Should you sow seeds or buy seedlings for home gardening? This analysis gives you the answer

Choosing seeds or choosing seedlings

For most of the past, home gardening or balcony growing started from a single seed. But now, as home growing becomes more and more popular, garden centers and mail-order companies can also supply large quantities of seeds and seedlings.

This means you need to decide whether to buy seeds or seedlings based on how much time, money and space you have, as well as which plants you have grown before.

The ins and outs of it, aha, in this issue the editor will walk you through a little analysis.

Buying seeds

Growing seeds into plants is not difficult, and it can bring you tremendous satisfaction.

Flower markets and Taobao are all channels through which we can get seeds, and we can also collect seeds from plants that have already flowered.

Vegetable seeds come in a huge range of varieties, differing in size, habits, color and disease resistance. Potatoes grow from tubers, which we call seed potatoes, while miniature onions and chives are called "bulbs," another option besides seeds.

·Features

All vegetables, especially tuberous plants, are best grown from seed. Alpine strawberries are the only fruit that can be grown from seed.

·Advantages

- Cheap price

- Can be stored for several years (in a cool, dry environment)

- Lets you control the number of plants, sowing many times in small quantities

·Disadvantages

- Sowing takes a lot of time

Editor's tip: Especially when caring for tender seedlings sown indoors, you need to prepare some small seed trays and enough space.

Buying plug seedlings

Plug seedlings are grown in modular plug trays and can be bought from flower markets and Taobao.

If you have limited indoor or balcony space at home, or cannot provide a suitable environment for sowing, choosing these plug seedlings is just perfect, and doing so can also save you money.

But these young plants are very delicate, so when you receive them, especially when they are mailed to you in a package, you must immediately plant them into pots and water them.

Oh, right, our "Grow on the Balcony" circle of gardening friends is getting stronger and stronger, so why not "share" or "exchange," haha! Come on, join in.

·Features

We can buy seedlings of most vegetables except fruit trees, especially those productive vegetables such as salad greens and leafy vegetables like Swiss chard.

·Advantages

Takes less time than direct sowing, saves more space, and is more economical.

·Disadvantages

The range of seedlings is not as varied as the range of seeds.

Editor's tip: To avoid losses, we must be very careful when handling seedlings, potting them up, and helping plants adapt to their new environment.

Buying young plants

Young plants are larger and stronger than plug seedlings. These sturdy young plants are grown separately and individually in small flower pots, so you can try growing plants that are very time-consuming to care for or very difficult to grow from seed.

If your growing area is only big enough for one zucchini or one type of tomato, then a more reasonable choice is to buy young plants of these.

When choosing young plants, pick ones that are strong and healthy, looking short, sturdy, glossy green and lively. Editor's tip: when choosing young plants, while the (shopkeeper) isn't looking, carefully tap the pot and take the young plant out of the pot to check the roots, making sure the roots are not tangled and have filled the whole pot. Note that once the young plants have grown strong and conditions are suitable, they need to be transplanted into a larger pot immediately.

·Features

Plants suitable for growing from young plants include various strawberries, rhubarb and most fruiting vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, chili peppers, cucumbers and eggplants.

·Advantages

For larger plants, growing from young plants shows results right away, and saves more time and space than growing from seed.

If you don't have the space to sow indoors and grow heat-loving plants, you can also use this method; young plants can be moved outdoors after the frost period.

If you only plan to grow one or two plants, choosing young plants is also suitable.

·Disadvantages

Growing vegetables from young plants is a relatively expensive option, and the varieties available to choose from are also very limited.

Moreover, young plants need a process to adapt to the outdoor environment, so if your indoor space is limited, it is better not to buy young plants and bring them home too early.

Grow on the Balcony

OK, the editor has shown you the respective pros and cons of sowing seeds, plug seedlings and young plants. Know yourself and know your options, and choose as you like!