Are Dollar Store Seeds A Money-Saving Garden Starter Or A Waste Of Time?

There are many benefits to starting a garden. Gardening is a great way to exercise. It can help you eat healthier and relieve stress. However, gardening can be expensive when you first start out. The cost of soil, supplies, and plants can really add up. The good news is that there are many money-saving strategies that you can use to make gardening more affordable. You really don't need to spend thousands of dollars to start a garden. 

One way to save money on a new garden is to start with seeds, which are less expensive than starter plants. Still, seeds can range in cost from $1.69 for a 100-count packet of cherry tomato seeds to $2.79 for a packet of organic tomato seeds at Home Depot. If you have been to The Dollar Tree, you might have noticed that seeds can be much cheaper than this. So, are these dollar store seeds any good? Or, is buying them a waste of time? TikTok user @chads.produce.official answered this question. In their estimation, dollar store seeds can be a worthwhile deal.

In the video, @chads.produce.official asks viewers "Could you feed your family from a pack of seeds at the dollar store?" Their answer is "Absolutely." According to @chads.produce.official, the seeds are especially great for people who like to do square-foot gardening — one of the easiest, most affordable gardening methods available, especially for beginners. Using dollar store seeds makes this type of gardening even more cost-effective. According to this TikToker, these seeds will work perfectly in the square foot.

To create a square-foot garden, simply build a 4x4 box, fill it with soil, and add a grid. You can make a grid out of yardsticks tied together. You don't need to dig or til. Simply scatter the dollar seeds over the square foot box as you would salt on French fries. According to our TikToker, these seeds are reliable and will produce very well. They also advise that if you want to make your money last, choose the summer squash seeds.

It can also be tempting to buy a lot of dollar store seed packets since they are so cheap. Most packets of seeds have a hundred or more. This can leave you with a lot of extra seed. So, what can you do with it? You could store the seeds in a sealed, airtight container in a cool, dry place like your refrigerator and use them next year. If stored properly, seeds can last more than one year.

Another option for using extra seeds is to host a seed swap. There are many benefits to seed swaps. They offer a great way to get rid of extra seeds you don't need. Seed swaps also help build a local gardening community. To find participants for your swap, put out the word on local Facebook groups. Ask for volunteers to help you organize the swap, and use labeled bins to group seeds in a manner where people can easily choose the seeds that they need.