Gardening seeds is the choice you have made for this years vegetable garden instead of seedlings. When you choose those gardening seeds always read the fine print first to see if they give planting instructions, the quantity of seeds in the packet, how fresh the seeds are and their survival rate. If they do not give you this info you should then try another brand of seed in order to get the best results.
In order to tell how fresh the vegetable gardening seeds are there should be a 'packed for' or 'us by' date on the packet. This stamped date will probably be in the area where you tear open the packet. Before opening the seed packet write that date on another part of the package for your reference. If the planting instructions are well detailed the easier it will be for you the gardener and the seeds grow properly, you most likely will use that brand of seed again. You really do not want to feel the packet to try to figure out how many seeds are in it, so make sure they give the quantity. Sometimes the viability of the seeds will vary; European seeds or seeds from reliable mail order companies will tell you the percentage of germination and also a testing date. This tells you the company has already tested the seed which is a good sign.
The seeds you buy primarily are developed to germinate in soil that is moist, this informs the seeds they get regular rain and will start developing delicate roots and leaves; it also tells them not to worry about drought. If they are planted in dry soil it indicates to them that you are going to give them water and Seed Company will expect it on a regular basis. No matter how you plant the seeds you are going to have to make time to water them especially if you do not get spring or summer rain on a regular basis.
We usually have a habit of planting all the seeds that are provided, but it is always better to plant sparingly. Most of the smaller seeds that are packaged provide us with more than we need; you can plant all the seeds if you are planning to store the produce for future use. For instance a normal packet of garden lettuce seeds contain enough seeds for one hundred potential heads of lettuce. So try not planting the whole packet, only about one quarter or less of the seeds.
Make the spacing between your plants wide at the beginning. The closer you plant the seeds the more thinning out you need to do. Some of us do not thin out until it is time to eat the produce and that may end up damaging the roots of those plants that you leave in the ground. By planting farther apart in the beginning gives the plants more elbow room and they do not have to compete with one another. When you plant any of your seeds it is best to insert stakes at the start of each row, the wider the stake the better so you can write the seed source, plant date, the vegetable you are growing and any other important information that is needed to harvest the crop. This will give you an upper hand when planting your vegetable garden next year.
Planting vegetable garden seeds is one way to introduce the world of gardening to young children. If you decide to plant seedlings young children may be afraid to handle them because they might 'break'. I do not think anyone can damage a seed garden. It is a good idea for you to dig the hole for the younger child but have him drop the seed and then cover with soil. An older child can do the digging himself with your guidance. You can give a small watering can to each one and show him where to water and what days they need to water. When it comes time for harvesting always let these young gardeners help with the vegetables they planted. They will get a thrill out of seeing real vegetables emerge from the vegetable gardening seeds they planted earlier.
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