Your Ultimate Guide To Understanding Seed Packet Information
Have you ever looked at your seed packet and wondered what all the information means? How do I use this information and why does it matter? You are not alone! When I first started gardening I read the back of a seed packet and was instantly confused. I had to search for each term and determine why I needed to know this information, and how it would impact my garden.
Shortly after this experience, I decided to start a blog about gardening. This post will cover seed packet information in one post so you can easily reference it when you are reading your seed packet!
What Information Is Found On Seed Packets?
The brand of seed you have will determine what information you have to work with for your seed. The below is a list of what can generally be found on seed packets. Keep reading to learn what each of these pieces of information mean and how you can use the information for a more successful gardening season.
- Instructions
- Suggestions
- Information about the plant itself
- Days to germination
- Days to harvest
- Spacing row/plant
- Zone map
- When to start seeds indoors
- How deep to sow seeds
- Sunlight, water & soil preference
- Container information
- Frost hardy
Meaning: What Does All Of This Information Mean?
- Instructions – generally contain how & when to sow seeds, when to thin seedlings, and may also contain what size to harvest
- Suggestions – tips on how to make the best use of your plant
- Information about the plant itself – a detailed description on what you can expect the fruit of your plant to look and taste like
- Days to germination – the number of days the seed will take to sprout
- Days to harvest – the number of days until you can harvest the fruit of the plant
- Spacing row/plant – how close you can place the seeds in a row and how close you can place the rows to each other
- Zone map – a map of the USA that shows when you can plant the seed based on location
- When to start seeds indoors – if you choose to start seed indoors, this will tell you how early before the first frost you should start the seed indoors
- How deep to sow seeds – how deep to place your seed in the ground
- Sunlight, water & soil preference – how much sun, water and type of soil your seed needs
- Container information – if this seed can be grown in a container – this should tell you what size of a container to use and how many seeds can be in 1 planter
- Frost hardy – tells you if your plant survive a frost
My favorite seed packet so far is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds – they do such a great job with their seed packets. They include information about the plant itself, germination, temperature, spacing/depth, frost information and sun requirements.
How Do I Use The Seed Packet Information?
I choose to take all of the seed packet information and enter it into a spreadsheet. This way, I can always have an easy reference of what my seeds need. Having all of the seed information in one place also allows me to easily plan my garden.
If you don’t want to use a spreadsheet, you can also read the packet information when you are planning your garden for the year, and keep it in mind when you go to plant.
Seed packet information should be read before planting so you will be aware of the needs, and while you are planting so you can ensure the best placement for your plants. For example, you want to avoid planting something that needs full sun in a place that only receives partial sun.
In addition to knowing placement of your plants (beginning of season), the information will also help at the end of the season when you read the frost information.
As you will see below, different companies provide different information on their seed packets. If a seed packet doesn’t include all the information you would like, I recommend doing a google search. A google search of the plant will be able to provide you the information you need to be successful.
Interested In More Beginner Garden Tips?
This is the final post of a five part series on Angie’s Recipe Garden. Over the last few weeks, I covered the following topics:
- Planning Your Garden
- Intercropping
- Zones, Frost Date & The Sun Impacts On Your Garden
- Succession Planting
- Seed Packet Information
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