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I plan on starting my whole garden from seed this year. My new addition of the small greenhouse will play a vital role in providing a nurturing atmosphere for those small seedlings and ultimately the outcome of my garden. Due to the weather here in Gujo the snow pack doesn’t melt off my garden until late April. Making my gardening season that much shorter. That is where my greenhouse and starting from seed gives me my first benefit of getting a headstart on the growing season. I have also chosen a few of my favorite varieties of seeds that I know will do well in this area. When starting from seed you don’t have to depend on commercial greenhouse plantings that only give you a limited selection of varieties and you are free to choose your favorites. Also you want to choose heirloom varieties so that you can save your seeds for the next season and years to come. Obviously the biggest benefit of starting plants from seed is saving money.
I always told my wife that we were saving money by gardening. But she pointed out that during the gardening season I would be at the nursery and plant stores every other day spending money on something. Plantings and fertilizers are a big cost but if you can minizmize or even completely take away these cost your savings will skyrocket. This year my goal is to spend 0/NO money for the garden besides the seeds. I have quite abit of stuff laying around the garden at my disposal that I should be perfectly OK.
I guess to summarize my paragraph above about starting from seed and spending NO money will cut my dependence on commercial greenhouses and stores for basic needs. Giving me the satisfaction of enjoying all my plants from start to finish knowing I did it myself.
Another benefit that I really like is minimizing the spread of different disease brought in by commercial plantings. For me this can be dangerous because of the humid temperatures and ease of spreading to my other plants in the garden. And lastly, when starting from seed the plants have a continuous, uninterrupted life in a constant environment that doesn’t involve the shock when commercial plantings are brought home to be planted. Timing and environment have to perfect for your seeds to succeed. There will always be loss but how much loss depends on how well you take care of your babies.
If you aren’t starting your plans from seed already why don’t you try just a few seeds this year and see how you do. Starting plants from seed but ultimately the path to self sufficiency offers many benefits.
Good luck and may mother nature be nice to all!
