Unpopular opinion: Growing from seeds beats buying plants every time

I used to grab a flat of annuals from the garden center every spring, but last year I tried starting my own petunias and zinnias from seed packets that cost about $3 total. The difference was huge. The homegrown plants were way stronger, bloomed earlier, and lasted until the first hard frost. The store-bought ones looked good for a week, then got leggy and weak. I think those nursery plants are pumped full of stuff to make them look good fast, but they just don't have the same root strength. It takes more time, sure, but you get a real connection to the plant from day one. Has anyone else made the switch and found their garden just does better?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_johnson1mo ago

Oh man, you're so right... I had the exact same thing happen with my tomatoes. The ones I started from seed in egg cartons on the windowsill were these tough little bushes, but the fancy nursery plant I bought as a backup got hit with blight almost immediately. It's like the home-started ones just know how to deal with real weather.

umamartin1mo ago

What kind of egg cartons did you use, the foam ones or cardboard?

butler.abby1mo ago

Actually, cardboard cartons work better for starting seeds since they break down in the soil. The foam ones don't really let air through the same way, and you can't just pop the whole thing in the ground when it's time to transplant. I learned that the hard way after a batch of peppers got all leggy and damped off in the foam trays. Were you trying to put them directly into the garden or transplanting them out?