Seed Starting 101 (Part 1): Direct Sow vs Transplant

Direct Sowing vs Transplants

So you have your garden space all set up and now you’re ready to plant but don’t know where to begin? Maybe you’re deciding whether to buy transplants from your local nursery, start your seeds indoors or direct sow straight into the garden? Well you’re in the right place, in this post I will go over all of the details on how to choose between direct sowing and transplanting as well as the advantages of each method.

There are two main methods to starting seeds. You can choose to start them indoors, buy transplants or you can direct sow them straight into the garden. While each method has its pros and cons, choosing to direct sow or plant transplants depends on a few factors such as your climate, growing seasons, number of growing days and the needs of each particular crops that you are starting.

Seed starting Conditions

There are a few things to keep in mind before you decide whether you should direct sow your seeds straight into the garden or use transplants. For starters, seeds require ideal conditions such as certain temperature ranges and consistent moisture in order to germinate. So it is important to know your climate and growing requirements, such as germination temperature and correct growing season, of each plant in order to be successful.

Climate & growing seasons

The first thing that you want to do when deciding whether to direct sow or use transplants is to get to know your climate and growing seasons. If you read my Guide to Starting a Garden then you are already a little familiar with this. First, you want to know your growing zone, this is important for knowing when your first and last frost dates are. Knowing your frost dates will help you determine your number of frost-free growing days that you have in a year which will also help you determine how many days are in your growing season. If you don’t know what zone you are in you can go to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to find out. While it is important to know which zone you are in, it only tells you so much about your particular climate. There are typically four growing seasons which includes a cold, cool, warm and hot season but depending on where you live you may only have some of those growing seasons. For example, I live in central Florida, zone 9a, and here I do not get a cold season but I do have a cool, warm and hot season. You can get to know which seasons you have by taking a look at your average temperatures for each month of the year, this will help you know when your seasons start and end. You also want to know what season each crop grows best in so that you can determine when and how to start your seeds.

Germination Temperatures

The next thing to keep in mind when deciding which seeds to transplant or direct sow is to take germination temperatures for each plant into consideration. Seeds can germinate in a wide range of temperatures but the optimum growing temperatures for most seeds tends to be between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. If your soil is too cold many seeds will fail to germinate until the soil warms or the seeds will have inconsistent germination rates. Most cool season crops such as lettuce and onions benefit from having cooler temperatures while warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers like their temperatures to be on the warmer side. There are also many flower crops that need to be cold stratified in order to germinate. This is the process in which seeds are exposed to cold, damp conditions of winter in order to break their dormancy, so they benefit from being directly sown in colder climates in order to germinate successfully. Knowing the needs of each plant will help you determine which planting method is best.

direct sowing

Direct sowing is the method of planting your seeds straight into your garden. Wherever you choose to plant your seeds, whether it’s in the ground, a raised bed or container, is where your plants will start and end their lifecycle. Direct sowing has its advantages and deciding to direct sow can depend on a few factors.

Advantages of direct sowing

• Minimizes Root Disturbance

  • Some plants have delicate root systems or long taproots and do not like their roots to be disturbed. Disturbing the roots during the transplant process can result in transplant shock and stunted growth in your seedlings. Crops that do not like their roots disturbed include beans, peas, and most root crops such as carrots and radishes. Therefore it is beneficial to sow your seeds directly into the garden in order to avoid disturbing the roots.

• Environmental Factors

  • Some seeds such as larkspur and poppies for example like to germinate under colder temperatures or need a cold stratification in order to germinate. Direct sowing these types of seeds will give them the environmental conditions that they favor. Cool season crops such as lettuce, onions and beets also benefit and tend to grow better when sown in cooler conditions.

• No Special Supplies or Hardening Off

  • Seed starting supplies can be costly and caring for your indoor seedlings can be time consuming. With direct sowing there is no added cost of seed starting supplies or extra work from needing to harden off your plants. Simply direct sow your seeds into the garden and that’s where they will stay.

