How Will Your Garden Grow? Planting Seeds Verses Planting Seedlings

So you've prepared the soil of your garden for planting. The rake, the hoe, even the trowel and fork are standing at the ready in your gardening tool shed. You even have an idea of what types of plants you want to have in your garden. Now it's time to answer that age old question. Will you start from seeds or seedlings? Each case has its benefits and drawbacks. This paper will describe a few of the pros and cons of each approach so you can better decide what fits both your lifestyle and garden style.

Starting with Seeds: Advantages

Perhaps one of the first advantages when you choose to sow seeds is the variety that you can get. Almost all garden shops or garden clubs have seed catalogs with hundreds, if not thousands of different seed types just waiting for someone to pick them. Another advantage is they are easily transported prior to planting. Seeds offer their own little protective shell casing, and they're often small enough to fit into a smaller pouch or even a pocket while traveling. In addition, many plants, such as tomatoes, corn, even morning glories don't take too kindly to transplantations; they like to stay right where they first sprouted. By using seeds, you can reduce, if not eliminate the shock the plant can undergo through subsequent replanting. Of course, perhaps the biggest advantage to sowing your seeds is it is fun. It's an inexpensive way to get your hands dirty, truly feel the ground and soil between your fingers, and watches something truly grow and change right from the beginning.

Starting with Seeds: Disadvantages