When you learn how to start plants from seeds, the variety of plants that you can grow increases dramatically, but not the expense. My favorite way to germinate seeds is in a paper towel.

When I teach vegetable gardening, I love to share my favorite way to germinate seeds using a paper towel. Paper towels can be used for any seed that needs to be buried, even just a little bit.

You may also want to spread the towel over the seed paper when it’s mostly dry and then press it with a warm iron to flatten it out. Some seeds will sprout if they are left too long on a damp ...

If you have some leftover seeds and you’re not sure if they have gone bad, Trena Heinrich at Food52 suggests the wet paper towel test: Take a paper towel and run it under water then ring it out.

This time-lapse demonstrates how a redbud tree was growing from a seed to a young plant. We encountered a redbud tree with lots of pods in the neighborhood park last fall. To see if they would grow, ...

You can germinate a peach seed or pit, but it's not as easy as just plonking either one into potting mix. You need to follow ...

It's easy to save seeds from your garden to plant next year. Discover the easiest flower and vegetable seeds to save, plus ...

Time-lapse of a trumpet vine germinating and growing from seed to young plant. Seeds were cold-stratification in a moist paper towel and placed in a fridge for 70 days. After that, we took one seed ...

Don't let sunflower seeds go to waste at the end of summer. Here's how to harvest sunflower seeds for snacking, use them in recipes, or save them to replant next year.

Observe the life cycle of seeds by starting them off in a sandwich bag. STEP 1: Add enough water to the paper towel so it is damp. STEP 2: Fold the paper towel so it fits inside of the zip-top ...