This might not be completely relevant since these are volunteers, but I have what appear to be two young impatiens growing in a left over pot. The pot was full of torenia last year, and I started watering it consistently a few weeks ago to see if another generation of torenia seedlings would spring to life (had reseeding in the second half of the season last year). Lots of little green things started growing, including some plantlets from the baskets that had been hanging above the pot last year. To my surprise, two larger plants developed, and they look just like impatiens, complete with developing flower buds. The only problem is, I have no idea where the seeds came from, lol! There is a slight possibility that this pot spent a week or two sitting under a basket of impatiens that eventually got moved to my more shaded back porch, but that would have been more than a year ago. So I guess germination rates might not be very high or reliable with direct sowing, but these little suckers can show up in the darndest places.

I don't specifically direct sow on purpose, but sometimes I get volunteers, particularly from ornamental peppers, that sprout in late April or early May. They are small but will grow well in May's mild weather and eventually get a good size and produce peppers. However, they're always a couple of months behind plants I started from seed indoors. My brother direct sowed peppers in Texas for years and his results were the same. They sprout well (as long as they are sown into really warm soil) and grow well, but produce later than peppers grown from transplants. Direct-sown peppers tend to have better taproots since they are not disturbed after they start growing, so that might make them more drought tolerant or more productive. The main issues with direct sowing is that by the time the soil is warm enough, we are having April/May's torrential rainfall, which may have a tendency to wash seed away. Otherwise, you shouldn't have any problems with direct sowing.

Thanks to the last two posters who reminded me not expect much by seeding now and to be happy with what's in the nursery. I have started some cosmos and will start some marigolds today, pre-sprouting them, just for fun. I do live in warm San Jose where it's expected to be 85+ all week. I will be reading GardenWeb starting in Jan to see what others are doing in regards to starting their spring and summer seeds. Thanks to everyone for their input. Happy Father's Day!

Thanks for the great feedback, rgreen48. Starting the new garden this year, and getting a late start on it, I reconciled myself to the idea that if we harvested anything from the garden that would be a bonus...that we were simply trying to get the foundation started for the garden. Naturally, when I saw plants growing and blooming I shifted gears from "we're building a garden" to "I've gotta save the plants and gotta harvest two tons of vegetables off of this little piece of dirt!!!".<rolling eyes> Then, of course, along comes downy mildew, SVB (most likely), etc.,. Reality sets in that I've created a buffet for uninvited guests of different sorts. "Patient fortitude"...nice expression. <chuckle> Thanks for the reality check on needing to be more specific...I see that I was asking in a "shotgun pattern" manner. I've looked at lots of plant/variety lists and I agree there is a long, long list of different varieties. That's probably why I asked my original question(s) asking for recommendations...the list can be, uh, a little overwhelming. :) But, I agree that being more specific will gather better response and more research on my part will allow me to ask more informed questions. I think I'm going to be happy with my okra variety (Clemson Spineless) and my cowpeas (Zipper Cream) are starting to bloom on some *very* robust bushes so I think I'm good on them, though I might try a smaller seeded variety along with them next year. Yellow crookneck squash, though having a tough go of it (planted late), will also be one that I'll be planting again next year. The jury is still out on my tomatoes, cukes, and melons...all seem to be struggling but I'm not so sure a lot of that is accountable to the extremely wet/humid summer that we've had. So, I may just plant two or three new varieties of these next year and see which performs the best...maybe buy a large enough quantity of seed to replant the next year of the favored plant to insure against crossing between the varieties...??? ...and hope for a less incubator-style weather pattern next year! Saving seeds from hybirds... If I save the seeds of a hybrid and then replant them I understand that the resulting plant will be a wildcard but will the seeds from that wildcard plant produce replicas of itself and be OP? ....ok, I did some googling (it takes me forever to respond to a good post!<g>) and from what I can tell it takes the 7th generation to have a "new" stable variety from hybrid seeds...is that the Reader's Digest condensed version of the answer to my question? Vegetable gardeners are like beekeepers, it appears...ask ten beekeepers a question and get 20 answers...maybe 21. ;) Thanks for the good food for thought!