Direct seeding vs. transplants

[gixxerific]

As many of you may know I was a buyer of transplants before, but have broke into the heirloom seed starting this year.

You probably also know that I have a forest of plants growing in my basement. One of them being cucumbers, which I just saw on this site may be better to direct seed as opposed to transplanting. I pretty much thought this myself but I couldn't stop planting once I started.

So my question to you all is what do YOU think SHOULD be started early and what SHOULD NOT be started early?

Even tomatoes should be in this, I hear over and over again that the small transplant of any veggie is better than a huge overgrown plant. Due to the fact (or fiction) that you want your plant to be in the vigorous "root" growing stage when planted in the ground as opposed to the opposite.

Thanks,

Dono

[jal_ut]

I had over 30 varieties last year. The only thing I got starts for was tomatoes, peppers and some onion plants. I have found that most things do well just started from seed planted directly in the garden. I have even planted tomatoe seed directly in the garden and it did well.

The main problem I have found with this is that sometimes an insect or critter of some kind will eat the seedlings before they get a real leaf. I have even found this to be true with larger seeds like beans. A bit of diatomaceous earth takes care of that problem. Sprinkle it on the ground when the plants first appear, or even at planting time for cabbage, broccoli, and turnip.

[Farmer Dave]

Greetings seed planters
I just started all my tomatoes, peppers and melons, a few cucumbers, a few summer squash. My first planting of lettuce, broccoli and cabbage some swiss chard..... all in my green house.

So you know what I think. Plant early eat early.
I am planting in zone 9 last frost date middle to end of May. I can wait and plant everything outside by seed and I do plant all my winter squash, most of my cucumbers and most of my summer squash outside by seed. I also do my successions of greens and brassicas (thats broccoli, cabbage and anything in that family) outside. I soaked up peas today and dug a pea bed and will be planting them out in 2 days.

Green housing is more work but you get to eat a lot sooner, so if you grow most of your own food that really makes a difference and I love my melons in August, October melons are just not the same.

I start my seedlings in flats and then transplant them to 4X4 or in some cases gallon pots. This works for me I have been doing it this way for 30 years, in your location you may be able to start your plants outside earlier.
I also uses cloches to get earlier harvests.

As far as needing to plant your plants out when they are young, I think that is a myth. I love to plant out my tomatoes when they already have little green tomatoes on them and they just take off. Large melon plants really go for it. Summer squash no problem. Cucumbers often times look pretty bad for awhile but they usually pull out of it and beet my direct seeds by two weeks or more.
You need to have them in large enough pots, not larger than a gallon pot. You need to harden them off and you need to transplant in the evening. I used to shade my plants for a few days if it was hot but gave up on that years ago.

"The early Planter eats the early fruit"

Farmer Dave

[Ozark Lady]

I do both, on everything.
I start some early as seedlings, and I direct sow some.

For me, the tomatoes and peppers that I direct sow will do 100% better than the ones that I transplant. But, they won't catch up. Not really, until both are grown. The early seedlings equal early food.
The direct sow, is later food, but more of it...
I say, if you possibly can... do both.

[applestar]

You need to have them in large enough pots, not larger than a gallon pot. You need to harden them off and you need to transplant in the evening

Now these are great advice, especially right now!

Transplanting in the evening -- That's interesting. I've done that, but not intentionally... more like "just one more thing before it gets too dark." I also often transplant (and sow seeds!) on cloud-covered mornings when forecast is rain and it hasn't started to rain yet. Murphy's Gardening Law dictates, though, that if you water in, then it'll rain buckets, and if you don't, then it never rains a drop.

[gixxerific]

That is why I asked this question. Already vary different replies. So many people do things differently. I just wanted to hear what you do.

[Farmer Dave]

every gardener does things at least a little differently and young gardeners usually think that there way is best and if you garden with others there can be large conflicts over small differences, like should you plant your carrots 2" apart or 3" apart. Should you plant by the moon or the weather........
I have lived in a sustainable living community of homestead gardeners for 30 years.
Everyone is a great gardener here and everyone does things a little different. In our younger years, I got here when I was 24 and had about 5 years gardening experience and some farming experience, I thought I knew it all as did everyone else and we gardened together......
Now everyone has their own garden and does it their own way.
The motto of the story is that there is more than one way to plant a seed.
The gardeners food steps are the best fertilizer.
Farmer Dave

[gixxerific]

Nice post FarmerDave. I understand totally. I have been gardening for quite a while and have done pretty well. But my thing is I was always by myself, with no guidance or anyone else to compare notes with. Since I have found this site I find so many different ideas. Different from mine, not wrong or maybe not better just different. Being how I am I take a bit from you a bit from her a bit form the other guy and put that all together to possibly update my style.

Little by little my gardening way's are changing, though not too much in style but more in practice, if that makes any sense.

You are all good, I'm all good, we are all good and spring is on the verge so that is all good.

[Ozark Lady]

Alot of us are pretty set in our ways. We do what we do.

But, while we do what we do. We do stop evaluate, consider, and sometimes decide to try out something new to us...

Change does not just pop up and there it is... it is a gradual transition.

I love seeing how others do things. I like to learn.

I know some things that work for their situation, just won't work here, but, it might... if the difference is soil.... a planting box?
if the difference is temperature... sow at a different season?
Maybe the difference is technique... experiment...

So, we may be different and do things differently. But, we can still learn from each other.

Some newbies feel insecure. But, often they have such fresh insight and exuberance... it is contagious. And we learn from them too.

[garden5]

I have to agree; the different approaches to gardening and the various methods used are the very things (well, not all of the things ) that make this forum great!

Another great thing is the diversity of the background of the members here: some are just beginning suburban backyard gardeners, some manager large tracts of land on farm, some have extensive informal experience gardening, while others are horticulturalists. There are also various regional backgrounds.

It the this diversity that creates the exchange of ideas, the shared knowledge. If everyone did everything the same way, the Helpful Gardener may not even exist, or it would exist as only a social site with no educational value. Why? Because everyone did everything the same and, therefore, knew all the same things.

Yes, I know that the above is over-simplifying things and exaggerating them, too; but my point is valid: it is the diversity of diversities that really makes this site great.