Edible Garden Project: Planting from Seed
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 5:00AM 
I really only began planting from seeds last year, when just for the heck of it I threw a bunch of chard seeds in a pot - and the we had chard from last fall through the whole winter.
This year, I'm experimenting.
I've already planted two varieties of carrots, calendula, parsley, nasturtiums, and kale. With our glorious warm weather we've been having, I've picked up a couple of other seeds to experiment with. So in addition to our original planting list, we've now got seeds in the dirt Cinnamon Basil, Echinacea, Genovese Basil, Thai Basil, New Zealand Spinach, and Dill.
We've now got all three raised beds in and built - and we're just waiting for the dirt to finish planting the third one. Since I'm not trying to be too technical about anything, I've planted the seeds directly in the beds or containers. Someday I'm sure I'll move more towards growing all my plants from seed and growing my own starters. But I'm just not there yet.
Do you plant from seed? Or from starters?
Edible Garden Project in Garden
Reader Comments (10)
Your edible garden looks fantastic! I have yet to really start one...though my kids did bring home pole beans in a milk carton container filled with dirt and they're doing great :)
Wow, I'm jealous!! :)
David and I might be moving further south (Redwood City area) and I'm thinking about planting some herbs (and maybe veggies) on the patio. Of course it won't be as nice as yours, but it might be a start... We'll see.. =)
What a lovely garden!
@Molly, thank you! It's good to start small. I think my first attempt at growing something was a basil plant I got at trader joes. It did not live a long life...
@Silke oo yay! You definitely should. Most herbs are really pretty easy to grow. And you can grow a lot of veggies in containers. There's a great blog called Life on the Balcony that talks a lot about container/ small space gardening; http://lifeonthebalcony.com/.
@Andi, thank you! we still have lots of work to do. Getting rid of the remaining grass, adding wood chips, and possibly building another bed for potatoes...
usually if something is available as a starter we'll go with that. some things don't transplant so you have to do seeds (e.g. carrots). I think some plants really want to be started indoors and then transplanted outside when it gets warmer. Maybe that's just for early production tho? Anyway, it's been on my mind to make a cold frame for tomato starters etc. I'll get around to it someday.
So far we're seeing good results with some of the seeds we planted - just for the heck of it. The carrots, kale, cucumber, echinecea, and calendula have all sprouted!
Raised bed gardens require very little maintenance. Each spring or fall, it's a good idea to top dress with fresh compost and manure, or, if your bed only holds plants for part of the year, go ahead and dig the compost or manure into the top several inches of soil.
Awesome tip! Thanks for stopping by. I think we will try to use them year round. We've got one bed that will have artichokes and rhubarb in it for the long haul - both the others will probably be rotated seasonally - in between we'll make sure to take care of the soil.
I don't think there is anything more exciting than a seed catalog :-) I guess I'm a dork. But I LOVE planning a garden. I use a combo of seeds and starts, depending on how lazy I feel.
I have yet to get a seed catalog - but I think I might really enjoy it! Any suggestions on which ones I should order?