I sow mixed lettuce directly in the 5:1:1 every year. I use those long narrow deck planters - they're prolly about 3' long, 8-9" wide and about as deep as they are wide. I mix the seeds with about 1/4 cup of sand & sprinkle it over the top. I water daily until they start sprouting, then as needed. I use FP 9-3-6 as a fertilizer. Al

I can't think of any WS seedlings that will be sizeable by May in our zone. One feature of WS seedlings is that they are much smaller in the spring than greenhouse or indoor grown seedlings, but they catch up and often surpass them by mid/end of summer! Perennials will usually remain small for the first season. However, annual flowers, herbs, and veggies will grow quickly after May, and make Mom happy thru the summer. The herbs you list are generally perennial and will be tiny for the first season (I've winter-sown oregano, thyme, rue, and savory, all perennial herbs). How about basil, parsley, or dill, which will grow quickly and are very popular herbs. Parsley and Dill are also host plants for Black Swallowtails, and kids usually love caterpillars! For flowers, how about annual Sunflowers or Rudbeckia hirta. Many pretty varieties of these.

I am surprised at your experience, Karen. I have WS Canna seeds two years in a row and both were successful. I had about 50% germination with no soaking or nicking and perhaps it would have been better if I had done some pre-treatment. I wonder if it depends on the varieties sown. Mine were seeds I collected in Barbados and China, a little different from the varieties we regularly see here in the nurseries.

So I was intrigued by this claim the first time I heard it and thought about the 21 days and huge profit and "Feed the World" possibilities. So I tried it a few times with several varieties and solutions. 3 weeks is extremely short for lettuce and I even felt that 5 weeks would be absolutely amazing. I have since settled down and realized that with lettuce production, it is profitable regardless of the length of the cycle. Fact is the 21 days could easily be applied to the transplanted seedlings as others on here have suggested. I can and have gotten transplanted Romaine seedlings to market quality and size in 14 days. The problem I have is the seed to transplant size, which I have only been able to cut to 5 weeks. (If I am lucky.) Good news is that the plants are small when they are in this stage so the real estate they occupy is much smaller. So being a lover of round numbers I have constructed my current garden and all designs for the future green houses around a total 10 week cycle. 7 weeks in the seedling stage and 3 in the transplanted stage. I get that we all want to utilize every possible inch for maximum production on the shortest most predictable schedule. I hope to gain at least the 3 weeks I cushioned back as I become more automated and the formulation is honed. Reducing the total time to 7 weeks would be ideal and I believe that 5 weeks may be possible if I add C02 emitters but believe that this would add significantly to the cost per head and do not think that I will develop a business case for this addition for several years because my production is still aimed at the hundreds of heads per week rather than the 10's of thousands of heads per week. I am just too small currently.