I run out if time, starting seeds, mixing potting soil, its time consuming and you need storage space for all of that stuff…id rather be eating and dining on my harvest…taking the time to snip fresh greans, making fresh vinagarette or cooking up polenta. And I must confess, I did use seed starts for years, but now its too much time. Hand broadcast a selection of seeds for the growing season. Especially when its going to rain, and during the week of the full moon, the moisture stays to the top if the soil beds, and soil microbes are active and growing in a fresh rain. The seeds all seem to germinate quicker…and of course make sure the soil temp is correct for sprouting too.
Soil health and microbial soil life must be in your growing equation. I have also grown corn and the entire cob falls to the ground, all the kernals sprout the next season. The soil temps in Yuma, AZ range from 45 degrees to over 107 degrees during the summer when its really dry. But seeds survive on the soil top only to sprout when there is moisture and cooler daytime temps. We use worm castings the most as an amendment. Now my worm bin is a huge gaylord type if box, used for palletizing harvested citrus, perfect for the compost that earthworms can thrive and reproduce. I had stopped water in this bin for 3.5 months, dustressed thinking I killed all the earthworms, started watering again and noticed baby earthworms who had hatched. I also keep the leaf cutter beas happy by providing the nesting boxes for them with wooden straws and reeds. They keep up the pollination if the honey bees dont visit the garden.
Please, please include the soil in discussions. Keep track of soil types, at least 4 times during the grow season. All is synergistic when growing, pH-moisture-temp-microbes-daylight hours-with NPK towards the end of the list…microbes will help make NPK available for plants. Get your soil tested fir microbial life first, amend for life, not fertilizer.