Transplanting or Direct Sowing

agee12 · March 16, 2017

I did not do indoor sowing for my warm weather crops like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, flowers, etc. I just did not have the right conditions and equipment and was actually able to keep myself busy and got my gardening fix with cool weather crops. So now we are approaching the last frost date in my area, the days are lengthening and it is getting warmer, although we are presently going through a freaky cold snap.

So how should I plant my warm weather vegetables? Should I do the seed starting method and plant them in cups or cells and then transplant or should I "direct sow" in the container.

My main question is will they get to maturity faster if I direct sow? If they won't then I probably prefer to do seed starting in cups and cells and then transplanting. But if they will get to maturity significantly faster then that will trump my preference to do seed starting.

I am pretty sure that if I do direct sowing that there are other considerations like protecting the seedlings from pests and dealing with adverse weather and I have questions about that but I will hold off discussing that aspect until I figure out which approach to go with. Of course I can do both and see what happens but I still want to find out more about direct sowing in containers if such a thing exists. There is plenty of info about seed starting, although I have questions about doing it at this point in the planting calendar, particularly about indoor time versus outdoor time.

I live in Georgia and my USDA Hardiness Zone is 8a.

March 16, 2017	#1
agee12 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Georgia Posts: 196	Transplanting or Direct Sowing I did not do indoor sowing for my warm weather crops like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, flowers, etc. I just did not have the right conditions and equipment and was actually able to keep myself busy and got my gardening fix with cool weather crops. So now we are approaching the last frost date in my area, the days are lengthening and it is getting warmer, although we are presently going through a freaky cold snap. So how should I plant my warm weather vegetables? Should I do the seed starting method and plant them in cups or cells and then transplant or should I "direct sow" in the container. My main question is will they get to maturity faster if I direct sow? If they won't then I probably prefer to do seed starting in cups and cells and then transplanting. But if they will get to maturity significantly faster then that will trump my preference to do seed starting. I am pretty sure that if I do direct sowing that there are other considerations like protecting the seedlings from pests and dealing with adverse weather and I have questions about that but I will hold off discussing that aspect until I figure out which approach to go with. Of course I can do both and see what happens but I still want to find out more about direct sowing in containers if such a thing exists. There is plenty of info about seed starting, although I have questions about doing it at this point in the planting calendar, particularly about indoor time versus outdoor time. I live in Georgia and my USDA Hardiness Zone is 8a.