Are you brand-new to seed-based gardening? Have you thought about when it might be best to direct sow seeds outdoors or which seeds should be started indoors and transplanted? If so, you’ve arrived at the right place!
The advantages and disadvantages of starting seeds indoors versus planting them outdoors will be discussed in this post. I’ll also give you a list of vegetables (and scenarios) that call for one or the other more than others. Most types of vegetable seeds can be sown outdoors or indoors, but there are a few that hate being moved at all!
Sowing Seeds in Their Natural Habitat: Direct Sowing Defined
A gardening technique known as direct sowing entails planting seeds outdoors, directly in the soil of their intended growing location (such as a garden plot, raised bed, or sizable container). They will bud, develop, and then perish there. Follow the directions on your seed package to direct sow seeds outdoors (when the time is right!). Cover seeds with a thin layer of soil that is roughly three times the thickness of the seed as a rule. Small seeds are therefore buried much shallower than larger seeds.
![Growing Tomato seedlings](https://i0.wp.com/jasminefeliciano.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/6.png?resize=683%2C1024&quality=80&ssl=1)
In contrast, seeds can be sown indoors, and the young seedlings later moved outdoors to their permanent location. I refer to “indoors” as any time or location where seeds are started in containers (such as peat moss pods, seedling trays, or small pots) in a protected environment. Thus, this could refer to a location that is literally inside a home as well as a storage area, climate-controlled greenhouse, or something similar.
Nurturing the Perfect Environment for Seeds to Sprout
Let’s first take a quick look at the ideal condition seeds require to sprout and grow, which is crucial to know as you start to explore the world of seed-starting:
- Vegetable, herb, and flower seeds typically require two essential conditions for quick sprouting: consistent moisture, and steady warm temperatures.
- It is important to keep the soil or potting medium where the seeds are planted nicely moist. Never allowed to completely dry out, but also not allowed to get too wet.
- For optimum, rapid germination, most seeds prefer a temperature range of 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The majority of seeds, however, usually sprout in the 50s to 60s, albeit at a much slower and less reliable rate.
- Additionally, keep in mind that some specific vegetables, such as lettuce, arugula, onions, peas, carrots, radishes, and turnips, prefer slightly cooler soil conditions for germination (50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit). Many of these seeds can be sown outdoors directly.
- Additionally, seeds should be planted in a light, fine-textured soil for the best results. A sterile soilless seed-starting medium is another option.
- As soon as seeds germinate and begin to grow into seedlings, they require a lot of bright light. Additionally, seedlings might require defense against pests or unfavorable weather.
- To prevent shock and damage, indoor-raised seedlings should always be hardened off before being transplanted outdoors.
Cultivating Seedlings Indoors: Advantages and Benefits
Below are some of the noteworthy advantages of starting seeds indoors as opposed to planting them outdoors. Plenty of dedicated gardeners start at least some of their seeds indoors. Furthermore, to even attempt to grow and harvest some crops successfully, northern gardeners and those with short growing seasons must start seeds indoors!
Early Bird Gardening: Gaining a Seasonal Advantage
You can extend your growing season and give your plants a headstart by starting seeds indoors. Raising seedlings indoors can give the plants weeks or even months to start maturing when it is still too chilly and dark to plant seeds outdoors. This is a great benefit, especially for people with a limited growing season! When the growing season starts, you will have large, strong, and healthy seedlings that are prepared for the ground. You can take your time choosing where to plant indoor seedlings while they are still growing in their containers.
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Consider crops grown during the cool season, such as broccoli, cabbage, or cauliflower. From planting to harvest, each of these brassicas requires several months, and they don’t like extreme heat or temperature changes. As a result, if you wait until the spring to plant seeds outside, it’s likely that the plants won’t develop quickly enough to bear fruit before the sweltering temperatures arrives and causes problems.
Summer crops that thrive in the heat benefit from an early start indoors as well. It can take tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant several months before they start to produce fruit that can be eaten. By starting them indoors, you can harvest more frequently and for a longer period before the frigid fall weather returns.
Furthermore, playing with seeds indoors is a fun way to continue your gardening hobby throughout the gloomy and chilly off-season. Uncertain of the most effective time to sow seeds? For information on when to direct sow seeds outdoors or start seeds indoors, consult the Farmer’s Almanac. Refer to their handy USDA hardiness zone as well.
