Patience is not one of my stronger virtues. The saying, “Haste makes waste” haunts me frequently.
Sweet William
However, I have managed to grow a biennial (Sweet William) from seed! A biennial flower does not bloom until its second year, so you can imagine the patience that I needed to grow such a plant.
It has been exciting to see the different blooms appear.
Plants of blooming size sell for $5.99 at a local nursery. I estimate that I have about 9 plants about that size, so I essentially turned about 10¢ into $54! Ka-ching! I love saving money in the garden, and starting your own plants from seed is a fabulous way to do that.
Sweet William
Last spring I wrote a tutorial on the basics of starting seeds. One of the seeds that were featured were these Sweet William plants in seedling form. Since I wasn’t picky about variety, the inexpensive 20¢ seeds suited me just fine. So far they have been beautiful and long-lasting blooms; they have given me a great return on my investment of time and money.
Have you ever started your own plants from seed? What type of seed has saved you the most money?
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I’ve started many plants for my garden this year from seeds, but have not had the luck I has hoping for. Still, it’s early in the game so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that at least the pepper seeds I mail ordered will live to produce a yield, as I can’t buy these plants locally. If not, it’s back to the farms for a bushel to can.
Pepper seeds have been a slow starters for me. I’m going to try them again now that it’s warmer. They usually don’t produce until it cools down in the fall here anyway, so I’m not in a huge rush. If you still have time in your zone, you could try starting them in flats outside. Keep an eye on the soil for dryness, but you should be able to get adequate sunlight and heat.
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