Looking for How to start your own vegetable plants from seeds - Save money and grow better varieties! in 2024?  Scroll down this page and  follow the links. And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, make jam, salsa or pickles, see this page for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving directions. There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above.  If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

If you have questions or feedback, please let me know! There are affiliate links on this page.  Read our disclosure policy to learn more. 

How to start your own vegetable plants from seeds - Save money and grow better varieties!

How to start your own vegetable plants from seeds - Save money and grow better varieties!

Growing your own vegetable plants from seed is EASY - once you know the key tips!  And the plants you grow will cost only 1/20th of what buying the same (or not as good) plants from Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart or a nursery would cost! Okay, here's all you need - and then how, in simple steps, with photos!

Materials to grow vegetables from seeds:

You don't need much, and it's all inexpensive. How much of each you need depends upon how many plants you want to grow.  Let's assume you're going grow 22 plants (why 22?  Just wait; we'll get to that)

• Red Solo cups - at Costco you can get about 240 of them for $14 or at Sam's Club, $13. That's insane. That means, 22 would cost about $1.50. Of course, you could a smaller amount at the grocery store or Dollar Tree.
• Potting soil - At Sam's Club, a 55-quart bag of Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix is only $11.48.  You can of course get a smaller bag elsewhere, or save the excess for the next year in your shed. Do NOT think of using soil from the garden.  It will have fungus, bugs, bacteria and loads of weed seeds and you won't know which are the vegetables you planted and which are weeds. Terrible idea. For 22 plants, you'll use about 1/5 of the bag. Cost less than $3.
• Plastic spoons or plastic knives - These are your labels. Why buy plastic plant labels at 10 times the cost? Just write the plant name on the spoon or knife.  Tip: white plastic shows the names better than clear. If you want, you could also just write the name directly on the cups. Costco plastic spoons are about $10 for 600 spoons. Dollar store plastic spoons are about $1.25 for 48.
• Seeds - Most seed backs cost between $2 and $5 and have anywhere from a rip-off 15 seeds to 100 seeds.  Let's assume 2 packets at  at $6 total.
• Empty plant cup holding trays (ask at WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes etc if you may take an empty tray) Notice each tray holds 11 cups!
• MiracleGro or similar fertilizer - MiracleGro really does work.

 

Total cost for 22 plants =  $11 or 50 cents per plant

(plus fertilizer, but I didn't include that, because he cost is almost negligible, you use 1 tablespoon to a gallon of water. For 22 plants you may use a 1/2 gallon every 2 days, until the plants get bigger than 2 inches)

I typically start about 200 seedlings this way each year: tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, zucchini, lettuce, kale, rhubarb, broccoli, cabbage, etc.

 

Do the math:

Compare growing a year's worth of vegetable plants at home saves over $1,000:

 

• At Home Depot, 200 plants times ($5.28 plus tax $0.37) = $1,130
• Grown at home: 200 plants times $0.50 = $100.

 

The plants cost less than 1/10th what they do at the stores, and you get the exact varieties you want! 

  

Optional

Seed heating mats - These are thermostatic heating mats that you place underneath the tray and it warms the soil.  They cost around $15 each and last a lifetime. It cuts the time for the seeds to sprout in half. I put one tray under the mat, and one on top to maximum them!

 

Other needed equipment

• Hand trowel, scoop or just use one of the cups
• Scissors or something sharp - to poke one or 2 small holes in the side of the cups to let excess water out.
• Permanent marker - surely you have one of these

Method

When to start

Each veggie takes a different amount of time to germinate and to grow up to a size that can be transplanted into the garden (usually 3 to 6 inches in height).  Seed packets usually have this info on the back.  But, in general terms;

• Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers take about 4 to 6 weeks in total from seed to transplant,
• Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower take about 4 weeks
• Squash, cucumbers, melons take 3 or 4 weeks.
• Rhubarb takes 4 to 6 weeks
• Lettuce, kale, spinach and other greens usually take 2 or 3 weeks.

