Gardening > Growing FoodFebruary 25, 2010

Growing Vegetables From Seeds

I am a beginning gardener and I would like to grow veggies with my kids. I was wondering what seeds are easiest. Also, can I use seeds I already have in the house like a peach seed or apple seeds? Can I plant seeds I cut from cucumbers? Do I need to dry out the seeds first? I'm just curious what will grow and what won't?

Hardiness Zone: 9a

By Michelle from Phoenix, AZ

Answers

Read answers for this post below.

By
03/01/2010

Hybrid seeds don't do well. One time, I planted a canteloupe seed from a store bought, and wound up with a little tiny melon. The tiny melon was cute, but nothing more.

We have been growing heirloom tomatoes, and they keep coming back year after year. Bugs get to some of the tomatoes, so I just leave them on the garden ground, and the next year we have more tomato plants. Last season, I guestimated we had 200 to 300 heirloom tomato plants, and not enough room for them all to grow.
Radishes grow in about a month here, but children might not like their taste. I'm zone 5a.

By
02/27/2010

Thanks everyone for the input keep the advice coming! We did plant a peach pit in the back yard and some apple seeds I guess I'm still in denial it will work. Time will tell.

I am curious why many people are suggesting to put in a wet paper towel and let spout first is that a better plan or can I just plant outside? We have had a lot of wet weather recently and it is perfect planting time!

By
02/26/2010

Apple seeds, grapefruit, lemon, & lime (& avocado) have all grown for me. Just take the seeds - put between 2 layers of paper towel (moist) & put in a zip loc baggie. Wait for the sprouting (you'll see it!) then plant. Avocados of course you suspend over water with toothpicks. I'm a zone 6 so can't help much more than that. As missbes99 mentions, beans are a great thing to do. marg s.

By
02/26/2010

You know what great for kids and grows so easy is beans. Kids love to watch them grow and they sprout within a few days. You can even put them in a papertowel with a few seeds and wet the papertowel and stick in into a plastic baggie so the kids can see it happening. After they sprout you can take the papertowel and put them in a pot and watch them produce!

By
02/26/2010

Michelle, I love to try interesting things and I have planted and grown an unusual plant from a Mango seed. Yep, ate the Mango, cleaned the seed up a bit and stuck in a pot of potting soil. Took about a month and lo and behold up came a sprout. After it's developed its second set of leaves, pinch the entire top off (sorry, I hate to do that too) and soon it will begin to make more leaves and branch into a tree. It is an interesting plant, new leaves are purple which then turn green. I don't expect any Mango's but its different!

By
02/26/2010

Michelle, here in the low desert, you can grow something during every season. I have snow peas bearing right now and lots of lettuce. I have some snow peas where I planted them last year, came up from some dropped. More and more people are growing their own food.

I have a gardening group on Yahoo, PhoenixGardenersExchange. If you would like to join, we have Master Gardeners in the group who are always willing to answer questions. Pat

By
02/25/2010

Tomatos seeds are great, right from the tomato and into a hole in the ground.

You can cut up a potato that has started to root and plant that. It will grow into beautiful green leaves and after the season there will be baby potatoes under them.

Also, a great thing to do is to buy a bag of pinto beans and plant them all out in the garden. They grow bushels and bushels of green beans and you can eat them off the vine, they are so good.

I am sure that sweet potatoes are the same, they have such beautiful vines, they are related to the morning glory vine. Sweet potatoes are great detoxifiers for the body.

I dont have much luck with carrots for some reason.

Most seasons, I save seeds from when I eat tomatoes and throw them out in the garden. Whichever ones come up, when I see them and they are about two or three inces high I transplant them where I want them to be. I throw seeds of tomaotos to test the soil to...if they come up the soil is good, if they dont, it needs a little organic matter dug into it. I don't really mess with all that very much. I am partial tot he green beans from pinto beans and the tomatoes!

Blessings,


Robyn

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