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38 Comments
We love buying starter plants at the local farmer's markets (in addition to starting our own seeds).
I will NEVER buy bagged compost again. Filled with sand and rocks and chunks of wood.
i had success with the boxed live fig plants and grape plant from Lowe's and home depot. the grape plant and fig plants from lowe's are doing well. you can put the plants in a pot and water them.
The in-store part of this video seemed to end fairly abruptly. “Sir, no filming in the store?”
I used peat pots and organic pro mix and my tomato seedlings are getting damping off left and right. They were getting 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed (usually daily). We have been VERY VERY careful to not over water. But with the peat pots, you really can't unless you literally SOAK the whole pot, which we are not doing. I was SO sure I wouldn't have this problem this year since I got the pro-mix organic.
If you’re a newbie you might get taken but I got a rose bush last year that is amazing! It’s as simple as picking the one with new growth on it. As for seed starter mix I use the other one that you didn’t show. It’s worked great for 3 yrs now. Of course, nothing is 100%! If anything I’d be cautious of their seeds. 😁 I’ve had bad luck with many of the seeds.
Problem is when you start getting specialty products or equipment doing your own garden CAN get incredibly expensive.
Most want the gardening to be cheap easy and fun and rewarding – time spent gardening can also be an issue – I see it all the time.
Not sure you can have all of these but that is what most people strive for.
Great points. I have fallen for the same things.
I usually make my own seed starting mix, potting mix, and raised bed mix, but I've been sick for months, and when I was picking out my seeds and planning my garden, I was (and still am) going on faith that is be well enough to garden this spring and summer. Because I couldn't manage my usual set-up in he basement, I decided to do everything at the dining room table, so I bought Black Gold seed starting mix. So far, I've been really pleased with it. It's a bit fluffier than my homemade stuff, but I'm crossing my fingers.
I grabbed a cane on sale for a dollar and was surprised to find they aren’t actually bare root! They’re planted in a wood fiber medium.
I found your tips on soil to be informative. I am tired of buying soil that has lg sticks or bark in it. I always have to sift. Unbelievable the garbage in an expensive bag of dirt. I dont buy them anymore. Thanks for the tips neighbor.
Starting own plants is also so rewarding. One plant from big box store was $5 and it was horrible – never really yielded anything but ones we grew were so abundant. Thanks Luke
I have never had any luck with bear rooted blue, black, and Raspberry from lowes. I have bought strawberries for the past 2 years from Walmart, and they all died. Now, I will only buy live plants from local nurseries or propagate my own.
Very experienced gardener here… absolutely cannot afford the jacked up prices at the local garden nurseries around me. But I know what to look for, how to care for, and propagate anything I get at the box stores. Best thing for new gardeners is offer to help an experienced gardener… they will flood you with all of their excess plants.
Meijer wasn’t my first thought when I was thinking about a big box store but it is – you’re right.
There are no local nurseries, I live in the desert. If there are any, they'd be in Phoenix which is still 3.5 hours away.
And possibly growth inhibitor? I heard somewhere that the brands being sold at big box stores spray dormant plants with growth inhibitors before they ship them to the stores so they will have a longer shelf life. A couple of years ago during a lapse in judgment in a weak moment, I had bought a dormant blue hydrangea from Home Depot it barely developed leaves or grew. It wasn't until the following year when it began make some progress I'm assuming possibly due to the growth inhibitor finally wearing off.
Curious folks thoughts on the bulbs from the big box stores. I have a little success but I may have just gotten lucky.
I also shop at Meijer a lot. A Michigan staple! I know the exact aisle you’re in. Thanks for everything, Luke!
As a gardener with a lot of various experiences, I totally agree with you on this video. At big box stores, I've seen the dead plants for sale and experienced the problems with the soils . Once I got a pack of cucumber seeds with so few seeds, it would be hard to recover the cost of the seed pack growing them ! All those "greenhouse kits" are too expensive. and peatpots and pellets are not the best. I use Burpees pop-outs . For seed, I'll use MIGardner or Johnny's . I truly appreciate what you are doing for us gardners!
They want money u can do it all another way . U do not need all the stuff to have a good garden. They rip u off. NOT ME I KNOW BETTER.
It is titles like this that make you seem less serious about actual gardening and knowledge and only interested in sensationalism to draw in clicks. ie click bait titles label channels in a bad way.
