As someone who lives in Northern Alberta Canada where our growing season can be quite short, I would appreciate a head start. I too live in a small space with a small balcony and therefore have to heavily curate what I can plant. Having some professional help would definitely be a bonus and prevent wasting my resources with my experimental gardening due to lack of experience.
There may be something similar in Canada? At least plug plants which you can grab from veggie shops / garden centres but yep it is the added calendar and time instructions which are really appealing!
I can get lots of plants at the store in spring but not until May. Can’t plant anything here until last frost which is usually 3rd week of May. Anything planted outdoors before that will most likely die.
I think in this day and age is worth it to take advantage of what you can. If you know you don't have adequate space to give all the plants you want to grow a good start, then it's not really cheating is it? What's the difference between using that service (which sounds amazing!!) And buying starts from a garden store? There are a few things I'll easily plant myself (potatoes and onions mostly) but most other things I buy already started. I would love it if a service like that existed here in the states!
You're right I think it's the same as buying starts from a garden centre... But it comes with the added convenience of planning in what bed they should go and when! That's maybe where the romantics of planting are being a little lost... But there still the satisfaction of nursing it to full health!
I love that idea that it's curated for exactly what you need when you need it! That takes so much of the guesswork out of it and then wondering what to do when and forgetting to start stuff and having it be late (story of my life... 🤦♀️). But then harvesting it on time is still up to me! 🤣
I say team cheat - although, in my mind, it's not really cheating. It's accepting a helping hand. You have so little space to grow enough seeds that will germinate and the disappointment of nothing coming up is palpable. It's the same with chopping wood. We could do it but it takes a lot of time that we don't have. Much better to get a delivery of wood, we still get to stack it and burn it on the fire and enjoy it, with no guilt!!
Definitely NOT cheating!! As a former smallholder, Rocket Garden plug plants helped me out on a couple of occasions. Being able to plant out an entire veg patch in a couple of hours and get them safely under cover to start filling out, left me free to get the next round of plants and seeds sown in the polytunnel. It really gets you in the swing of things and stirs up the growing frenzy that usually follows. ❤️
Hi Gabby. There’s no such thing as cheating with gardening and with other commitments of a tiny family whatever works is good. Personally I can’t think of anything more exciting than watching those first shoots appear, so maybe a combination of early plugs and then sowing yourself once the warmer weather is here. Seed sowing and raising on a boat definitely has its challenges. Just have fun growing whatever you do
The "rules" about how to do things "properly" are often arbitrary. In a sense, someone buying seeds or mulch or whatever is cheating too, right? Maybe they should collect it themselves...
I think everyone should do what works best for them, as long as it isn't somehow very damaging to others or the environment :)
Well that's a very good point... I love the idea of seed swaps, but that's definitely not helping the time saving notion here! A bit of both is the winner!
Team cheat!!!! There is a life season for everything. It’s ok to choose sprouted seeds at this season! You still get to watch it grow and harvest! Life balances. So hard. Love the blog!
I do a mix of growing seedlings & buying starts/plugs from my local independent garden centre - it’s not cheating at all! ☺️ I also grew most of our Christmas veg last year, as well as all the ingredients for a massive batch of spiced pumpkin & red pepper soup, it was so rewarding
Surely this is the winning option! Any ones you particularly recommend to grow from seed rather than plug? Homegrown Christmas is the ultimate end to a growing year!
I think the easiest things to grow from seeds are beans, peas, and any salad-y bits - especially runner beans, those seedlings take off pretty quickly! Weirdly, I’ve found tomatoes to be easy from seed, but peppers are fussier 🤔
Brassicas are what I usually buy as plugs, also & shallot onion sets instead of seeds. Oh, and plenty of potatoes!
