Someone told me this just this year and I've was a little frustrated to report how accurate his assertion was...

Place a couple seeds, direct sown, right now into your tomato plant squares and then, whenever their ready to be transplanted, transplant your seedlings that you've started indoors. By the time the transplants recover from the shock of being transplanted he bet me bottom dollar that the direct sown seedlings would be stronger and healthier.

His point was that starting seeds indoors is only better when you're starting them in January and you're going to give them a good 6-12 weeks of a head start while it's still way++ to cold outside for them to thrive. Once it's already "good growing weather" outdoors, in most cases, you're better off just direct sowing your seeds.

that's so true!! let nature take its course, some how it just does what its suppose to do. i tried all my seeds inside and did it all by the book, and most of them died, well the winter sown ones did great!! the others that were outside and wintersown but not by their methods did awesome, i just put them in the cell packs and let nature take its course, do you know that those particular ones are the strongest most healthiest ones, when i put them into the baskets that i want to make, i don't have the shock you'd normally get. and that's with talla helping me, we'll see about the dianthes though, LOL

hmmmm.....i will have to try that next year. of course, i'll start some inside, just in case.