And no, box stores are not bad because they want to make money instead of make you a better gardener! ALL stores want to make money!!!! Even pricey independent garden centers are out to make money!
Soils in bags have changed over the years into utterly unpredictable stuff. Growing a few veggies from seed does not make more sense than buying a few in packs all ready to go. One has to have a place to start seeds. Sure some can be directly sown outside but then you have lost the weeks the bought plants have always grown. To start seeds inside requires LIGHT. Not to mention seed are no longer inexpensive.
So no the stores are not on purpose scamming you. What works best depends on the grower and the conditions they have. Peat must work for some as they have been sold for decades and people do not tend to rebuy items that failed them.
It is just a real turn off in choosing videos to see words like SCAM… "what they don't want you to know"…. or 99% don't know. All imply the viewer is
dumber than the poster. All imply they haven't really got solid information in their video, they just want clicks. Those titles just scream….don't bother, stay away, not worth anyone's time!
Great tips Luke. Also buy MI gardener seeds, Great quality and price.
I always figured that throughout history, nobody had seed starting mix.
You know what else is a scam? Lots of garden YouTubers charging ridiculous prices for their fertilizers! 😉
Totally agree about peat pots. They're expensive for single use item and will guarantee miserable experience. They dry out through the walls extremely fast so unless you keep them really wet, roots won't even propagate near the walls. It's like they're worth just 1/3 of their volume compared to plastic pots. But if you apply a lot of water and keep in high humidity conditions, they'll grow fungi through the walls and disintegrate before seedlings are ready to be planted. Just avoid.
Peet pots are my #1 pet peeve in the garden centers!!! Great video!! People make things much harder than they need to be. I have managed to garden for decades without seed starting mix. LOL. I bought a dead Boisonberry plant a couple years ago. When I went back, the employee told me those 'starts' were leftovers from the year before. Nobody ever watered them or ordered new product.
Is it "hate on big box stores" week? LOL The channel Not Just Bikes uploaded a video about big box stores bankrupting cities. Thanks for the info Luke!
Your channel was recommended to me and I'm not sure I will continue to watch. You have a very smug attitude about gardening. I have luck every year doing and using the things you say not to do. I have taken " dead" plants from the dumpster and grown them. I by no means am a master gardener, but I just plug along. Plastic trays are a death sentence for overwatering, there is nothing to absorb any excess water, mix seed starting soil with garden mulch.
I found that Jiffy seed starting mix gets moldy. And how do they water those plants inside the store? They don't even water the ones outside, and shade loving plants are in the direct sun. I do have to buy one plant and that is Arp rosemary, not available as seeds. Great advice as usual, Luke.
I would like learn, how would you take a lawn to a garden step by step. I know how I would do it, but for those who still use glyphosate and other lawn fertilizes etc… How do they make a garden in a well kept grass lawn?
IDEA FOR A VIDEO, OR SERIES: I have a greenhouse and would love some help with planting times, how many climate zones I gain vs outside, pitfalls, which crops do well with a bit less sun…best soil practices…etc. I'm sure others would benefit too.
this is great. I do admit tho that peat pellets is the absolutely favorite way of mine to start seeds. I've been doing it since I started gardening and it has worked out the best for me this way.
Seed starting mix… lol. (40% Shifted Miracle Grow Garden Soil, and 40% Peat-moss, 20% homemade compost). Hasn't failed me once in years.
Also for the dormant plants… I buy them all the time, but only the ones that have some green on them. Aldi was actually the best deal on plants. The best thing you can do is but them, poke a hole in the bag and drop them into a 5 gallon bucket with 3 in of water overnight.
RIP Walmart garden center…
yeah, those Meijer dormant plants… I fell for them big time… I have at best 50% survival rate… but the starter pepper though… I got what I need from it and harvested the seeds from it and I successfully germinated them this season (second season beginner gardener)
I purchased a Chicago Fig Tree, two thornless chester blackberries, one red raspberry nantahala and one hardy kiwi prolific. The black/red raspberries are thriving thus far….the fig and kiwi are to be determined. The fig might struggle in my soil due to NC heavy clay, and as for the kiwi, well I just planted it 3 days ago, who knows. Hopefully I will be lucky and they will all survive. The prices were too good to not get, they were only $10 each….however it is wasted money if they die too.
If you live in Michigan, now is the time to get started in your greenhouse.