I have both bought plants and also allowed my plants to grow to the point of producing seeds themselves. An example of this would be a basil plant. It begins to grow long stalks that produce flowers and then seeds. Once these are dried, it is very easy to get the tiny seeds out and then replant. However, I find that once it overgrows to this point, it is hard to reap the basil leaves off of it. The plant begins to be overgrown and then needs to be cut down again. What is your experience? Is it better to just buy seeds and plant them or do you grow your own seed?
It's better to buy seeds. Some plants can take a really long time to "mature" and produce seeds. Most vegetables fall in that category. And some produce seeds which are so few that it wouldn't be worth wasting time waiting for them to produce seeds and be forced to buy more seeds anyway. For grain crops, well, you can replant using the produce you get.
I buy seeds. For the life of me, I can't dry my own seeds. I read so many books and articles online on how to do this, but I still can't grasp the idea. The seeds can be a bit expensive, so I just buy them from the government agriculture agency. It's a bit far from our home, but I still go there just to buy seeds.
Both. We buy seed when it's a rare plant or a plant we haven't yet grown in our garden. For plants that have grown and multiplied so well, we allow them to re-seed themselves or we remove their seeds and plant them somewhere else where there's enough space. We've grown Papaya, Avocado and Watery Rose Apple in various areas around our house (we live on a hilly, provencal place).
Most times we take seeds from the plants we already grow. Take radishes for example. We let a plant or two mature enough for seeds to appear, then collect and use those seeds next year. It's not about money, most seeds are inexpensive, but about convenience, not having to run around searching for seeds each year is nice. Other plants, like mint, spread on their own - quite nice
I tend to buy the seeds, it's not too expensive and it saves on quite a bit of work. Convenience of not running around getting the seeds has been mentioned, but I don't really have that problem, I get them once in a while at a farmer's market I go to, I often even buy all my seeds from the same stand!
I don't like allowing my plants to flower (I grow herbs) because I notice that the plant thins out when it makes a flower. I think it has something to do with the plant's energy being concentrated into reproduction, so the leaves and the stems dry out, resulting in less tasty herbs. I think replanting is a much better approach. Plus, I don't know why, but seedlings are dirt cheap here. Sometimes you'd even be better off buying seedlings and harvesting immediately than packed herbs from the supermarket.
