By planting your own garden starts you can save a lot of money! I started doing this myself last year and it is much easier than you would think. Last year I saved around $50 by doing my own starts instead of buying the plants at the nursery.

I save all the containers that I previously have bought with flowers, veggies, etc. and I use those for my seeds. I first plant them in the smallest containers (like you buy flowers in packs of 4 or 6) and then when they get to be 4-5 inches tall I transfer them to larger containers so they can grow to their maximum potential. These were my starts last year around the first of May:

I planted 4 tomato plants (2 roma, cherry, beefsteak) marigolds, watermelon, tomatillo, 2 green peppers, 2 kinds of jalapenos, basil, rosemary, and nasturtium. Everything else I plant I will do from seed. I may still purchase a few plants but with what I have done on my own here it will save me quite a bundle!

Do you plant your own starts? If so, what have you found easy or difficult?