I have gone through all this trouble several times ...however ,what I have found is that I get great results from sowing directly in the ground,after all farmers do this and don't Molly coddle ...just get to it...key is soil prep, weed eradication and I sieve my soil in small beds after adding manure. I water to keep uniformly moist (crucial) I start very early ...in Georgia Piedmont zones7-8 ground rarely freezes so one can soil prep in January and plant mid March
I have gone through all this trouble several times ...however ,what I have found is that I get great results from sowing directly in the ground,after all farmers do this and don't Molly coddle ...just get to it...key is soil prep, weed eradication and I sieve my soil in small beds after adding manure. I water to keep uniformly moist (crucial) I start very early ...in Georgia Piedmont zones7-8 ground rarely freezes so one can soil prep in January and plant mid March