>>have you ever figured out if it is better to plant (mostly i am talking about vegetables) from seeds or from seedlings? i am trying to decide if it pays to buy plants, or if it is a needless waste of money. i don’t exactly have a green thumb, in case that impacts your answer. also, what do you think about planting fruit trees? is it frugal?<<
I got my seed catalog a few weeks ago and have been enjoying poring over it and deciding what to plant for the coming spring/summer. Before beginning to garden, I never would have understood the enjoyment to be found in looking through a seed catalog!
Seeds are always the most frugal; you can buy 2 -3 packets of open pollinated tomato seeds that will grow hundreds of plants for what you’ll pay for one tomato start. When you buy a seedling, you’re paying for the foresight that the nursery has shown in starting the seeds indoors so you can get a jump on the planting season.
How much you’ll benefit from using seedlings or seeds will depend on the length of your planting season. If you have a shorter season, then you’ll want to transplant your seedlings to maximize your time. If you live in a warmer climate, then sometimes you aren’t gaining more than two weeks, since the seeds planted in the ground once it’s warm generally take off really fast.
But you can start your own seeds indoors and then have your own seedlings to transplant at a fraction of the cost – this is the direction I’d go in, if cost is an issue. They’ll need warmth, moisture, and light after the seeds germinate. Most seeds really aren’t a big deal to start yourself. I’ll probably start some seeds indoors again this year, even though it didn’t make a huge difference to me in getting a start on my garden last year. I’m going to try a different method this year that I think will be more effective.
Another potential concern is regarding the quality of the seedlings you buy from the big box stores, which is low. They are poorly tended, low quality hybrids, and often don’t transplant well. They were responsible in large part for spreading the tomato blight this past year. So even if you decide to go the route of buying them, realize that while you’re paying much more, you’re not necessarily getting much more. If you’re going to buy them, look for transplants from reputable nurseries.
Also, as far as seeds go, keep in mind that you often can save the seeds of the vegetables you eat and grow those. And if you save the seeds of your open pollinated plants from year to year, you’ll never need to spend anything on seeds again. That means buying any kind of open pollinated seed can be a one time purchase – super frugal!
As far as fruit trees, I don’t see them as frugal in the short term. It will take years until you have fruit you can harvest (taking into account halachic concerns), and this is affecting my decisions about this. I’d been planning to buy several young fruit trees to plant in my side yard this spring, and am now thinking I’d probably be better off converting the area to grow vegetables. But there is the long term satisfaction in being able to grow your own fruit, and eventually it becomes frugal once you’re past the preliminary years. So we’ll probably go with the fruit trees even if something else would be more efficient in the short term.
Avivah
hmm- given that i would buy the plants from the same catalogs where i would order the seeds, do you think they would be higher quality than the box-store plants? i have never ordered anything from the seed catalogs before…
also, aren’t most fruit tree saplings at least a year or two old when you buy them? most of the ones i have seen are 2 year olds, i think.
thanks for the response- i love that i always know there is someone who has thought through anything and everything i wonder about!! enjoy the catalog! -julie
My only experience with buying plants from catalogs were blackberry and blueberry bushes, and strawberry plants, and the quality of them all was very good. But take some time to explore the seed catalogs – planting seeds yourself isn’t a big deal. The bigger a seed is, the easier it is, generally speaking.
Regarding when you actually eat the fruit – the issue of orlah means you have to wait three years after you plant it – so even if it’s a two year old sapling, you still have to wait three more year (according to the rabbi I asked; ask you own questions, though). It’s not really so long, but it is something to consider.
And Julie – there’s way to much going on in your mind for it to be possible to have thought about even a fraction of it! But thanks for the compliment!
We (my husband) planted a fruit tree after each of our children was born and while its true that we had to wait to be able to eat the fruit from them…there is something amazing about being able to go into your backyard and pick fruit that is perfectly chilled and ready to eat!! (Right now we have a grapefruit and orange tree that we can eat from….on their heels is a plum and apricot tree)……
I love this idea, R! I never thought of it until this most recent pregnancy, and
because it was seasonally too late to transplant a fruit tree, I had to hold off until this spring. (The placenta is still double bagged in the back of my freezer, waiting to be planted under a fruit tree in his honor.) Right now even though I think using the space for vegetables would be more efficient, we’re still planning on fruit trees for the reasons you mentioned. 🙂
I believe there is a story in the Gemorrah about a man who plants a tree for his grandchildren. Trees would be an investment in the future rather than a frugal strategy for the present.
My neighbors had a fruit tree that overgrew its boundaries into our yard and another yard. A good tree can literally feed a neighborhood.
I often have thought as I walk in the neighborhood how incredible it would be if cities planted fruit bearing trees in public areas rather than those that have no food production capacity. Think how many people could be helped with land that is being used just to look nice – it would be attractive and productive, and could make a big difference in meeting the needs of the hungry in every city.
Just a thought on fruit trees feeding the neighborhood. 🙂
I suspect they don’t because of the mess non-harvested fallen fruit makes. I’m sure there would be ways around that, though. If a community organisation would undertake to harvest the fruit and distribute it, say.
Thanks for the post can you please explain or give example of where you buy your seeds from. Thanks
I like Fedco – their prices are great, shipping is free if you make a purchase over $30 (I think), they have tons of open pollinated and heirloom seeds (they have hybrids, too), their catalog is entertaining – and did I mention their prices are really good? 🙂
Kaet, I agree that the mess and potential to attract insects and rodents would be the primary concern about communal fruit trees. However, if feeding the hungry were a priority, ways to deal with this on a large scale could be put into affect – for example, imagine having a large scale community food preservation facility in each community available at low or no cost to those who were harvesting the free food, along with an ongoing short classes about how to use them. Then a huge number of people who currently wouldn’t even have an idea of what to do could benefit from the free food. And it would be very cost effective compared to initiatives we currently have in place, and would put most of the responsibility on those who would benefit.
There are other ways to deal with it, but I think because our elected officials are in office for a relatively short time and this would be a long term project, it’s easier for no one to think past collecting tax dollars from some and giving them to others. It may be inefficient and disempowering to all parties involved, but the framework is already there and it’s easy.
I think this is the most political thing I’ve ever written here in over three years of posting! 🙂