Quote:
Originally Posted by zipcode
The problem with this method is that, for tomatoes, you lose a lot of time, at least one month. And they can produce all year, so you lose one month of production.
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If you sprout them two or three weeks after the time you would normally start them indoors, shouldn't it amount to about the same, if you take things like hardening off (which you wouldn't have to do) and the need to substract time for adjusting to the transplant into consideration? I'd say those things can amount to up to a few weeks. Also, with direct-seeding, you normally end up with perfectly undisturbed roots, which may have long-term benefits. However, it is possible that plants from indoors mature some without growing new leaves during those periods that transplants endure (although I don't know that they do; it seems like they don't), I suppose.
My personal thought is that direct-seeding can certainly set you back
at least a month, but that you can work around the issues there to prevent that from happening.
One thing about reseeded tomatoes is they might be more neglected on average (with regard to soil amendments) than transplants and purposefully direct-seeded plants. Plus, the soil may be more compacted. Plus, they may sprout a lot later than they are capable of sprouting, if you don't encourage them by tilling the soil and watering them or such. Reseeded plants are also often transplanted after sprouting. Direct-seeded tomatoes might lose some reputation due to stuff like that with reseeded tomatoes. People might be less likely to amend soil for direct-seeded seeds, too (which may be an issue).
Direct-seeded plants that sprout when it's colder probably need more phosphorus, too, in order to mature and grow as fast as indoor plants, perhaps. Phosphorus is said to be less available when it's cold, and it helps with plant maturity (as well as cold-tolerance and leaf size).