Starting from seed: Germinating your own plants strengthens your connection to nature and brings a healthy variety to both garden and table

Natural Health, March, 2005 by Kaitlin Quistgaard

LAST FALL I PLANTED garlic in my garden; now every time I peel a store-bought clove, I remember for a moment that the pale, aromatic crescent in my hand is actually a seed. Meanwhile, I look with a sense of wonder and pride out on the tiny lime green stalks shooting up from the winter soil--a wholly different feeling from when the garlic in my pantry starts to sprout.

That's the thing about growing from seed; it changes the way you think about food. If you've ever pushed a tiny brown seed into the earth and, a few weeks later, plucked out a fat, crunchy carrot, you know what I mean.

Despite learning the science of it in elementary school, germination still feels like a miracle: Give a dry speck that shows no obvious signs of life a little dirt, water, and light, and--poof!--it matures into something that can nourish your body as well as your soul. Once you've experienced this transformation firsthand, it's hard not to be even a little amazed and delighted by nature. And by growing a few veggies and flowers from seed, I find myself more aware of the bounty of nature's wonders, even the ones found pre-peeled and cello-packed in the produce aisle that I usually take for granted.

edible heirblooms

GARDENING is a way of being in touch with what is really of value," says Lena Hahn-Schuman, owner of Oldies & Goodies Organic Plant Nursery, a supplier of heirloom vegetable and flower plants in Sebastopol, Calif. "It's also a practical, inexpensive way of having control over your food supply."

But the real fun in growing from seed is enjoying (and, yes, showing off) beautiful and unusual treats from your garden--say, arriving at a summer potluck with a salad of homegrown Green Zebra tomatoes and Opal Purple basil, and a bouquet of Zulu Prince daisies. When you plant from seed, you can try Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Mirabelle Blanche, or any of the 24 other tomato varieties offered by The Cook's Garden seed company. Or a few of the two dozen different sweet peas available from Renee's Garden, or the 10 varieties of marigold offered by Seeds of Change. By the way, these companies all sell seeds directly from their Web sites, as does virtually every major purveyor of heirloom (vintage, nonhybrid) seeds.

Such diversity was common in gardens in the not-so-long-ago days when many people saved their own seeds from year to year and traded them with friends and neighbors. But modernity has altered that experience. Just as grocery stores sacrificed variety for the uniformity and convenience of only one or two varieties of squash or tomato, nurseries focus on what's easiest to sell. Buying pre-planted may jump-start a garden, but it severely limits the selection.

"I know a lot of people think they'd be better off buying their plants from a nursery, but it's not always true," says Jay Leshinsky, advisor to the Organic Garden student organization at Middlebury College in Vermont, and East Coast sales manager for Renee's Garden. "You have a much wider choice of varieties if you start from seed. Certain seed varieties do better in either hot weather or cool, and they have different maturation times as well as specific looks and flavors. By going with seed, you can cater to your own situation--a bush bean instead of a vine, for instance. You're more in control as a grower."

winter wonder

FORTUNATELY, it's easy to germinate the dramatic display and intense flavor of many lesser known varieties. All you need is a couple of seed packets--and to begin planting now. (Follow the tips provided in "How to Start Seedlings Indoors" on page 94.) The unfurling, vibrant green shoots can be a delightful cure for the winter blues. They remind us of the vitality dormant in the earth, and create a verdant indoor spot that represents our soon-to-come return to the garden.

Planting from seed offers more chances to get it right. You can start a few plants even if you need just one; if they all grow as expected, delight your friends by giving away the extras. Or, if you want green beans all summer long, you can do your second planting and get a late-season crop going--all for the price of one seed packet.

"I use seeds because I can grow a lot of varieties I might not find at the local garden center, but also because I save a lot of money," says Jane Martin, an Ohio State University extension educator in Franklin County, Ohio, who provides public education outreach in horticulture. "I start a lot of annual flowers from seeds. I might need 12 or 15 flats of transplants in any given season." (At $9 to $15 a flat, that can quickly add up, whereas most seed packets cost less than $3 and can fill at least one flat.)

To keep her garden brimming with flowers, Martin invests in a three-tiered light stand and cell packs (the plastic trays used by professional growers) and starts her seeds in the basement when snow may still be on the ground. But you don't need a special room filled with special equipment to start flora from seed indoors. "It's great if you have plant lights," says Leshinsky, "but if you don't, start anyway. Tomatoes are great for this. Start them in a warm place and then move them to a sunny windowsill. Some plants might be a bit leggy or spindly, but put them outside for a few hours a day about a week before the last spring frost. Transplant them in the garden, and they'll grow. That's the nature of seeds--they want to grow."