[andtiggertoo]

It not a silly question at all, it's one a lot of us have mulled over.

You will find out from experience which of the seeds you like to grow will be successful in your particular garden conditions over time. But the following might help in the meantime.

Grow in pots if the seeds :

need more heat than outside temperatures allow at the time you need to start them off
are highly vulnerable to pests ( birds/slugs)
are long germinating/developing and you need the space for an earlier crop.

Grow outside if the seed packet says you can and :

the seed packet says they don't like disturbing
for later successional sowings when weather is warmer
if you are growing very large quantities which would be too time consuming
are unable/unwilling to water pots regularly or don't have space for pots.

Until you build up some knowledge of your garden conditions it's probably good to experiment with a few seeds of each veg outside. I have done this and in my area most things I do in pots. Although during the recent hot weather I have had a bit more success outside.

happy experimenting

[Growster...]

"My great-aunt made "knitted" rugs years ago from rags. They lasted and lasted"...

You've been watching the fourteenth re-run of 'Victorian Farm' haven't you Learner...;0)

[Paul Plots]

"My great-aunt made "knitted" rugs years ago from rags. They lasted and lasted"...

You've been watching the fourteenth re-run of 'Victorian Farm' haven't you Learner...;0)

Nope.

She was the District Nurse in a tiny Somerset village and, in her spare time, was a "glover" making gloves as  part of a cottage industry. She also knitted / wove rag-rugs.

[AlaninCarlisle]

I sow stuff into those cheap B and Q pressed peat modules, the ones that are in a block with each sowing station measuring about an inch by two inches across and two inches deep. I start stuff like parsnips and celeriac in these in the greenhouse then thin to one plant per module, tear off each separate module and plant into the final bed when plants are about two inches tall.

Works great for me but just a word to the wise: Use garden soil for parsnips rather than compost. I started by germinating in compost and found that the parsnips forked once the root had penetrated the peat container into the soil below

[Growster...]

I sow stuff into those cheap B and Q pressed peat modules, the ones that are in a block with each sowing station measuring about an inch by two inches across and two inches deep. I start stuff like parsnips and celeriac in these in the greenhouse then thin to one plant per module, tear off each separate module and plant into the final bed when plants are about two inches tall.

Works great for me but just a word to the wise: Use garden soil for parsnips rather than compost. I started by germinating in compost and found that the parsnips forked once the root had penetrated the peat container into the soil below

Good tip Alan - thanks...

Bit late actually, as they're away now, but perhaps another re-sow wouldn't go amiss!