How to Choose the Right Seeds for Your Garden

So, you’re ready to start growing plants from seed indoors for your outdoor garden, but how do you know what seeds to get? Which ones are best for your garden? Which seed sellers can you trust? These tips will help you find good sources suitable for your growing zone.

This is part of a series, Indoor Seed Starting for Beginners | Sow Indoors Grow Outdoors, where I walk you through the process from seed to garden. It’s all the information I wish I had when I was getting started.

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How to Choose the Best Seeds for Your Garden

Contents

1 Find Locally-Grown Seeds (if possible)

2 Use Organically-Grown Seeds

3 Choose Non-Invasive Species

4 Check Growing Conditions and Days to Maturity

How to Find Your Frost Dates and Hardiness Zone

5 Fresh is Best

6 Pay Attention to Seed Quantities

Seed Sources

Summary

How to Choose the Best Garden Seeds

Once you’ve been seed starting for a while, you will very likely fall in love. Not just with the seed starting process, which is beautiful and amazing, but with the companies that grow (and/or sell) the seeds as well.

It’s no coincidence that we gardeners go ape for seed catalogs, poring over those listings during dark, winter days, marking way too many pages, and daydreaming of days to come in the garden.

Even on the coldest days, with a garden buried in snow, the garden torch is ignited all over again, and it’s quite magical (in a most natural way).

So how do you know what seeds to buy? To trust? To grow? Here’s some tips.

1Find Locally-Grown Seeds (if possible)

The plants we grow outdoors need to be suitable for our local climate and growing conditions to ensure a long, happy, productive life.

As you read this, keep in mind that plants don’t read maps or human-made boundaries, and similar growing zones can span huge swaths of land.

My first choice for a seed company is one that grows the perennial plants (that produce the seeds) in my area. This makes it very likely that we are dealing with similar growing conditions, and, at minimum, I know our plants experience the same climate and weather.

Soil conditions may be the wild card, but similar average temperatures and weather conditions are important.

Annuals are in a category all their own. Any single-season plants allow us opportunity to experiment with all sorts of varieties from near and far. Just always avoid anything self-seeding known to be invasive. This explains more about the difference between annuals and perennials.

Related: The History of Seed and Nursery Catalogs for Gardeners

2Use Organically-Grown Seeds (When Available)

The next (and equally important) thing to check for is growing practices.

On seed packets the word “organic” indicates the seed producer is legally certified as an organic grower.

If a (certified) organic approach to seed production is important to you, buying organic seeds is a way to support this.

Most seeds sold to home gardeners are not organically-grown though so availability is not great.

For home gardening practices, the word “organic” is somewhat confusing and contradictory. with no set or shared meaning. You cannot assume anything when someone says they are an “organic gardener”—it’s always enlightening to ask specific questions about garden practices to learn more.

3Choose Non-Invasive Plants

Invasive plant and animal species are such a huge problem in regions around the globe. As gardeners, and stewards of this earth, it’s our job to keep informed and grow plants that are suited to our growing regions, causing no harm and/or environmental destruction. Local insects and wildlife need the habitat they have evolved with. Invasive species don’t play by the rules.

Many areas have some sort of governing body or conservation authority to monitor invasive species and advise the public on current concerns, efforts to control the problems, and regulations. With the right information and actions, we can each become part of the solution.

Another snag is the fact that some of the most insidious invasive plants are actually sold at garden nurseries. They can be old favorites like creeping ivy ground covers that were readily used for many years and now prove to be nightmares.

Do your homework before making plant choices. And double-check your sources. Some seed sellers may not know that those pretty morning glories will prove to be a relentless enemy in your garden.

4Check Growing Conditions and Days to Maturity

So, you’ve found a local seed grower, or one that is suited to your area, with organic growing practices, that avoids invasive species. The next thing to check is the practical matters: will this seed work in your garden and have enough time to mature before winter?

Seed catalogs and seed packets are filled with vital information that can ensure your success. Read everything. These seed producers have spent a lot of time growing and testing these plants to zero-in on the best practices and optimum conditions.

Related: How to Read Seed Packets

Look at how many days it takes the seed to mature (from seed—or, sometimes, germination to harvest, fruiting, or flowering). It’s usually listed in days. How many days do you have from last frost in spring to first frost in fall? Is there enough time? Do they recommend starting the seeds indoors to gain more time?

