What Should I Look for in an Herb Seed Packet?

Most of our products include herb seed packets, so it’s important for us to inform you guys about what should you look for in an herb seed packet. 

What is an Herb Seed Packet?

First, what is an herb seed packet? An herb seed packet or a seed packet in general, not only includes the seeds that you will use for planting, but also includes important information about these seeds, such as plant name, plant photo, plant characteristics, sell-by dates, accreditations (organic, non-GMO), and other significant details about the seeds.

How to Decipher the Information on an Herb Seed Packet?

As discussed above, herb seed packets or any seed packet in general usually includes a lot of information, so it is important to know which details you should pay attention to and how to read them.

Pay Attention to the Specific Plant Name

Did you know that plants have their names in Latin due to their genus and species system, which was first developed by Carolus Linnaeus? Latin plant names are necessary especially in an herb seed packet, as common names for plants vary from different places. One plant may have one or more plant names, so it is very important to pay attention to the Latin plant name so you can know that you’re choosing the right plant variety.

Plant Characteristics or Descriptions are Critical 

This is also an important detail to look for in an herb seed packet as this part will summarize the plant’s main characteristics. This would be very helpful for you to easily discern the main features of the plant that you’re planning to grow.

Don’t Forget to Find the Sell-by Date

This is very very important, as this indicates the date when the seeds will expire. You don’t want to have expired seeds, so best to pay attention to sell-by dates in an herb seed packet.

Accreditations: Do they Matter? 

Definitely! Accreditations are also an essential part of an herb seed packet, especially to gardeners who only want to plant the highest quality of seeds, and those that want to plant organic or non-GMO seeds.

What’s the Best Way to Grow Microgreens Indoors?

While we’re on the topic of herb seed packets, you might be interested in growing microgreens as well, which of course also have their own seed packets. So please remember to pay attention to the herb seed packet parts mentioned above! So really, what is the best way to grow microgreens indoors? The first part of course is to again, look for the important information in the seed packets, then look at the guide included in the kit and just follow the steps, and ta-da! You can now grow your own microgreens indoors! We also have a detailed blog dedicated to this topic, How to Grow Microgreens at Home.

Did You Know: Jute Mats Are the Most Effective Way to Grow Microgreens!

Another way to answer your question about the best way to grow microgreens indoors is to grow them using jute mats! This is another common method for growing microgreens that involves the use of grow mats. These are much less messy than soil. Mats are soaked in water, placed in either a shallow tray or on a screen above a water reservoir, and a lid is typically put on top to help with germination, as the seeds are exposed to air on the top.

But What About Other Growing Materials? Are Jute Mats Really the Best Way to Grow Microgreens? 

There are lots of material options ranging from paper to coconut fiber to hemp. After trying them all out, we found a pretty big range in performance – some totally disintegrated after a couple of days, some stunk up the water and became pretty gross, and some options we ruled out because of either cost or environmental reasons. The best material we found for use as microgreens grow mat was jute – a natural fibre derived from plants. Jute is economical, fully biodegradable, and renewable. This is the material we include in the Urban Leaf microgreens kit. … but some also worked really well. If used in a shallow grow tray, they still need to be watered daily, but if used in tandem with a reservoir then we were able to only water once.

So, that’s it! We hope that all this information can be helpful to your gardening journey 😉