How to Read a Seed Packet
Reading a seed packet and understanding what it is telling you to do is key to setting yourself up for a successful garden.
Below I will walk you through a few different seed packets. They aren’t all created equal and some wording can change. Before we get there here are the most important things you need to learn from the seed packet.
How to plant. Specifically how deep in the dirt and how far apart from other seeds
Direct sow (plant straight in the garden) or transplant (start in a controlled environment and plant in the garden when they are small plants)
How much sun - is this shade, part sun (4-6), or full sun (6-8 hours)
Annual(plant me every year), Perennial(plant me once and I will return every year), or biennial(takes a year to grow, blooms for a year, and dies)
germination & maturity timelines - germination how long to get sprouts and maturity how long until you can harvest or enjoy.
This packet is from a seed company, Redemption Seeds, that has a very curated selection for avid growers. You will see a lot of descriptions for the flower look and shape. If you want an amazing experience buy their seeds!
What is highlighted on this packet:
the common and Latin name which you will see on any seed packet you come across.
germination temp/light - this tells you the conditions the seeds need to germinate. Because it says “with light” you want to barely cover the seed to give it the best chance to sprout.
depth & spacing tells you how deep to plant the seeds and how far apart.
germination is common on seed packets and tells you when to expect a little sprout of green.
Maturity is the estimated days until you can harvest.
This packet is from Burpee and is one of the most common packets you will find in the store. The other packets in the store look similar as well. They seem to try and make it easy for beginners and break it down to the most important info you need.
What is highlighted on this packet:
amount of sun your flowers will need to flourish. 6+ means the minimum amount of sun you need is 6 hours.
Days until blooms. This is important because you want to make sure your growing season is long enough for your flowers to reach maturity.
height is simply how tall the plant is likely to get.
thin is a different way of talking about the spacing of plants. You can plant seeds much closer than the final spacing needs to be. When they germinate (sprout) you can pull out some of the plants, or thin, to the correct spacing.
the map is helpful and can give you a quick look at when you might plant. You will still need to know your zone and frost dates to make sure you don’t plant too early and have a frost kill your brand new sprouts.
This packet is from a seed company, Baker Creek, that has a strong focus on rare and heirloom seeds. You will find a lot of unique varieties on their site. I like their herbs for filler and some of the unique zinnias they sell. I don’t love their seed packets because there isn’t as much growing information as I like. I find myself going to the internet to supplement frequently.
The biggest thing I want to point out on this packet is the sell-by date. You may find seeds for discount or free that are past their sell-by date.
Sell-by is when the company wants stores to take them off the shelf because the percentage of seeds that will sprout will go down after that. You wouldn’t think highly of a seed company if you bought seeds and only a small portion sprouted.
This doesn’t mean you can’t try planting them if they have been lingering around your house for seasons or you got them at a steep discount. They may still thrive.
There is only one way to find out. It doesn’t hurt to try. Especially if you plant this early or start them indoors for transplants. That gives you time to correct and plant something else.