Also, look at the recommended outdoor growing conditions. Does the plant need sun, shade, or part-shade? Does it like well-drained soil? Sand, loam, or clay? Are there plants it doesn’t like to grow near? Are there any special instructions for preparing the seeds for germination like a chilling period, scratching the seed coat, or pre-soaking the seeds?

Read all you can and determine if it sounds like a good fit for your gardening style and conditions.

5Fresh is Best

Even within one plant, the health and quality of seeds can vary greatly. You may notice this on a plant with many flowers: some flowers may be gorgeous and huge; others may be small and less vibrant. Unless a seed collector has marked each bloom, they will collect seeds from all the flowers, and that results in a mixed lot. Nothing wrong with that: it’s just a reason why you can’t expect greatness from every seed.

In general, seeds are viable for a period of 1 to 5 years. Yes, there have been instances of seeds that are thousands of years old that still germinate, but that’s rare and good luck where the storage conditions happened to be beneficial for a long period of time. For us at home, even well-stored, good quality seeds are fairly short-lived. This has more tips on the best seed storage conditions.

The fresher the seed, the more viable it is, meaning the more likely it is to sprout and grow. Most seed companies list germination rates in percentages: and this tells you, of all the (fresh) seeds you sow, how many should sprout (if they are sown correctly).  An 80% germination rate means, for every 10 seeds you sow, approximately 8 of those should sprout—while the seeds are still fresh.

Many seeds do not have a 100% germination rate from the start. That’s just the way nature is. You will notice that germination rates can vary a lot with different plant species. Some have great rates (80-90%), and others are super stubborn (40-50%).  This is why we always sow more than we are hoping for. Some seeds are simply duds, no matter how fresh they are.

Another consideration for freshness is this: just because you bought the seeds recently doesn’t mean they are fresh. Some seed companies list a use-before date on the package. If you’re shopping in-person, check for this. It doesn’t mean the seeds expire on that date, but it does mean that the older the seeds, the lower the germination rates (lower than the rates listed on the seed packet), and that date marks a distinct turning point. Onions are the famous example: after a year, those seeds can be total duds. Tomato seeds are often good germinators for 2-3 years. Broccoli seeds can be good for 4-5 years. Meanwhile, I have tomato seeds I saved from heirloom fruit that are still sprout reliably over 10 years later, so it varies a lot.

Some gardeners toss old seeds. I hang onto them and test them using this seed germination test. More often than not, I find they are still somewhat viable, though I may have to grow extras to compensate for diminished germination rates.

6Pay Attention to Seed Quantities

This one goes unnoticed until you get a bad deal. The number of seeds in a seed packet can vary greatly. Some seeds are more expensive than others, and, to avoid sticker shock, sometimes there are very few seeds in a packet. Some list the number of seeds, others list the quantity by weight, so it can be hard to compare.

I have mentioned my obsession with new, patented coneflower (Echinacea) hybrids, and sometimes there are perhaps 10 seeds in the envelope. Boo! That’s something to watch out for when you’re hoping to grow a lot and the germination rates are low!

Seed Sources

Shop at Home First

Unless you’re brand new to this, you may already own some seeds. Are they sorted, in good shape, properly stored, and noted for freshness? If not, take time to do this. You may find that you already own the very seeds you were about to buy.

This shares how I keep my seeds organized and easy to locate.

If you are interested in the best conditions for seed storage, this article on storing seeds at home has tips.

Seed Companies

• Canadian Seed Companies
• American Seed Companies

Each year, when I order seeds, I try to spread my order out over several seed companies to give each of them some business. It’s not the best for shipping costs, but I truly appreciate what they are doing (and how hard working they are for very little returns), and it’s a good way to say thanks.

Other options include seed swaps (in-person or online), bartering, bulk-buying with friends, and learning to save your own seeds.

Seeds sold at dollar stores are hit and miss. Sometimes you’ll find recognizable brand name seeds there for a great price but for smaller quantities.

Summary

Look for seeds that are:

• Suitable for your growing zone
• Non-invasive
• Organically-grown (if available)
• Suitable for indoor seed starting
• Fresh! Viability decreases with time. Check seed packets for dates.

Keep in mind that even with the best quality seeds, there will always be some duds, so start more than you hope to end up with.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