We’ve all gathered today to watch seeds and cuttings duke it out in a 5 round bout, read on to discover the good bad and ugly about your favorite contender and by the end you might find yourself jumping ship and joining the other band wagon.

Round 1: We have the Seeds fighting out of the green corner

When starting a garden for the first time 9 out of 10 people are going to turn to seeds. Seeds are by far the easiest way to have a variety, after all you just pick out whatever varieties you want to grow and plant them.  Buying seeds essentially means you are buying multiple plants of the same variety for a lower cost than buying already established plants, which means you will be getting more bang for your buck

Round 2: We have the Cuttings fighting out of the yellow corner

Cuttings, or live plants are already established growing plants. Cuttings take the guess work out of what you are getting, after all you know that your cherry tomato cutting is going to grow another cherry tomato plant. As long as the cuttings are all relatively the same size they will all grow at the same rate and be almost the same height. And the main advantage to starting off with cuttings or live plants is that it saves you time, you are able to go from cutting to finish up to 2 months faster.

Round 3: Seeds are down for the count

While seeds do offer a great way to get variety they also offer lots of uncertainty. When seeds are ordered off the internet or bought in the store you can never be 100% sure that you are actually getting the plants you are expecting to. Seeds are also extremely un-uniform; you can start 5 seeds all at the same time and you may only end up with 2 plants or 2monstrous plants and 3 barley hanging on. Growing with seeds also takes longer because the seeds need to germinate and then start growing.

Round 4: Cuttings take a good right hook

Growing with cuttings or live plants does have its draw backs; after all you are limited to what is locally available giving less of a variety to choose from. Cuttings, even from the same exact strain can mutate from generation to generation giving you a different plant than what you started with. Cuttings also take a bit more effort than seeds, Cuttings require more TLC and if you don’t take care of them in the beginning then they might not live to see the end.

Round 5: Who wins?

Now that you’ve got the down and dirty on the seeds and cuttings you choose who the winner is and who’s going home a loser.

CO_2, the stuff that all air-breathing animals get rid of and all plants thrive on, occurs naturally at approximately 300-400ppm (parts per million) and while plants can exist just fine with the CO₂ in the air, elevating CO₂ levels will greatly improve your plant’s life.  To better understand how important CO₂ is Look at the photosynthesis equation below. It demonstrates how CO₂ along with a few other components (light and water) are used to make necessary sugars, Kind of like how food is used in humans.

Since CO₂ is obviously a photosynthesis equation superstar problems will arise when there isn’t enough.  When levels drop below 300ppm plants are not getting the amount they need and will go into survival mode, stopping growth and photosynthesis almost completely. Not having enough CO₂ in the air is common when fresh air is not being introduced regularly to the plants living area, such as a tent, closet or sealed off the room and depending on how active plants are CO₂ can be used up in a matter of hours.

Ok, so now that we’ve gone over how important CO₂ is to plants, let’s talk about how elevated levels will improve their lives.

Prepare for plant excellence when CO₂ concentrations between 1000-1500ppm are achieved. When living in a CO₂ enriched environment growth rates are increased by up to 30%, leaf growths are increased, measurably thicker and are slower to wilt. Stem and branch growth is also increased, and with more branching come more flower sites, an extra added benefit. Positive CO₂ effects can be even seen at the cellular level. Cells that have been enriched with CO₂ are more densely packed together and have a strengthened structure, which allows the plant to bear more weight.  Finally, CO₂ causes the stomata of the plant to stay partially closed, this helps slow the loss of water vapor from the plant. Please keep in mind though as the saying goes “too much of a good thing can cause harm” so don’t go overboard.

By now I’m sure you’re saying to yourself “Self, I need to add CO₂” and you may be wondering how to go about it, well you’re in luck because that’s what we’re going over next!

There are many ways to go about adding CO_2, one of the most common ways is with a tank and regulator (such as the Reg-1 or the Active Air CO₂ system). Generally, the tank is filled every so often (you take it to be filled) with CO₂ and connected to a regulator that is set to disperse a set amount. This method is pretty risk-free meaning there is no fire hazard and no chance toxic gas leaks. The Price point can be a little spendy with costs consisting of the tank itself, the regulator and needing to refill the tank every so often(approximately every 2 months).

There are also CO₂ generators. These work by having a pilot light burning natural gas or propane at a steady flow set by an internal flow meter. When running a CO₂ generator it is important to remember that with flame and gases there is the potential for fire, and if gas is not completely burned toxic gases can be released into the air in addition to raising the ambient room temperature.  The price point for this option is slightly higher than other options, with the unit cost and prices for gas. Then there is natural CO₂ production. Some people prefer to produces their own by concocting their own mixtures by fermenting, or composting.

There is however a much easier way of utilizing natural CO₂ production, EZCO₂ is a simple “set it and forget it” hassle-free way of providing plants with CO₂ for 6-8 months. This method is the biggest bang for your buck the easiest to use, there also is no danger of fire or toxic gases and it doesn’t smell. As the EZCO₂ bag continually produces CO₂ there is no reason to turn on and off exhaust fans, unlike the above-mentioned options.

There is a new product on the market that is able to “give” plants CO₂. CalCarb, a foliar is sprayed on the underside of leaves to give your plants calcium carbonate.

When sprayed on the underside of the leaves Calcarb enters the stomata and then, after some pretty cool chemistry, produces CO₂ as a by-product inside the plant.

With sheer excellence, there is always some sort of downside, even if it may be small, so let’s go over that real quick. With your plants excelling they are going to need a little more attention than before. This is because plants are going to be growing faster and using more water. As The law of limitations ( or Liebig’s law of minimums for the science geeks) states “that growth is controlled not by the total amount of resources available, but by the scarcest resource (limiting factor).” Meaning in order for CO₂ to work its magic there also needs to be enough food, water, and light for the plant. Lastly, if fluorescent lighting is the primary light source, saving you the money, CO₂ enrichment isn’t going to work because the fluorescents are producing enough light to allow plants to process the extra CO₂.