Our club has a greenhouse with natural light where we will plant tomatoes in sixpack cells the 7th of March. The cells are on heat mats at 70 degrees. Three weeks later on March 28 they will be transplanted into 5 inch pots, still in the greenhouse, but off the heat mats. Three and a half weeks later they will be sold. We sell 1500 to 1800 per year, with around 50 varieties. I hope our experience may be some help to you. Each cell is sown with two seeds, the excess is snipped off at soil level. We seldom have any vacant cells. As a non profit we get old seeds donated, which work very well. Al

I find a fortnight ahead of planting out is plenty. Plus four to five days for hardening off. So roughly 3 weeks altogether from sowing to transplanting outside. I grow in small pinches in modules and do not pot on. No heat and no lights. (I grow them in a glass porch). Lettuce tolerates pulling apart of several seedlings from a clump. I don't mind if some get a better start than others because I don't want them all ready at once anyway.

I've seen bulbs with Mosaic Virus, but I don't recall having to deal with any, myself. I could be wrong, though... my memory is horrible, and I've been a gardener and bulb collector for a long time. Regardless of the problem... whether a disease or pest damage... it's still pretty devastating to lose a collection of plants. I know how you feel, to be sure. I would be happy to share information on the medium(s) I use. I've linked the most important article to read at the bottom of this post. It will explain the concept of the mediums I use, which is most important of all. And it includes recipes for two mediums... the Gritty Mix, which is used more for indoor plants... and the 511 Mix, which a lot of people use for container grown veggies, trees, and other plants grown outdoors in pots. After struggling with moisture retention issues in potted plants for years, and especially pertaining to my bulbs, I was so thrilled to come across a discussion that tackled the issues of simple science and basic physics... or, what really happens under the soil surface in pots, and how we can better control moisture and nutrition and other variables in a containerized environment. The fir bark isn't too hard to locate... I use either the small bags of Repti-Bark, available at pet stores (some people say the bark is too large, but I believe the larger bags contain larger pieces)... or I look for a plain fir bark mulch that is comprised of small pieces. The good folks over at the Container Gardening Forum will be happy to direct you or make suggestions if you can't locate an ingredient. The granite chips I use are available at most farm oriented stores, like Rural King or Farm & Fleet. It's labeled Gran-i-Grit, and it's for chickens. It's nothing but crushed granite. I also use coarse Perlite, available at most garden centers. I make certain to sift or screen all ingredients before using to remove dust, and to remove particles that are too large or too small. The article discusses all aspects of use, but if you have any questions, either myself or any of the regulars over at the Container Gardening Forum are most pleased to help. They're a great group of folks! You can substitute some of these ingredients for others if some are hard to locate. A lot of people use Turface, lava rock pieces, pumice, etc... some use premixed bonsai medium... once you understand the concept and have worked a little with the basic recipes, you'll get a feel for what you can substitute. The important thing to remember is keeping particle size consistent throughout the mix. What you're trying to achieve is a sharp-draining, aerated environment in which you have better control over watering, control over feeding, etc... you're trying to avoid errors in watering, and having too much moisture hung up within the interior of the pot. And using a more inorganic type of medium ensures longer life of the medium, and it ensures a better balance of PH and other issues. With a well made Gritty-type medium, you could water daily and not run into issues... and improper watering is the most common reason plants fail in a pot environment. The 511 Mix uses a slightly more moisture retentive recipe that includes peat. You might want to experiment and see which mix you like better, depending on your own individual micro-environment. As I said before, it's the CONCEPT of the mixes that's most important to understand... how they work, why they work... why they make good sense to use, etc... It's important to remember that there's a slight learning curve when switching to a sharper-draining medium... you'll want to keep a closer eye on watering and feeding. And when mixing a batch, you'll want to make certain the ingredients are pre-moistened so they can readily absorb moisture once you pot your plants in it. I can keep my bulbs potted in the Gritty Mix for 2 or 3 years before I have to repot and/or refresh those ingredients. I can feed a continuous weak solution of liquid fertilizer plus a micro-nutrient during active growth and not worry about burn or using too little fertilizer. And most important, I don't have to worry about over watering. Under watering may be part of the learning curve in the beginning, but if you're diligent in checking your plants, you won't have issues. And for me, another great thing is that I can use these Mixes for every plant type I grow... from cacti to orchids and everything in between! I actually have a Dendrobium and an Anselia orchid growing in Gritty Mix, all my bulbs are in it, as are my other house plants and container plants, such as a Plumeria, a Hoya, an Epi Cactus, a Chalice Vine, some seedling cacti I grew, and every other plant I have. I adjust for moisture retention for individual plant type sometimes, or the size of a pot, using a slightly different mixture of ingredients, but the basic concept remains the same. I spent decades wrestling with moisture issues in containers, and I thought that the gardening industry was pretty much on the side of consumers... but then, after doing some research and learning about the Gritty type of mediums, I realized that the gardening industry is no different than any other... they exist to profit. The higher the turnover in plants, and the more purchases consumers make, the better the profit. And the Gritty mediums, in my experience, help lessen that turnover. I've experienced less plant loss, I don't have to repot as often... so I'm actually saving money. As I said earlier, there are many schools of thought on soils/mediums and what constitutes the best in container growing... and you'll find many arguments on the issue of soils within various forums... but I found information via the articles written by the author of the one I linked below, Tapla, that make perfect, logical sense in a very easy to understand, scientific way. I've been a huge fan of Tapla's writings for a long time, now. The man is an expert bonsai grower, speaks publicly on the subjects of gardening and container growing, and has a very solid reputation here at GardenWeb. In any case, there's no harm in reading and doing a little poking around to see what other growers think about the concept of a larger particled, sharper draining, more aerated medium for use in potted environments. I hope you enjoy the article, and I hope it gets you thinking about what is generally accepted versus what you'll know after reading! It changed the way I grow, for sure... and I'm much happier now that I have better control over what's happening under the surface of the soil in my pots. It's a lot to take in all at once... but the more you think about it, and the more you work with this type of medium, the more you'll see what we're all excited about at the Container Gardening forum, with regard to those who use these mediums! I wish you the best in your move... and the best with new bulbs! And if you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to help... sharing knowledge is what makes gardening and growing fun, and so worthwhile! And knowledge is the key to success! There's no such thing as a "green thumb". Gardening isn't about having luck... it's about having knowledge. A green thumb is nothing more than applied knowledge. Happy Gardening! Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils - Water Movement and Retention XIX

In your zone, right now you can directly sow them in the garden. But parsleys like cooler weather. I consider them cool crop. I started mine in cold fram in February. I am in zone 7/8 GA. I have had one harvest so far. I chpped and freezed them. I am practical about herbs. I plant them for consumption not just for show. I have a parsley-like herb called "chervil". I found the seeds by accident in a dollar store. It is a french favorite in place of parsley. It has tiny fern-like leaves and grows fast and taller than parsley. If you like parsley you should also plant some chervil.