to discourage these soil-borne diseases. Typically, seeds that have been treated are clearly
marked as such on the packet. They are also usually brightly colored to set them apart from
untreated seeds. Seed treatments are poisonous to man and animals when ingested, so use caution
around children and pets when handling treated seed. Wear gloves and wash them and your hands
thoroughly after handling treated seed. Seed treatments are added purely to ensure successful
germination and will in no way harm the plant or make the fruit or flowers unsafe later in the
growing season.
Q. The directions on my seed packet say to transplant seedlings to a larger pot when they have
their second set of “true” leaves. Which leaves are the “true” leaves?
A. The first leaves that emerge along with the seedling are called “seed” leaves—they were present
inside the seed. Often the seed leaves look nothing like the leaves that the plant has later in its life.
The next set of leaves that emerge after the seed leaves are the “true” leaves.
Seed Leaf
True Leaf
Photo Source: http://rachelclaire.net/
Q. I have leftover vegetable and flower seeds from previous years. Will they still grow?
A. Leftover seeds from previous years may still be viable. It depends on several factors. All seeds have
a life expectancy, but environmental conditions can shorten or lengthen this life expectancy.
Warm moist conditions are great for germinating seeds, but horrible for storing seeds. Stored
seeds need to be cool and dry. One way to achieve these conditions is refrigerating seed packets in
a jar with a little rice or dry powdered milk in the bottom to absorb moisture. You can also use
silica gel (often found at craft stores for drying flowers) or you can save the little packets often
found packed with new shoes or medicines.
Typically seeds will not lose 100% of their viability in one year. The seeds will die gradually. So
while you may have had 98% of the seed germinate the first year, you might see 90% the second
year, 82% the following year, and so on. To estimate the percent germination of a seed packet,
place a known number of seeds on a moist paper towel, roll it up loosely, place into a zip top bag in
a warm location. Check the contents of the bag after enough time has elapsed for the seeds in
question to have germinated. The number of seeds that have germinated divided by the number
you started with times 100 is the percent germination. Often times sowing older seed more thickly
than normal can compensate for reduced germination rates.
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