Seeds to Grow Vegetables

You can grow many vegetables successfully from seeds.

Some varieties of vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, do better in a garden when they are transplanted as seedlings. You can sow others directly into garden soil as soon as the soil temperature reach 65 degrees or higher. The primary reason for using seeds to grow vegetables instead of seedlings is due to root disturbances. Crops such as corn, beans, peas and carrots do not tolerate having their root systems disturbed by transplanting and must be started from seeds right in the garden.

Sweet Corn and Other Varieties of Corn

Corn is perhaps one of the easiest seeds from which to grow vegetables. It is very hardy and can tolerate early spring soil conditions, provided that the soil is warm enough. Pay attention to the gestation period on the seeds when you plant them. For example, SugarPearl corn seeds have a gestation period of 73 days before harvest. Other varieties, such as Illini Sweet, take 85 days. Corn should be planted in rows on the outer edges of your garden. Make sure to separate different corn varieties by at least 5 feet to avoid cross pollination and hybridization.

Beans - Pole and Bush

Bush and pole bean varieties can tolerate direct sowing very well. As the name suggests, pole beans will need to be staked for proper growth, but bush beans can generally grow without any extra support. Beans are another row crop and do well in sunny areas of the garden where they will receive plenty of water. The gestation period for bush beans generally ranges from 50 to 56 days and, if harvested regularly once bean pods are mature, they produce throughout the summer. Pole beans have a gestation period of about 60 to 75 days and may produce more if harvested as the pods mature.

Carrots

Carrots need a very loose soil mix that is porous to allow plenty of water to go beneath the surface to the root. Carrot seeds are very tiny; sow them en masse. The key to successful carrot growing is to take your seed packet, and empty it along a row that is approximately 5 feet long. Cover the seeds with 1 inch of soil. Once the seedlings appear, thin them out to one plant for every 3 to 4 inches. The gestation period for carrots is typically from 70 to 80 days.

Potatoes

Potatoes are one of the first crops you can plant in your garden and many prefer to follow the advice of the "Farmer's Almanac" and plant them on Good Friday every year. You do not need to wait for the soil temperature to warm up to plant potatoes, they prefer cool soil as they mature. The best rule of thumb to follow is to wait two weeks before the last anticipated frost before planting. Plant the potato buds 1 to 2 inches deep in fertilized soil and mound the soil over the bud. Space your mounds out at least 1 foot apart.

References

• Vegetable Gardening Ideas: Growing Vegetables from Seed
• "Mother Earth News"; When and How to Plant Potatoes; Cheryl Long; April 2007