Direct Seeding For the Win
If you want to grow a cutting garden this summer but don’t want to spend tons of time getting it started, direct seeding may be perfect for you!
Direct seeding is a method of seed starting that is super easy. You plant the seeds right in the soil of the garden bed where they’ll grow and stay. There are specific types of flowers that grow great this way and there are others that need more of a controlled environment to start, so they do best getting their start inside to then be transplanted outside.
Some benefits of direct seeding in the cutting garden include:
Time: You save a lot of time direct seeding and allowing plants to grow outside versus seed starting indoors, caring and watering for them, and then transplanting them.
Space: Seed starting indoors can take up a lot of space! Not everyone has room for or wants seed starting shelves, grow lights, or a greenhouse at their home so direct seeding right in the garden soil takes care of this issue and saves lots of space!
Easy: I absolutely love the varieties of flowers that can be direct seeded. They make my job as the gardener easier, I can plant them in the soil and then watch them grow!
Below are some of my favorite types of flowers and foliage to direct seed:
Helpful tips when picking out seeds and direct seeding:
Make sure you follow the seed packet or search online for growing information. Some seeds are buried under the soil when planted (need darkness to germinate) and others actually need sunlight to help them sprout and grow (light needed to germinate).
Pay attention to the spacing that the plant prefers, this can commonly be found on the seed packet. For example, I space my zinnias 9 inches apart, but space my cosmos 12 inches apart. Following the recommended spacing helps your plants to thrive in their preferred conditions.
When selecting seeds pay attention to wording on the seed packets, if you’re growing flowers to cut them and enjoy in bouquets, you’ll want to steer clear of varieties that are referred to as “dwarf” in the description. Their stems will be too short to cut and work with in a bouquet. Often you’ll see in seed catalogs or a packet words like “excellent cutting variety” to indicate that this variety will have long stems and is a tried and true cutting garden flower.
Seed source recommendations for the home gardener: Johnny Seeds, Baker Creek Seeds, Redemption Seeds
