Start plants from seed rather than buying starter plants - Bachelor on the Cheap
February 11, 2018
By Mike Thayer
The seed purchases I made through catalog and online orders back in December are starting to arrive in my mailbox. Why such a delay? Most seed companies don't ship until it gets close to planting time and they take starting seed indoors into consideration.
Starting plants from seed is a great way to not only save money vs. buying over-priced starter plants in the spring, but you get to customize what will be in your garden. You get to choose what goes in your garden rather than having to settle for what a garden shop has in stock.
Every spring, you see all those pop-up garden centers being put up in parking lots, whether at the local grocery store or Walmart. I still frequent those, but they are limited in plant variety and even bonafide garden centers might not have a particular plant variety you're looking for. And again, you'll pay a premium for starter plants, it's spring time after all....
Enter seed packets.....
I received an order from Park Seed the other day. My order included:
- Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
- Italian Large Leaf Basil
- Salad Bowl Mix Organic Greens
- Peppermint
- Radish Park Beauty Blend
- Dill
- Greek Oregano
- Chives
- Organic Arugula
- Organic Roma Tomato
- Cilantro Calypso
That total for that order cost me just $15.94 and that includes shipping costs. I would have spent at least five times that amount for starter plants and I wouldn't have found all those varieties in just one garden center location, pop-up or otherwise.