Mastering the Elements: Indoor Control Advantages
Gardeners can give seeds the perfect controlled climate by starting them inside. It is obvious that indoor temperatures are more stable and moderate than outdoor ones. Additionally, using a specifically designed seed-starting soil medium, seedling heat mats, humidity domes, and grow lights will allow you to achieve the ideal seed-starting conditions that were previously described. In comparison to direct sowing, the outcome is quick and even seed germination and increased seedling growth.
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Spotty or slow germination outdoors may be caused by cool soil or erratic water supply. Even in frost-free areas, seedlings will grow less vigorously during the winter because of the chilly temperatures and short daylight hours. Additionally, having all your seedlings and seeds in one area makes it simpler to remember to take care of them.
Optimizing Yield
Another advantage of starting seeds in containers is that it gives other plants in your garden more time to grow. For instance, autumn garden seeds must be sown in the summer, when your garden beds are probably still full of robust summer crops. Even though it’s much simpler to direct sow seeds outside in the summer than it is to do so in the winter, starting seeds indoors (or even outside in trays or small pots) instead allows the other established plants to continue to grow for an extra month or two while feeding you in the interim.
Guarding Your Garden: Shielding Against Pests and the Elements
Frost, pests, and other external threats can particularly harm baby sprouts. In my experience living in South Florida, iguanas destroyed one of my garden beds full of newly sprouted tomato seedlings! You can imagine my sadness and frustration witnessing just bare stems and no leaves. Threats from pest insects, particularly those that live in the soil may also exist. They are offered protection from these things during their most vulnerable stage by starting seeds and growing seedlings indoors.
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If you plant seeds directly outside, be ready to provide protection for the seedlings as soon as they appear. The same holds true for young seedlings that have been raised indoors and then transplanted outdoors after hardening off. The best tools I’ve found for shielding seedlings from pests like birds, insects, and other animals as well as frost and intense heat of the sun are hoops and row cover. My father and I put together hoops using PVC pipes and rebar which I intend to share in a future post!
The Benefit of Sowing Seeds Directly
As you notice, there are several advantages to starting seeds indoors, but direct sowing seeds outdoors also has benefits. Planting seeds directly outside, for example, requires fewer supplies or equipment than starting seeds indoors. When you use the direct sow method, you will also avoid the extra step of hardening off seedlings. Finally, some plants do not like being transplanted at all. These include the root vegetables and rhizomes like carrots, parsnips, garlic, potatoes, rutabaga, radishes, turmeric, and turnips. Attempting to transplant will likely cause a permanent stunting or death to the seedlings. Without a doubt, directly sowing seeds is unquestionably the best option!
It should be noted that garlic, turmeric, and potatoes are not grown from traditional seeds. Individual garlic cloves, turmeric rhizomes, and seed potatoes are planted instead. These can be pre-sown indoors, but not in the same way that other seedlings can.
Transplanting-Tolerant Veggies
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You can deviate against the rule when it comes to certain seedlings and still have success. These seeds include beets, corn, beans, leeks, peas, kohlrabi, spinach and shallots. If you choose to start seeds indoors, they should be transplanted as soon as the seedlings emerge. Take care not to disturb their roots excessively. Never let them become overgrown in their container, this is referred to as root bound. To avoid this, start them in appropriate-sized containers (such as small 4โฒโฒ pots) or carefully pot them up as needed.
Some vegetables prefer to be sown directly, while others can be transplanted with care. After years of learning through failure, I now prefer to direct sow bean seeds outside. On the flip side, to get the ball rolling, I start my spinach, peas, and corn inside first. Try to determine which method is the most effective to achieve the desired results.
To Start Inside or Direct Sow?
All other vegetables and herbs can be started indoors or planted directly outside. However, keep in mind that they will be subject to all the advantages and disadvantages mentioned here! Most herbs grow better when started indoors. For flowers, follow the instructions on the seed packet.
That about sums up the advantages and disadvantages of starting seeds indoors compared to direct sowing. I hope that this discussion helps you in growing robust and nutritious plants! Kindly submit your questions in the comments space below. If you find this post beneficial, please spread the word by sharing with your family and friends!
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