  

Step 1 - Get your seeds

Sure you can buy them online from Burpees at their super inflated prices... Their prices have become INSANE especially when you add their shipping charges.  But the odd thing is, you can buy Burpee, Ferry-Morse and other brands of seeds at WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes and even the local over-priced nursery for half the price. 

The real key is WHAT (or "which", for you grammar nerds)  variety/varieties do you want to grow and why?

• Heirloom varieties - advantage: usually great old time flavor.  Disadvantage: usually less productivity and less disease resistance
• Hybrids - Advantage: plant vigor and usually better disease resistance. Disadvantage: sometimes (not always) at the expense of flavor,
• Organic seeds - no advantage here at all.  Sorry to burst your overly-virtuous bubble, this is just a marketing scam to sell overpriced seeds.  Pretty much all seeds are "organic": in that they are tiny, protected from any sprays until they are harvested and there's no earthly way anything could make it from the exterior of a seed to the plant or fruit you would eat from the plant that then grew from the seed.  Don't waste your money on this scam

Assume a germination rate (what percentage of the seeds will sprout) over about 33%. It can be higher like, 80%, but you are new at this, so you may plant some too deep, too shallow, overwater, underwater.  Go with 33%. So if you want 22 plants, you'll need at least  66 seeds.

See this page for a Master List of Tomato varieties.

So pick the varieties you want and let's move on.

 

More related information

• Everything to know about vegetable seeds - Germination - temperature tables - How long does it take for each vegetable seed to germinate at various temperatures, what percentage germinates, how long can you keep seeds
• Vegetable Yields in the Home Garden and Farm - how much can you expect to harvest?
• Days to harvest for many vegetables - how long after to transplant a plant to the garden or sow seeds directly in the garden will it be until harvest?
• Growing tomatoes at home, detailed information and tips
• Proper storage conditions for vegetables: temperature, humidity and time in storage

 

Step 2 - Collect the other supplies

• Trays: Wherever they sell vegetable plants, ask if you can have an empty tray. Usually they don't mind. These trays are PEFECT to hold the solo cups and keep them from tipping over, even in a high wind!
• Potting soil: I find the best is the Miracle Grow in the blue bag with the moisture holding properties. Costco often sells this in the early Spring. But any seed starting or sterile potting soil will do.  DO NOT use soil from your garden or ordinary top soil, even in bags! I pour some soil into a bucket to make it easier to scoop!
• Red Solo Cups or similar
• Plastic spoons or plastic knives

 

Step 3 - Fill the cups 2/3 with potting soil

Put the cups into a tray (they usually hold 11 cups) and fill each cup 2/3 to 3/4 as shown in the images.

Why not fill to the top?  Because there will no place for water later!  When the plants get 2 to 4 inches tall, they will need a fair amount of water each day, and this void space is perfect to ahold the amount of water they will need!

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4 - Tamp the soil down, then add water

Take one cup with soil in it and use it to gently tamp down the soil 

 

Once tamped down, the soil should fill the cup to 2/3 full.

Then pour several ounces of water in each. Literally about 2 or 3 ounces of water.

You want the soil moist, but NOT soggy!

 

 

Step 5 - Punch a hole in the side of each cup, 1/3 up from the bottom

This step is a HUGE key as to why this method works!

This is IMPORTANT.  The hole, made with one side of a pair of Scissors, MUST be in the side, about one-third up from the bottom.

This is to allow excess water OUT, while keeping enough so capillary action can put it up to the soil above.  

This little hole is all that is needed for drainage.  It allows excess water to drain out, keeping the seedlings from becoming waterlogged, while also allowing the drainage to be slow enough to allow dry soil to absorb the water.

Never put the hole in the bottom of the cup or all the water will just drain out before the soil can absorb it. 

