A Shallow Question

[snohare]

I was sowing some beetroot seeds today, and it occurred to me that I often seem to skimp on how deep I sow my seeds. The likes of the beetroot it said (I think) to cover with an inch of soil - ie, 2.5 cm. They go under about 1cm, if that. To be honest, I usually go by the old rule of three times as deep as the seed's size.
It's fairly crumbly loam, and today in particular is "damp" (to use an understatement!), I always make sure it is a fine, very moist tilth both underneath and above the seeds, and so far I have had no problems with germination rates. My salsify and scorzonera have germinated almost 100%, and I basically stuck them in vertically with the tops just visible.
So my question is, other than birds maybe getting at them more easily (except I net from the word go anyway), what disadvantages are there to sowing seeds too shallow ?

[solway cropper]

Apart from peas and beans I never take any notice of planting depth. I sow on to moist soil/compost, lightly cover and firm down. Never seem to have much trouble with germination.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Biggest problem would possibly be the risk of drying out in hot weather. I'm never too fussy about depth for sowing and everything still comes ok.

[Two_Sheds]

I sow into damp drills (or modules) and cover with a sprinkle of soil, never very much unless it's spuds

[Flummery]

I sow as I feel like it - different every time. However, like others above, I make sure the drill is damp. If it isn't I water it, sow the seeds then cover with the surrounding soil, which is sometimes dry and fluffy. However, I don't want to risk washing the seeds away, hence the pre-watering.

[chris]

I'm pretty much the same as Flummery.. if i'm not like that I know I'd have the tape measure out measuring the depth and ensuring it's level... I don't have the time to do that, so it's perhaps the only time I'm not so OCD

[Florence Fennel]

All of the above, although I have started sowing radish seed a little deeper than I did and I've harvested bigger, fatter radishes for it.

[snohare]

Aha, as I suspected ! Unless they dry out, it sounds as if it probably doesn't matter in the majority of cases. I never have problems with germination normally - carrots in buckets, and peas this year being an exception - but then like Flummery, I tend to mulch with dry soil, and that works well on top of damp I think.
Ta for the feedback. Not being on an official allotment site, I only have one Chinese fellow gardener, so there's not much chance to discuss the little details...

[Aberdeenplotter]

Ahh so