It’s time to start planning and preparing our summer veggie garden and one question I always get asked by beginner gardeners is whether you should start your veggies off by seed or seedling. And so today, I’m going to answer this for you!

There are many factors and things to consider when it comes to the decision of whether to start by seed or seedling. And really there’s no right answer! I usually recommend beginner gardeners to start most plants off by seedling, to gain a little confidence in their first year of gardening because it is simply easier to look after a plant that’s more mature than trying to look after a plant by seed. That way, instead of having to also deal with all the extra tasks and energy needed to germinate seeds, you can spend your first year of gardening just focusing on learning how to raise the plant in the garden. That way, you have less to stress about in the first year or so. Once you feel confident with keeping your seedlings happy in the garden, then you can add on an extra step of learning to also grow your plants by seed!

This is how I would feel is the easiest introduction to growing your own food and to not feel so overwhelmed with everything from the beginning.

Of course, it’s not that all simple. So I’ve listed a number of considerations that you might also want to take into account as well. I hope it’s helpful!

SEED OR SEEDLING? THINGS TO CONSIDER

How many of each plant would you need?

Some veggies such as zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, capsicum, etc grow large and produce multiple veggies per plant. For these sorts of veggies, you may only need one or a few of these plants, so it may be easier just to buy a punnet of seedlings if you’re just starting out. Similarly, herbs you’d only need 1-2 plants max so it’s probably easier just to pick up a seedling punnet too.
Other veggies that are grown for their leaves, e.g. salad crops, kale, lettuce, bok choy, etc mean that you might want a larger number of these plants depending on how much you need. Whilst a punnet or two could be more than enough, you might prefer to buy a packet of seeds instead!
Veggies that are grown for their root (beetroot, carrots, onions, radishes) only produce one root per plant, so these are also better started by seed if you want to have a large harvest of them. Actually, there are other reasons to start root crops by seed which I’ll mention below.

How far into the season as it been?

Seeds normally need to be started a number of months before the season begins. So if it’s already summer and you’re planning to grow summer veggies, then it’s better to start seedlings instead.
But if you have plenty of time on your hands and you like being prepared early, then you’ll probably have time to start by seeds.

CAN THEY TRANSPLANT EASILY?

Root veggies such as beetroots, carrots, onions and radishes don’t transplant very easily. So when buying these in seedling punnets, if you don’t transplant them carefully, you might end up with deformed/damaged veggies. So for root veggies, I usually recommend sowing seeds. However, I have been experimenting with this and have managed to transplant and grow beetroots fine from seedlings. But I heard it’s definitely best not to transplant carrot seedlings and to just sow seeds straight into the garden.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO GROW?

Often in nurseries, you’ll find a bigger range of varieties when you browse the seeds section, versus the seedling section. So if you’re wanting to try growing something unusual or uncommon, then chances are you probably can’t buy them as seedlings to begin with and so will need to start them by seed.

SEED RAISING SPACE & MATERIALS:

When sowing seeds, you’ll either sow them direct into the veggie garden or start them elsewhere (e.g. in a greenhouse or indoors). If you don’t have space to start them in a greenhouse or indoors, and your veggie garden is still filled with winter’s crop, then it may be better to buy seedlings. But if you do have space to raise them, then you can start your seeds off whilst you’re veggies are still growing in the garden then once everything’s been harvested in the garden, your seeds (now seedlings!) are all ready to go. Alternatively, you can raise some plants by seeds and pick up seedlings for the others!
You’ll also need seed raising equipment like small seed trays, seed raising mix, etc

WHAT CONDITIONS ARE NEEDED TO RAISE SEEDS?

Some seeds are more difficult to germinate than others. Different plants require different temperatures to achieve germination and for the plants that require really high temperatures (e.g. 26-28 degrees). So you might find that some eggplants, capsicums and chilli are harder to germinate when it’s still freezing cold here in Melbourne unless you have a greenhouse, heat mat or other kind of heat source. Hence, if you’re trying to choose what to germinate at home vs what to buy as a seedling, then those ones may be better to buy as seedlings if you don’t want the trouble, vs others that germinate more easily e.g. tomatoes, corn, etc.

COST?

Buying a packet of seeds is more economical in cost as there are often 100-1000 seeds per packet. However, if you’re growing things like capsicum, you really don’t need 100 capsicum seeds when a family only needs a handful of plants max. But for other things when you’re continuously sowing and growing, like carrots or beetroot - these are definitely cheaper to grow if you buy a packet of seeds vs a punnet.

Here’s my recommendation for a beginner who wants the most trouble-free start to their summer veggie garden adventure!

Start as seeds: beetroot, carrot, radish (root veggies)

Start as seedlings:

capiscum, eggplant, chilli (these often need fairly warm temperatures to germinate from seeds which makes it a bit of a hassle for a beginner gardener)
zucchini, cucumber (you only need a few of these plants max so might as well pick up some seedlings)
herbs (most herbs you only need one plant max so no point wasting time germinating seeds, except for sweet basil which I love having multiple of)
pumpkin (again you only need 1-2 plants max (2 in case 1 dies!) so might as well pick up seedlings!)
strawberries (strawberries are usually propagated by runners (when the mother plant creates a child plant as an offshoot) so buy these as seedlings!

Either is ok:

lettuce (& other leafy veggies): easy to grow from seeds but if you don’t want the trouble!
tomatoes - easy to grow from seeds, but also you don’t really need that many plants so it’s fine to buy a punnet too!
bean - usually people say to start by seed and plant directly in the ground as they don’t transplant well. But I’ve also seen people grow these as seedlings then transplant. So you could just pick up a seedling I think to try, or grow from seed
corn - actually I’ve always grown corn from seeds and it’s really easy! But if you don’t want the trouble you could also pick up some seedlings in a punnet. You’ll want to grow at least 5 plants in a group together for pollination (& enough to eat)

Happy gardening!

Seeds vs. Seedlings - Which One Should You Choose?