Once you’ve chosen what to grow, it’s time to get the seeds! I always feel like this is the beginning of the fun part. The other stuff is important too, don’t get me wrong, but there is just something about the packets.
All Seeds Look Different
Like this seems obvious right? But maybe it bears saying, just in case. Seeds for different plants come in all shapes and sizes. And logically we know that a watermelon seed looks different than a pepper seed, but sometimes we don’t really really think about it until we are faced with them to plant something. It can be a little shocking to open up a packet and see something than you were expecting. Don’t worry, that’s normal! Some seeds are tiny tiny tiny, and some are pretty big, and there’s everything in between too!
Packet Front
The front of the packet is the pretty part. It tells you the name of the plant, and a picture of what it will produce. It’s also going to tell you the specific variety of the plant too – there is not really such a thing as a generic tomato seed or whatever plant you chose. Different varieties do better under different growing conditions, or might have been bred to produce more in a smaller space, and so on. Doing a little research on the variety is never a bad thing.
Packet Back
This is the meat of the information. This is why I talked about all those other things first, specifically your growing zone. It’s also going to give you information about planting, such as if they are best direct sown or started indoors a little earlier than you plan to start your garden outside. It will also give you information about timelines as well, such as days to germination and total days to harvest (on average). The packet will also tell you appropriate plant spacing for your garden. If you plant too closely together, then your harvest may suffer. There is an ideal distance, and the seed packet does all that work for you so you don’t have to worry about it.
Seed packets have a wealth of information, as long as you know how to read them. Hopefully we’ve cleared up that mystery, but if not, what other questions do you have?