Cara is correct. All of the brassica family was planted on Thanksgiving Day. However, planted in a cold frame. Water was not added until early February and then in the form of snow. For over a week, I have had everything sprouting. Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and kohlrabi are all growing nicely. Tomatoes also planted at the same time but still awaiting their appearance. It is hard to accept that winter sowing does work and has many advantages. One is that the plants do not go through a series of shocks from transplanting and temperature changes. Also, no starving for natural sunlight and that results in stocky straight plants instead of bent and twisted things which are common with indoor plants. I will never again start another brassica indoors and this is after many years of thinking that it had to be done that way.
Many gardeners are learning that the same is true with tomatoes. Despite a 6 week head start, difference in harvest time may only be a few days. It is just so difficult to try to get people to accept it. Yet, those same gardeners will allow a volunteer to grow. The volunteer ripens fruit about the same time as the other plants but they fail to put two and two together. There is, however, one drawback to direct sowing of tomatoes. If you've grown tomatoes before in that soil, you never can be certain as to what variety is coming up. When I start tomatoes outside, I use purchased potting soil rather than my own mix.
Presently, I have 18 4" pots filled and ready to plant with 18 different tomato varieties. They will be "started" inside around 1 April. By inside, the seeds will be placed into the starting medium on the kitchen table. Then they will go outside to a cold frame to sprout when the conditions are favorable. When the time comes to turn them loose in the garden, they may only be 3 or 4 inches high but that will be the only time that they are transplanted. No daily sessions of hardening them off and very minimum transplant shock.
A 2003 case as an example. Hugh's Yellow were started inside. Turns out that that variety can catch every possible disease as a seedling and all died. Plants rushed up from Oklahoma. They died. Seeds tossed into a 4" pot on a bench beside the garden with only a plastic bag for protection. They lived! They went into the garden just showing the first pair of true leaves. Monster plants tried to take over the whole tomato area!
When it comes to gardening, no rules are set in stone for most things. Man is always trying to tinker with growing methods and getting them to do things that are not natural. The older I get, the more I find that the less I mess around with them, the happier they are!
Martin
I will do just that, start some inside (did this morning) and when it's warm enough I'll try direct sowing them as well.
