Vegetable Seeds

If you haven't tried growing vegetable seeds into seedlings in the past, perhaps now is a good time to give it a try.

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, if you are ambitious and collect seeds from last year's crop a little preparation is required.

Variety of 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 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 O.K, 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.

Note:- If you are new to gardening and have enjoyed this article, click on the link vegetable seeds for more garden planting tips and how to grow vegetables.

As always

Happy Gardening

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