How does Tee’s Select New Varieties?

Not many people have starting seeds as a top priority in January. Variety selection every year is like an open-ended research project. Typically, seed companies finalize their seed lists in the late fall, and start shipping shortly after. If you’re passionate about starting from seed, ordering early is essential to make sure you get what you want. Experienced gardeners know what’s best, and popular varieties often go out of stock by the time seed starting time begins.

Lesson #1: Research

There are so many varieties of basically everything available. Tomatoes are one of the more fun ones to shop for since there is an unmanageable variety to choose from. Spend some time to research the seed you’re buying, particularly from the seed’s breeder or the main seed company, not the seed retailing company. Make sure to check things like:

• Variety: Is it a popular variety? Does it have some desirable traits that you like?
• Region: Is the variety appropriate for your area? For example, check perennial hardiness zones if you want those to survive over the winter.
• Requirement for cold stratification: does the seed need to be exposed to the cold to simulate winter?
• How many seeds am I getting: Is this a competitive deal?
• Space: Do I have enough space to start the seeds? Research common seeding and transplant pot steps to determine how many seeds you’re able to start, or for how long. Tomatoes, for example, can go from perfect for transplant to “oh my goodness its huge” in about 2 weeks of extra time.
• Open Pollenated or Hybrid: This isn’t really the place for that lesson, but do you want to save seeds from your plants? Open pollenated seeds are probably the way to go for you. You can still save seeds from hybrid plants though – I’ve had success saving seeds from a dwarf yellow marigold, and while the results were nothing similar to the parent plant, the offspring are lovely. Who knows, I probably created my own hybrid since I wasn’t particularly careful about keeping the yellow marigold away from foreign pollen!
• Germination: Are the germination rates published for your packet? Be aware of how long seeds usually take to germinate so you can address crop failures early. It happens.
• Timing: Do I have enough time to get the seeds treated, sown, and transplanted? When do you plan to transplant? Counting back from that date instead of last frost works well for many crops.

Example: Imagine it’s starting to get nice out about mid-May, and you’ve decided to start a garden. You visit your local big-box store and select a bunch of perennial seeds since you’ve heard those are great for starting a garden! You sow your seeds, wait a few weeks, and and to your demise only a few have sprouted. Oh no. Your butterfly and bee perennials aren’t looking too good. You do some research and learn that the seeds actually had to be cold stratified, or otherwise, tricked into thinking its winter before they’re planted. It’s a survival mechanism that the seed uses to sprout in the spring. What’s worse? You realize stratification needed to be started almost 3 months ago by the time you realize an entire crop failure has occurred! You likely won’t be planting any milkweed this year, unfortunately. (Visit Tee’s though, we have lots)

Making sure you do a little preliminary research while purchasing seed can go a long way. Unfortunately, a lot of the information on seed packets sets you up for failure and make no mention of cold stratification. In my opinion, West Coast Seeds and William Dam Seeds offer the best packets in terms of information, and West Coast Seeds has particularly excellent information on their website for each variety they offer. They both also share the germination rates with you on the packet, as well as obviously stating the packing date for the seeds.

Lesson #2: Order by February 1st.

Especially if you’re focusing on flowers and perennials. It’s hard to mitigate issues if you’re forced to start seeds late, and it is especially disappointing when it was something you looked forward to planting. By ordering before February 1st, you allow time to find additional seeds or replacements if needed. You’re also more likely to have a full selection from most seed companies and not experience a collection of “sold out” seeds.

Happy plant shopping!