I mean, this is a great idea too - I think the key is just realistic expectations! But I do this too... I like to do it over straw, and the straw kind of protects the seedlings by retaining a bit of moisture and keeping the seeds from birds and wind.

It's awesome for growing lettuces and herbs, I find - I just thin them out as they peak out of the straw and let the biggest ones stay, while the smaller ones get eaten as I thin them or make it into a salad or something for dinner.

But you're absolutely right, not worrying too much and just letting your garden do its thing is great. You might not get maximum yields of tomatoes or watermelons or whatever, but it can work well and take a lot of the fussing out of the equation.

How do you keep track of which plants you have? Do you just wait for them to flower/fruit?

I'm in my third year of gardening so can mostly tell what is coming up pretty quickly.