Growing from Seed vs Buying a Young Plant

[RamblingChicken]

Go organic and grow from seed, especially if you are interested in consuming any of it as food.

There are plenty of organic starts available to me, but I realize that that's a luxury not available in some areas. If there are no stores that sell them, it might be worthwhile to hunt around for a farmer's market. (Well, and they can be ordered by mail, but that's hard to justify even for a high-labor start like tomatoes.)

 

[InvasiveCreeper]

RamblingChicken,

There are plenty of organic starts available to me, but I realize that that's a luxury not available in some areas. If there are no stores that sell them, it might be worthwhile to hunt around for a farmer's market.

A farmer's market, if it is a certified organic farm, would be fine, but plants sold at stores, all of the plants, even the "organic" ones, are watered with a synthetic chemical fertilizer from what I understand.

 

[Thomas Gannon]

The fact he is getting tomato plants from costco is enough to end the debate for me. They probably only have standard tomatoes like big boy and beefsteak. So your tomatoes probably taste better because they aren't crappy chain tomato plants. I'm guessing you're growing some sort of heirloom tomato, they don't grow as big, don't produce as much, but they taste so much better. If you get a heirloom that is already a couple weeks old then you wouldn't notice a difference. I like seeds more because they are cheaper and you get a lot of seeds for the price of one plant. However ones that are older (at least where I work) are grafted to disease resistant roots, and they are very easy to plant, and I've never had one die on me. You should try getting one variety of tomato and starting it from seed and starting the same variety that's already older. Then observe the difference.

 

[Pat]

I like starters because they show results faster as it has started to grow already. I do some plants from seed mostly flowers but mostly starter plants when I do plant.

 

[RamblingChicken]

RamblingChicken,

A farmer's market, if it is a certified organic farm, would be fine, but plants sold at stores, all of the plants, even the "organic" ones, are watered with a synthetic chemical fertilizer from what I understand.

Hmm. You mean after they get to the store, I assume?

 

[InvasiveCreeper]

RamblingChicken,

You mean after they get to the store, I assume?

All plants, brought in, raised, and kept, at garden centers, and stores like Home Depot, etc, are watered with a synthetic fertilizer. So if you purchase an "organic" plant it has been watered with the same mix as all the other plants. The only way to possess a plant without added synthetic chemicals is to raise it yourself from organic seed or purchase it from someone who has done the same, from a conscientious friend or a farm that meets certified organic standards.

 

[RamblingChicken]

All plants, brought in, raised, and kept, at garden centers, and stores like Home Depot, etc, are watered with a synthetic fertilizer. So if you purchase an "organic" plant it has been watered with the same mix as all the other plants.

Well, I don't think that's a law. ("You MUST destroy the organic status of your organic starts!!!!") I'm reasonably confident that it's not true for the ones at my local organic grocery. Less sure about the Grange--I'll have to ask.

 

[InvasiveCreeper]

RamblingChicken,

I'm not sure about the grocery stores, I'm not sure what they do to maintain their plants. The grocery stores may not hold on to their stock for very long, so they might just water the plants and add nothing else. But any starter plants bought from a garden center or from a store that has a garden center maintains their plants in the way I mentioned, from what I have been told. You should ask where the grocery store gets their plants, then call that place and ask if synthetic fertilizer is added to the water, and if all the plants are then watered with the same mix. Your grocery store might get their plants straight from a certified organic farm, or they might not. I don't know, I never had the need to find out what they do, I've always grown my own from seed.

 

[RamblingChicken]

RamblingChicken,

I'm not sure about the grocery stores, I'm not sure what they do to maintain their plants. The grocery stores may not hold on to their stock for very long, so they might just water the plants and add nothing else. But any starter plants bought from a garden center or from a store that has a garden center maintains their plants in the way I mentioned, from what I have been told. You should ask where the grocery store gets their plants, then call that place and ask if synthetic fertilizer is added to the water, and if all the plants are then watered with the same mix. Your grocery store might get their plants straight from a certified organic farm, or they might not. I don't know, I never had the need to find out what they do, I've always grown my own from seed.

Just to make it clear, I'm not talking "grocery stores" in general, but a specific co-op grocery, with a strong focus on organics, in specific. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there had been vehement debate over whether it would be acceptable to use organic but not vegetarian fertilizer ("fish murder!") when watering the organic starts. The store and the customers are that emphatic about the details.

But I may ask, just to see.

 

[Autumn_Hearthwitch]

I grow from seeds just because that's how my grandfather has done it his whole life. He's 93 years old and still grows a garden this way, albeit not as bit as it used to be. I can definitely see the advantage of growing from starters because you would see results faster but there is something satisfying about watching your seeds grow and eventually eating your crop.

 

[aquaticneko]

We always choose to grow ours from seeds. There is a small circle of us that sometimes exchange seeds together. And whenever possible we try to keep it organic. Therefore we never buy plants already grown from places like costco. I have however gotten plants already sprouted from a friend who at times find that she's grown too much for her little garden. I so much love the feeling of satisfaction I get when a seed has finally sprouted. Makes it seem so worth it.

 

[RamblingChicken]

I'm realizing that my response was entirely about tomatoes. I would pretty much never seed tomatoes in place, which would mean that I'd be planting starts either way--starts that I started, or starts that someone else started.

I think that's where my "seed versus start" boundary is. If I'm transplanting either way--tomatoes, most onions that are propagated from seed, some greens--I'm comfortable buying starts, assuming that I can buy the variety I want. If it's something that can reasonably be seeded in place--most legumes, most cucurbits, corn, some other greens, etc., etc.--then I'll go with seeds.