easy things to sow directly from seed

[sixshooter]

What are some easy things besides lettuce and peas (cool weather) that can be started from seed directly in the garden. Any expereience with swiss chard, chic peas, spinnache or anything else?

[rainbowgardener]

Swiss chard and spinach are also cool weather crops and yes they are easy to direct sow in the ground.

I also direct sow carrots and onions/chives, etc.

For warm weather stuff you can direct sow squash, cucumbers, melons, etc once the soil is well warmed up. Beans and corn are also usually planted directly in the ground (I soak them over night first.)

[sixshooter]

Cool have you ever grown chickpeas? Im not even sure if they grow up here in michigan.

[digitS']

I have grown chickpeas.

In fact, there are acres of them just south of here and I don't think you will have any trouble growing them in Michigan.

I wasn't too happy with their production. I had just planted chickpeas that I bought off the soopermarket shelf. I bet there are better varieties for the home gardener. You know, something that will make develop into a larger plant.

Chickpeas are not as cold-sensitive as beans. Plant 'em early!



Steve

[applestar]

I tried store-bought chickpeas and seed chckpeas last year (the year before last?) just for fun. The store-bought ones had lousy germination rate, IMO (I had similar experience with Fava beans and wondered if larger beans are heat dried. Beans/seeds sold for "microgreens" and "sprouts" germinate well, BTW, but I don't know if they are necessarily the appropriate variety for growing to maturity.)

I sowed them in front of tomatoes and other beds and forgot about them... then later on, I noticed a series of "weeds" that I didn't recognize. Since they were growing in a pattern, I reasoned that I must have planted *something* and let them grow and harvested a handful of chickpeas later in the season.

One thing. The Bountiful Gardens chickpea/garbanzo growing instructions say that once the pods have filled (I think) you shouldn't water them. So depending on local weather conditions -- i.e. if you normally get floods of rain around that time -- this may not work. I usually have drought, but fall rains start about a month before first frost. It's good to know they can be planted earlier.

[jal_ut]

All seeds can be started directly where they will grow. The only problem I have is with bugs getting after the little seedlings even before they come up, especially things of the cole family. It is necessary here to powder the area the day of planting to discourage the bugs.

I plant these early crops directly: carrots, peas, beets, lettuce, cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, radish, arugula, dill, spinach, chard, kale, onion, turnip.

I plant these warm weather crops directly: corn, beans, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, pumpkin.

I plant some onions from sets and some from plants.

I plant nursery plants for tomatoes and peppers. I have direct seeded tomatoes, but it is good to give them a head start.

[jal_ut]

Chickpeas are a tropical-subtropical plant. You may grow them in a temperate zone, but your yield will likely be way down. They should grow ok in the Southern states. My thoughts are: if curious, try it.

[soil]

I grow chickpeas all over and had great results. I used store bought organic chickpeas. There are a few things I like about them. They handled temps down to 25, produced all the way from spring to fall. Some of the plants produced well over 200 chickpeas each.

Oh yea, seeds I like to direct sow
Amaranth
Beans
Peas
Lettuce
Carrots
Beet
Corn
Melons
Squash
Pumpkins
Quinoa
Wheat
Barley
Chickpeas
Chia
Sunflower
Arugula
Breadseed poppy
Epazote
There are more but they slipped my mind ATM

[sixshooter]

Thanks soil and everyone else. One more little question. Do you think these plants sown directly will actually produce better than transplants bought at a greenhouse/farmers market? When i first started gardening a couple years ago, i just got used to buying the plants already started because it seemed easier and i believed that these plants would have a jump on a plant started from seed, however last year i planted lettuce both from seed and from transplant, and the seed lettuce caught up to and maybe even outperformed (at a smaller cost too) the already started plants. Maybe due to the seed lettuce being able to develop its roots right there in the garden? Anyways, do directly sown plants typically outperform transplants in your experience?

[rainbowgardener]

I can't say as I've ever done a direct comparison. I start lots of things from seed indoors and transplant them into my garden later. I think here in cold weather country, some of the slower to grow/mature things just won't have time to produce very much unless given an indoor head start. Classic e.g.s of that are tomatoes and peppers, but I think also broccoli, because without the head start it can get hot too soon for the broccoli.

I also just like the control it gives me to start things indoors - not having to worry about too much or too little rain, sun, heat, cold, bugs etc. The plants can get to a sturdier, less vulnerable phase while protected and then I can plant them exactly where I want them. They also germinate WAY faster on a heat mat indoors than in cold spring soil and faster germinating means higher germination rate - if seeds sit too long in cold damp soil waiting to germinate some will just rot.

If I had to guess, I would say that for quicker growing plants, some that grow in place and don't have to go through hardening off may be ahead of transplanted ones - if they make it. But you probably lose more and risk losing the whole crop if something bad happens while they are small and vulnerable.

But if I had to buy all my transplants, that would change the equation for me....

[soil]

plants that have the ability to set taproots do FAR better when direct sown. squash and pumpkin are a great example. direct sown pumpkin will be way more drought and stress tolerant vs a freshly planted starter pumpkin.

[sixshooter]

Awesome. Exactly what i was wondering soil. Ive planted pumpkins the past few years and theyve thrived for a couple months before shriveling up in august. I still get a few medium size pumpkins, but i expect more. Same happens with cucumbers, maybe i should direct sow them.

[OROZCONLECHE]

I found Radish to grow too fast Too easy on any ground, they are like weeds and I find the plant the nicest of any other, but I fuess that's just me

[jal_ut]

I have many times seen direct seeded plants develop into more robust and higher producing plants than transplants planted the same day.

There are two main reasons for this:

One, the leaves of plants started behind glass are more tender and sometimes starved for light so they stretch out for the light. Put them out in direct sunshine and wind and they take a real beating, many times turning light green and the leaves even dropping off. They will not do any growing until some new leaves come out. Its called transplant shock.

Two, the roots of direct seeded plants go deep quickly. Take a look at This Page on the development of spinach roots. See how much those roots have grown in six weeks. Imagine this many roots cooped up in a little planting cube. They will be going around in circles and strangling each other. I don't think transplants will ever catch up to the direct seeded plants in root development. As has been mentioned the tap root is damaged.

[sixshooter]

Thanks jal_ut that was a good read. Im sold on starting alot more stuff from seed this year. Ill still probobly buy started tomatoes and peppers since i don't have the space inside, but alot of the rest will be started from seed which is exciting.