Seed packets contain a wealth of information which if attended to will make your garden much more successful.
There is almost always a year imprinted on seed packets. The best germination will come from seed packets stamped with the current year. That’s not say that you should throw away old seeds; many are viable for several years. After all, how many gardeners use the whole packet of zucchini seeds in one year? Really, the way zucchini produces, the seeds need only come about three or four to a packet!
Many seed packets have a United States map on the back which shows the best dates for planting. Those dates are not guarantees – they are averages. If the weather cooperates, some years you may get away with planting several weeks earlier than the map suggests. And except for vegetables that bolt when it gets hot, such as lettuce and spinach, you can always plant later than the map suggestion.
On the seed packet you’ll find directions for planting. It will tell how far apart to plant the seeds. Often it will say “plant a half-inch apart and thin seedlings to an inch apart.” I’ve never been able to understand the logic behind that, unless it’s go get you to buy twice as much seed as you really need. My method is to plant the seeds an inch apart and if some of them don’t germinate, a few weeks later I reseed those spaces.
The packet will also tell you how deep to plant the seeds. Generally, the larger the seed, the deeper it is planted. You can adjust slightly depending on your soil type. In sandy soils, plant just a bit deeper than suggested, and in clay soils, a bit more shallow. You don’t need to be out there with your ruler measuring the depth of each seed; they’ll grow if you get it approximately right and they may grow even if you get it really wrong!
Sometimes seed packets will tell the number to days to germination. Again, this is an approximation, depending on how deep you really planted the seeds, the soil type, and the weather. They hit it right on amazingly often though.
Some seed packets show a little picture of what the germinated seedling will look like. This is very helpful if you have a lot of weeds germinating at the same time so you know what to pull. If you are uncertain if a seedling is a weed or your plant, wait a few days and you should be able to tell where your seed row was planted.
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