A friendly and thorough guide to everything gardeners need to know to successfully germinate seeds and raise healthy seedlings.

Germinate is a comprehensive guide for novice seed starters, experienced gardeners, and even professional growers. From container selection to light considerations to soil mixes, Germinate covers the nuts and bolts of seed starting and saving—all alongside an expansive encyclopedia of nearly five hundred edible and ornamental plant varieties, from arugula to yucca and amaranth to zinnia. Horticulturist Joseph Tychonievich leaves no gardener behind. Beginning with the fundamentals of seed formation and dormancy, then delving into specific seed-starting techniques, Joseph offers clear, step-by-step instructions for germinating and harvesting the seeds of vegetables, herbs, annuals, biennials, perennials, shrubs, trees, and more. Whether you want to save seeds from heirloom vegetables in order to live a self-sufficient life, sow a bed full of cut flowers to fill vases in your home, collect seeds from native plants for a pollinator garden, grow a shade tree for the front yard, or cultivate succulents for your windowsill, Germinate will show you how to do it!

“Explores one of gardening’s oldest pleasures—setting new life in motion—and helps readers sow with care, confidence, and curiosity.”
—Carol Connare, editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac

“A love letter to the wonder of seeds. . . . An enthusiastic, down-to-earth guide on seed starting and saving that will help you level up your gardening skills.”
—Niki Jabbour, author of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener and Growing Under Cover

“With practical, easy-to-follow guidance covering a wide range of edible and ornamental plants, Joseph takes the mystery out of germination, seed starting, and seed saving while sharing the science behind how it all works. . . . An incredibly comprehensive reference that belongs on every gardener’s bookshelf.”
—Brie Arthur, horticulturist; author of The Foodscape Revolution

“A fascinating master class on the world of seeds.”
—Madeline Hooper, host, PBS’s GardenFit; coauthor of Get GardenFit

About The Author

Joseph Tychonievich is the author of three gardening books (Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener, Rock Gardening: Reimagining a Classic Style, and The Comic Book Guide to Growing Food), all of which take complex, scientific topics and break them down in clear language that is accessible for every reader. 

His writing has appeared in Horticulture and Fine Gardening, where he was long-time editor of their Garden Photo of the Day feature and produced many of their e-learning courses. He has written for the print Sunday Magazine The New York Times for Kids, and is a frequent contributor to Better Homes & Gardens. Joseph has also been a repeated guest on NPR’s wildly popular show "The Splendid Table" and a frequent guest on popular gardening podcasts such as Margaret Roach’s "A Way to Garden", "The Joe Gardener Show", and "Washington Gardener". He serves as the editor for the journals of the North American Rock Garden Society and Magnolia Society International. 

Before starting his writing career, he grew plants from seed professionally in a research setting at Ohio State and Michigan State universities, then at specialty rare plant nurseries in Japan and Michigan. Joseph continues to grow hundreds of plants from seed at home every year, mostly for his own garden, but some for his small online store. 

Joseph is in demand as a speaker on gardening topics around the US and Canada, at garden clubs, plant societies, and keynoting Master Gardener conferences and botanical garden symposia.