I've come to realize (after ignoring books and the advice of others for several years) that many types of vegetable and flower seeds are best sown directly outside. For years I was under the impression that starting everything indoors and transplanting outside was the way to the fastest harvest. However, this is not always the case. For example, lettuce seedlings grown indoors (at least with my seed starting setup) are usually very weak and spindly. Transplanting them can be a nightmare. I usually end up destroying a few plants while trying to wrangle them out of the cell pack (their tiny baby leaves tend to stick to one another, resulting in some deadly tug-of-war). Then the plants have to recover from transplant shock and settle in.
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| Direct sown lettuce |
Last year I did an experiment. I started some lettuce seedlings inside. On transplant day, I also sowed some seeds directly outside. Strangely enough, the first harvestable date was almost the same for both! I've had the same results with other crops to. This year, I'm planning on direct sowing almost all of my leafy greens. Best of all, this will free up a lot of space indoors for other vegetables!
Here are my suggestions for starting indoors versus outdoors:
Sow Inside:
Broccoli
Cucumber
Squash
Zucchini
Pumpkin
Gourd
Tomato
Pepper
Melon
Tomatillo
Fava Bean
Groundcherry
Direct Sow:
Arugula
Cilantro
Lettuce
Pak Choi
Mizuna
Zinnia
Turnip
Carrot
Radish
Parsnip
Beet
Swiss Chard
Spinach
Green Bean
Soy Bean
Peas
I love this post! Direct seeding is something I got a lot of experience with last year since we had a late freeze that destroyed more than half of my transplants.
ReplyDeleteI direct seeded almost all of my cucurbits after the freeze last year and they grew really well. The really vigorous ones like pumpkins definitely caught up to the transplants and the cucumbers, while I had less of them make it to adulthood because of birds, produced much better than the transplants. I plan to do half and half for most of my crops this year except for the ones that have to be started early in our zone.
Thanks for the awesomely concise list.
Daedre,
ReplyDeleteI had the same experience. I did far better with the lettuce I accidentally spilled outside than the stuff I started carefully and nurtured all spring indoors.
Do you think I can propagate a money tree from cuttings?
Self-sown lettuce is pretty awesome, so accidental spillage can be good too!
ReplyDeleteThe money tree cutting might work Shea, but I've never tried.
Hi Daedre! I didn't know how else to contact you back about the comments you left on my blog. The prices I put on my harvest tally are based on the organic produce available at our local year-round farmer's market. Re: Amy Butler fabric, yes - it's lovely! I'm trying to limit my new fabric purchases, so those lines might not make it into my collection any time soon. Are you also a quilter? Love your blog, btw!
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