If you’re thinking of getting any fruit trees, I would recommend an M27 rootstock as they’re the shortest - perfect size for a little allotment patch, I have some local Cornish heritage apples in mine ☺️
This is super helpful, love the recommendations, thank you! Would be great to introduce some fruit trees, we just have two inherited raspberry crops which gave us about 3 raspberries this year! And we're the same with tomatoes actually, we normally do a mix of tomatoes from seeds and starters from garden centres - we had about half and half success rate with the garden centre plants last year! Hope you have a successful year!!
oh nice! I planted a raspberry last year too, it had quite a good fruiting season down here in Cornwall, I’ve now added a blueberry and a blackcurrant, and I’m thinking about loganberries and/or gooseberries. Best of luck with the growing to you too! ☺️
I think that your circumstances i.e. lack of room for lots of seed trays means it's common sense
to go for the plugs and maybe as a backup plant a few seed trays for those that are eaten by the slugs etc. I have an allotment and a polytunnel, so seeds are easy for us.
Ah a polytunnel must be ace... Our little greenhouse was overrun with tomatoes this year (mainly due to our lack of pinching out!) but we could be a little more savvy with space!
I’ll be ordering some plugs for my allotment soon.Definitely made peace with doing things this way over the last few years as we have many hungry slugs and not much space to keep seedlings out of harms way.
Oh why thank you 😊 we've been a little quiet on here but getting back to it! Good to know you've been with the plug plants for a few years and sticking with it! Hope you have an abundant growing season too 🌱🌱
As someone who lives in Northern Alberta Canada where our growing season can be quite short, I would appreciate a head start. I too live in a small space with a small balcony and therefore have to heavily curate what I can plant. Having some professional help would definitely be a bonus and prevent wasting my resources with my experimental gardening due to lack of experience.
There may be something similar in Canada? At least plug plants which you can grab from veggie shops / garden centres but yep it is the added calendar and time instructions which are really appealing!
I can get lots of plants at the store in spring but not until May. Can’t plant anything here until last frost which is usually 3rd week of May. Anything planted outdoors before that will most likely die.
Time is precious I say go for the plugs to help your journey be a little easier xxx
I think in this day and age is worth it to take advantage of what you can. If you know you don't have adequate space to give all the plants you want to grow a good start, then it's not really cheating is it? What's the difference between using that service (which sounds amazing!!) And buying starts from a garden store? There are a few things I'll easily plant myself (potatoes and onions mostly) but most other things I buy already started. I would love it if a service like that existed here in the states!
You're right I think it's the same as buying starts from a garden centre... But it comes with the added convenience of planning in what bed they should go and when! That's maybe where the romantics of planting are being a little lost... But there still the satisfaction of nursing it to full health!
I love that idea that it's curated for exactly what you need when you need it! That takes so much of the guesswork out of it and then wondering what to do when and forgetting to start stuff and having it be late (story of my life... 🤦♀️). But then harvesting it on time is still up to me! 🤣
I say team cheat - although, in my mind, it's not really cheating. It's accepting a helping hand. You have so little space to grow enough seeds that will germinate and the disappointment of nothing coming up is palpable. It's the same with chopping wood. We could do it but it takes a lot of time that we don't have. Much better to get a delivery of wood, we still get to stack it and burn it on the fire and enjoy it, with no guilt!!
Absolutely - a helping hand is a lovely way to look at it!
Definitely NOT cheating!! As a former smallholder, Rocket Garden plug plants helped me out on a couple of occasions. Being able to plant out an entire veg patch in a couple of hours and get them safely under cover to start filling out, left me free to get the next round of plants and seeds sown in the polytunnel. It really gets you in the swing of things and stirs up the growing frenzy that usually follows. ❤️
Oh amazing that you've had experience with them... that's a great incentive for us to give it a go - thank you!
I'm not a gardener myself but plug in plants sound perfect; thats definitely the root 😂 I'd go down!
It's not cheating at all...it's just getting a little leg up from the start! Now, go forth and grow!! 👏
Thank you for the backing!!!!