Transplanting

Transplanting is the process of starting seeds in containers or buying transplants from a nursery and then planting them out into the garden. Choosing to start your seeds indoors or buying plants has it’s own advantages and disadvantages depending on your needs and climate.

advantages of transplanting

• Earlier Harvests & Extended Seasons

  • When seeds are started indoors you have the advantage of harvesting your crops earlier and longer. This is because by the time your last frost date comes around you already have a healthy transplant to plant out into the garden. This will allow you to get a jump start and extend your growing season. Starting your seeds indoors or buying transplants from your local nursery is ideal for those that live in colder climates or those with short growing seasons. In my case, here in Florida we have a short cool season so I like to start my cool season plants in the late summer and early fall indoors so that I can have transplants ready to plant out as soon as the weather cools down. If I chose to direct sow my crops instead of use transplants then I would not get to harvest many things before the weather gets too hot, especially those long season crops that require a lot of growing days.

• Succession Planting

  • Another advantage to starting your seeds indoors is succession planting and more growing space in your garden. Once a crop is done you will have a transplant ready to take it’s place which in turn will allow you to grow more food or flowers in a season. Succession planting also helps to keep a continual supply of food and flowers in your garden all growing season long. Once a particular season ends you will have transplants for the next season ready to plant out. It also helps with the planning process, allowing you more time to decide where you want to place your plants.

• Controlled Environment

  • Since seeds require specific growing conditions in order to thrive, you are better able to control the temperature, moisture and light levels for your seedlings if you start them indoors.

• Reduced Pest Pressure & Inclement Weather

  • One big pain that comes with direct sowing is the risk of pests eating your young seedlings. I can’t tell you how many times that I have direct sown seeds in the garden only to have them eaten by cutworms, snails or birds leaving me to restart seeds and get behind on the growing season. Given that you have healthy transplants, your plants will be big enough and better equipped to handle the pest pressure and inclement weather by the time that they make it out to the garden. If you have extra transplants then you will have back ups incase something happens to your first ones.

Buy transplants or start seeds indoors

Now comes the question of whether you should start your own seeds indoors or buy plants from your local nursery. There is nothing wrong with buying your plants from your local nursery and it has it’s own advantages. By choosing to buy your plants you don’t have to worry about the extra work of starting seeds indoors or hardening them off. Some plants are tricky to start from seed so it can save you the trouble by buying certain plants as starts. One disadvantage to buying transplants is that you run the risk of introducing new diseases or pests into your garden if you happen to buy unhealthy plants. Don’t let that discourage you from buying plants, you just need to know what to look for when plant shopping. Healthy plants will have green leaves, new growth and have no signs of disease or pests while you want to avoid plants that are leggy, have pests or discolored leaves.

I personally prefer to start my own seeds for a few reasons. For starters, whether you’re growing flowers, vegetables and even many perennials, growing your plants from seeds gives you some great advantages verses buying plant starts from your local nursery. Not only is it rewarding to watch your little seedlings grow into productive plants but you will also get a jump start on your garden by starting your seeds indoors faster than you would if you waited for the plants to become available at the nursery. Growing from seed also gives you a much larger selection of plants that you can grow and you know exactly how your plants were grown and what went into them. Not only will you have so many different unique varieties to choose from but this will also allow you to choose varieties that are better suited for your particular climate. You’ll be able to choose varieties that may handle the heat better or ones that are more disease resistant. Lastly, it ends up being cheaper in the end when you start your own seeds, buying transplants can add up quickly depending on the size of your garden but a seed packet will only cost your a few dollars and reward you with many plants for a fraction of the price, plus you can always sell those extra plants!

Happy planting!

I hope that you found this information helpful and if you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments below! Also, if you found this post to be valuable I would greatly appreciate if you spread the love by to sharing or pinning this post! Good luck and happy planting!

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