Vegetable Seeds

Gardening is a great hobby and growing vegetable seeds into seedlings will give any vegetable gardener great satisfaction and pride to see tiny shoots spring from the soil.

Each year I can't get over that feeling as I anxiously wait for the first seed to germinate and emerge from the soil. Like a mother hen, I tend to these little shoots with care until they grow into fully grown seedlings ready for planting.

What You Should Know

Well...There are two ways you can grow seeds into seedlings.

You can collect the seeds from last year's crop or you can purchase seeds from your local Nursery, Home Depot, Lowes, or a seed supplier on the internet.

Purchasing seeds is the most straight-forward and simplest way to grow and turn your seeds into seedlings, you only have to follow the instructions on the packet. However, I would like to point out a very important fact I have learned throughout my many years of growing vegetables. The success of a great vegetable garden yeild is in the quality of the seed.

Not all vegetable garden seeds have the same quality or are resistant to some of the more popular vegetable disease that can plague your plants.

You will spend a great deal of your time in the garden cuddling and nursing your vegetable plants while all the time dreaming of the day they're ready for harvest. What you don't want to see, is one day your young plants beginning to wither and die from disease.

So, as they use to say (pardon my age) if you're going to plant vegetables, then "put your best foot forward."

That said, may I recommend purchasing your vegetable seeds from one of the most reputable seed companies that been in existance since 1878. There prices are extremely reasonable and they only deal with the highest quality seeds.

Variety of Vegetable Seeds and Shelf-Life

Do keep in mind this is an average length of time as there are controlling factors that affect their longevity.

Below is a suggested list and classification of the more popular vegetables gardeners tend to grow and you may recognize some of your favorite vegetables as well.

Short-lived vegetable seeds consist of:- onion, pepper, sweet corn, parsnip, and parsley.

Intermediate vegetable seeds are:- tomato, spinach, carrot, bean, broccoli, and pea.

Long-lived seeds are:- cabbage, melon, cucumber, eggplant, and squash.

Preparing Your Seeds for Storage

I use to use glass jam jars to store my seeds, you know the ones with the rubber gasket on the top. Clumsy as I am I broke more containers than I saved, so I decided to try zip-lock bags and found they work just as well.

Whether you use air-tight glass containers or plastic bags (don't use plastic bags with twist ties as they are not air-tight), your stored seeds must be kept cool and dry (that is without moisture accumulating inside) and they must be stored in a dark area.

Vegetable Garden Tips- To prevent your seeds from absorbing moisture use a silica gel (such as the type in a medication bottle), or you can use powdered milk; just add a little to the bottom of the jar.

Seeds store best at temperature between thirty-five and forty degrees which makes the refrigerator a perfect storage place. Another consideration if you have one is your garage, although you must pay attention to the temperature to ensure it remains within the thirty-five and forty degree range. When it doesn't, it's back to the refrigerator with your seeds.

Vegetable Garden Tips- Date and identify each vegetable seed container to prevent the frustration later of trying to figure out what seed container is what vegetable.

Getting Ready to Plant Your Vegetable Seeds

An easy test I use is to take several seeds from each container and wrap them in a moist paper towel. Next place them in another zip-lock bag or any type of sealable bag and place them in a warm location in the house (such as the kitchen window sill). Then check the seeds every few days to see if they have germinated.

At the end of ten days, any seed that will germinate will have done so. If a small percentage has sprouted that's ok, you can still use the seeds; just plant more than you'll need to compensate for the loss of seeds that won't germinate.

Most vegetable seeds take three to four weeks to grow into seedlings and become mature enough to plant in your garden, so as mentioned above start this process a month before planting time.

Here is another great vegetable Web site resource I recommend you also read. vegetable gardening advice.com Your complete guide to beginner vegetable gardening, including a section on Seedling Vegetable Plant Identification

While waiting for your seeds to mature for planting and great tasting food is on your mind, here is a Web site I recommend you visit that gives answers to questions such as, What is the difference between just cooking and artful cooking?


As always

Happy Gardening

This is an ideal solution to vegetable gardening if you live in an apartment with a balcony or have a patio with limited garden space.

A vegetable garden planter seen here may be just what you need. Most types of vegetables can be grown in this planter including herbs.

If your love of gardening leans toward flowers as an added touch on your balcony or patio, then indeed plant flowers instead of vegetables. Your garden planter won't mind whatever you plant.

Soil Moisture Tester.

As any successful vegetable gardener will tell you, a soil moisture tester is a must to grow a healthy vegetable crop. How else are you going to know whether your plants have too much or too little water for their survival?

A soil moisture tester like the one to the left can be purchased at a very reasonable price and well worth the investment. They can also be purchased at any gardening store. Whatever your choice, do consider getting one for your garden.

Ready Made Raised Bed Garden

Not every vegetable gardener lives in garden heaven having perfect soil to grow their garden. For those of us not so fortunate, a raised bed garden in my opinion is a solution to poor soil.

If you are a bit of a carpenter, you can build your own raised bed, or as you can see to the left, purchase a ready made bed that you just assemble.

I have several in my garden and opted for a second tier in height.

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