Hi Gabby. There’s no such thing as cheating with gardening and with other commitments of a tiny family whatever works is good. Personally I can’t think of anything more exciting than watching those first shoots appear, so maybe a combination of early plugs and then sowing yourself once the warmer weather is here. Seed sowing and raising on a boat definitely has its challenges. Just have fun growing whatever you do
Thanks Fran - I'm coming to this way of thinking, the mixture seems the best route to go down!
Interesting approach, I hadn't heard of it!
The "rules" about how to do things "properly" are often arbitrary. In a sense, someone buying seeds or mulch or whatever is cheating too, right? Maybe they should collect it themselves...
I think everyone should do what works best for them, as long as it isn't somehow very damaging to others or the environment :)
Well that's a very good point... I love the idea of seed swaps, but that's definitely not helping the time saving notion here! A bit of both is the winner!
Team cheat!!!! There is a life season for everything. It’s ok to choose sprouted seeds at this season! You still get to watch it grow and harvest! Life balances. So hard. Love the blog!
Thanks so much Kim! It's a resounding team cheat!
It’s a sensible idea and one that I am seriously considering following my utterly poor attempt at allotmenting thus far ….! 😘
Sometimes you've just got to take the easier option! 🥕🥕🥕will let you know how we get on! ❤️
I do a mix of growing seedlings & buying starts/plugs from my local independent garden centre - it’s not cheating at all! ☺️ I also grew most of our Christmas veg last year, as well as all the ingredients for a massive batch of spiced pumpkin & red pepper soup, it was so rewarding
Surely this is the winning option! Any ones you particularly recommend to grow from seed rather than plug? Homegrown Christmas is the ultimate end to a growing year!
I think the easiest things to grow from seeds are beans, peas, and any salad-y bits - especially runner beans, those seedlings take off pretty quickly! Weirdly, I’ve found tomatoes to be easy from seed, but peppers are fussier 🤔
Brassicas are what I usually buy as plugs, also & shallot onion sets instead of seeds. Oh, and plenty of potatoes!
If you’re thinking of getting any fruit trees, I would recommend an M27 rootstock as they’re the shortest - perfect size for a little allotment patch, I have some local Cornish heritage apples in mine ☺️
This is super helpful, love the recommendations, thank you! Would be great to introduce some fruit trees, we just have two inherited raspberry crops which gave us about 3 raspberries this year! And we're the same with tomatoes actually, we normally do a mix of tomatoes from seeds and starters from garden centres - we had about half and half success rate with the garden centre plants last year! Hope you have a successful year!!
oh nice! I planted a raspberry last year too, it had quite a good fruiting season down here in Cornwall, I’ve now added a blueberry and a blackcurrant, and I’m thinking about loganberries and/or gooseberries. Best of luck with the growing to you too! ☺️
I think that your circumstances i.e. lack of room for lots of seed trays means it's common sense
to go for the plugs and maybe as a backup plant a few seed trays for those that are eaten by the slugs etc. I have an allotment and a polytunnel, so seeds are easy for us.
Ah a polytunnel must be ace... Our little greenhouse was overrun with tomatoes this year (mainly due to our lack of pinching out!) but we could be a little more savvy with space!
I’ll be ordering some plugs for my allotment soon.Definitely made peace with doing things this way over the last few years as we have many hungry slugs and not much space to keep seedlings out of harms way.
Hope you have an abundant food growing season.
Enjoying reading your Substack posts 🙂
Oh why thank you 😊 we've been a little quiet on here but getting back to it! Good to know you've been with the plug plants for a few years and sticking with it! Hope you have an abundant growing season too 🌱🌱
Looks like a great idea! Not expensive either, well obviously more expensive than seeds but much less stress 😁
It's not too bad is it! Was pleasantly surprised... 😌
I would be very tempted if I were in the Uk for sure. Good luck!
Not cheating at all, just helping nature along gently
A beautiful way of putting it 🌱🌱