How well you tend your plants, the sort of fertilizer and other care that you give them and that unidentified power over plants that people with green thumbs tend to possess will determine how well your garden grows.
But as every gardener knows, the quality of the seed you plant is as important in determining how well a plant grows, survives and thrives. The yield that you get also depends upon how good the seeds are to begin with. Apart from making sure that you source your seeds from a reputed supplier, here’s how you can go about selecting seeds for your garden:
Look for pure seeds
When you buy seeds, one of the most important things to look for is whether you’re buying just seed or other fillers along with them. Some seed packets may appear larger but could have fillers or grasses in them, which means that you’re paying for inert matter, stuff other than actual seeds.
Combination packages may be a good idea
Some producers can offer you good deals if you decide to buy combinations of different seeds. This can turn out to be more economical than paying for individual packets.
Consider buying local seeds
Though it can be tempting to have some exotic and unusual looking plants in your garden, these will typically mean a lot more TLC for the plant. Also transplanting a species in an environment that is not naturally its own can have ecological consequences and the plant may fail to thrive. So it is advisable to choose seeds based on where you live – your region, the type of soil you have there, and so on.
Consider whether organic hybrids are a good idea
Though organically grown seeds are generally a good idea, organic hybrids may be something to beware of. It can be really difficult (if not impossible) to save the seeds from these plant varieties, because hybrids are the first generation offspring of two different plants. So you have to keep buying seeds anew each growing season.
Save your own seeds
This is obviously a great idea because it prevents the need to keep purchasing new seeds each growing season. This is because the seed that you harvest from your own garden is likely to be the best in terms of resistance to disease, resilience, and longevity.
So buy good quality seed to begin with, nurture your plants well and then save your own seed for the next growing season.