It is generally considered that root vegetables don't transplant well because the roots get damaged. That said many people seem to do it with beets. I do not know anything about your climate but could you the sow seed in the evening in a damp drill and shade it?

Possibly the soil is too hot for it right now. Later it will germinate but it will be too late, rutabaga needs 95 days. Lettuce and carrot will not germinate now either. In my experience, early June is the time to seed rutabaga in Zone 6. If you want root crops that can be started now, turnips are by far your best bet.

Thank you for your thoughts. I have gone ahead and sown seed in paper pots, and they are now sprouting in the basement. My hope is that planting the whole pot will reduce transplant problems. I have also sown seed outside in a recently harvested onion bed, by way of experiment.

Hitherto, I have always sown seed outside when I sowed cabbages. Then I transplant well grown plants into vacated onion or potato beds at wide spacing in July. This is undoable according to experts, and indeed the plants look totally dead for weeks, but then they take off and produce large, sweet rutabagas after a hard frost. Regards, Peter.

Two years ago my garden center had a six pack of rutabaga plants. I put them in the garden and they did very well. Last year I direct sowed and the roots were about 2 inches long ang 1 inch across. I think starting in paper cups or peat pots and burying the whole thing would work.