 

 

Step 6 - Add the seeds

Put 3 seeds in each cup, space apart, like the points of an equilateral triangle. The germination rate (how many seeds actually sprout) varies with variety of vegetable, the soil temperature and moisture and the age of the seeds. Most should have a germination rate of 70% or better... but putting 2 or 3 seeds in each cup ensures a good strong seedling will emerge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Step 7 - Cover the seeds

Add enough loose potting soil to cover each seed to 4 times the diameter of the seed.  If there is too much soil, the seedlings may not have the strength to push it aside and emerge.  Too little, and the seeds dry out and die.

 

• Lettuce or kale need only 1/8 of an inch of potting soil.
•  Tomato or pepper seed needs 1/4 inch of soil.
• Squash or cucumber seeds, about 1/3 inch of soil.

 

  

Step 8 - use a spoon to label each cup

Use the Sharpie to write the name of the veggie variety on the spoon. I use abbreviations that I will remember. 

Like BET for Better Boy tomato or K for kale, LET for lettuce, etc.

Whatever works for you!

 

Step 9 - Wet the soil in each cup with 5 or 6 sprays from a water spray bottle.

The idea of using the spray bottle is it gets that top covering layer of soil wet, without washing the soil off the seeds and uncovering them! 

Step 10 - Put the trays on the warming mat or in a sunny window

And now you wait for the seeds to sprout.  I use the spray bottle every couple of days to give each cup a 2 or 3 squirts to keep the soil moist but not soggy!

See this page for germination tables (how long till the seedlings emerge.  Usually it is between 5 and 10 days, although some seeds like rhubarb can take longer.

Step 11 - Once sprouted, move outside, water to keep moist

Obviously, if there is any danger of the temperature going below 40F, you will need to bring them back inside.  But the point is, they need sun! 

Water as needed, usually every other day, to keep the soil moist, but not soggy. 

Use MiracleGro or a similar liquid fertilizer. If you just water with plain water, the plants WILL die. At this stage, to grow quickly and become healthy, sturdy plants, I water them every day with MiracleGro (1 Tablespoon per gallon of water)

Step 12 - Planting in the garden

Once they have their 3rd or 4th set of true leaves (around 4 to 6  inches tall or higher) they are strong enough to plant out in the garden, just like the plants from the store. 

You can save the cups and reused them next year. I find they usually last 3 or 4 years, saving you the time to punch holes in new cups.

 

Related Pages

• Master list of tomato varieties - descriptions and links to get the seeds
• If you want to make tomato sauce, see our Master List of Roma and Paste Tomato Varieties for the Home Garden
• How to Grow Tomatoes in Your Yard or Patio - Everything you need to know
• Tomato plant diseases - symptoms and what to do
• See this list of disease-resistant tomato varieties

 

Related farms

 

 

Farm markets and roadside stands

Local Honey Finder

Local Meat, Milk and Eggs

Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party

Easter egg hunts

Children's consignment sales

Fruit and vegetable festivals

Winery tours and wine tastings

Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails

Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks

Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards

Pumpkin patches

Corn mazes

Zombie Paintball venues

Christmas Tree Farms & lots

Environmental resources

Consumer fraud information

Wholesale food sources

Resources for Farmers

Canning Books, Supplies and Accessories

These are my favorite essential canning tools, books and supplies. I've been using many of these for over 50 years of canning! The ones below on this page are just the sampling of. my preferred tools. but you can find much more detailed and extensive selections on the pages that are linked below.

• Vacuum Foodsealers for freezing, dried foods, and refrigerated foods - the FoodSaver line
• Selecting a KitchenAid mixer and attachments for home canning
• Steam Juicers
• Strainers, pit removers, seed-skin-stem removers, jelly strainers, etc. All types, makes and prices (from $19 to $350)
• Cherry pitters reviews, prices and ordering
• Food dehydrators - easy and fast to dry your own fruits, veggies, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.