I always read that one should direct-sow certain crops (corn, peas, squash and other cucurbits, and root crops), but aside from root crops, I have often started these "sow directly only" crops in containers for later transplanting. This is because I have had too many frustrating experiences with something killing my sown-direct seedlings. I have just transplanted five types of peas which I started in cowpots (which disintegrate better than peat in my experience and are made in my state).
Last year something decapitated my corn seedlings--didn't dig up the seed and didn't eat the shoot! I transplanted the next corn planting after that. Had never done so before but it worked fine and I had a good harvest.
@paradajky I think 72-cells are way too small for squash and other cucurbits. That, plus the crumbly nature of DE, makes transplanting a challenge. I was thinking perhaps there was something you could pour into the cell to make the DE "sticky" or even somewhat solidify, but materials like gelatin or agar need temperatures that your seedlings would not like. (Agar is used in plant culture and roots grow in it quite happily, but it is solidified before the roots ever touch it.) Maybe pectin would work? It's soluble in cold water and makes things sticky.
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