Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

Two things:

I set out looking for seed sowing compost at the sheds, and the best they
did was a JI No. 1 which seems to be for cuttings, or a very small bag of
compost for seeds but nothing in bulk.

So I took the pragmatic decision to use GroBag compost.

Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

So is it necessary to have a particularly fine compost for tomato seeds, or
am I just unlucky with my seeds - T&M Ildi and Mr. Fothergill's Principe
Borghese?

Is there anywhere (national chain) which sells seed compost?
Or is JI No. 1 adequate?

I can't remeber having these problems in the past, but it is a good few
years since I grew tomatoes from seed.

Cheers

Dave R

--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

On 13/04/2012 14:51, David WE Roberts wrote:
Two things:

I set out looking for seed sowing compost at the sheds, and the best
they did was a JI No. 1 which seems to be for cuttings, or a very small
bag of compost for seeds but nothing in bulk.

So I took the pragmatic decision to use GroBag compost.

Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

So is it necessary to have a particularly fine compost for tomato seeds,
or am I just unlucky with my seeds - T&M Ildi and Mr. Fothergill's
Principe Borghese?

Is there anywhere (national chain) which sells seed compost?
Or is JI No. 1 adequate?

I can't remeber having these problems in the past, but it is a good few
years since I grew tomatoes from seed.

Cheers

Dave R


I just use a reasonable quality multi-purpose compost mixed with around
10% volume of sharp sand for all my seeds including tomatoes. I've got a
forest of cherry tomatoes growing in a seed tray on my windowsill at the
moment. This mix has always served me well, it seems to retain enough
moisture without becoming waterlogged and the sand is good for the roots
too.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

On 13/04/2012 13:51, David WE Roberts wrote:
Two things:

I set out looking for seed sowing compost at the sheds, and the best
they did was a JI No. 1 which seems to be for cuttings, or a very small
bag of compost for seeds but nothing in bulk.

So I took the pragmatic decision to use GroBag compost.

Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

So is it necessary to have a particularly fine compost for tomato seeds,
or am I just unlucky with my seeds - T&M Ildi and Mr. Fothergill's
Principe Borghese?

Is there anywhere (national chain) which sells seed compost?
Or is JI No. 1 adequate?

I can't remeber having these problems in the past, but it is a good few
years since I grew tomatoes from seed.

Cheers

Dave R


After 10 days mine aren't doing anything either. The compost still feels
cold despite being indoors. I don't feel that warm either :-)

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

On Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:51:16 +0100, "David WE Roberts"
wrote:


Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

Its a bit chilly, so may take longer, mine are up (just)
Had a talk from a rep from westlands last week, he explained that
seed compost needed to be finer than most compost if it was to work
for very small seeds, he showed us ten bags of the range and
explained the difference between them, the most telling comment was
that the one marked 'for hanging baskets' was the same stuff as the
multi purpose, , not trying to mislead the public, but helping out
those who want something for the hanging basket and don't want to
appear stupid.

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

In message , Derek
writes
On Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:51:16 +0100, "David WE Roberts"
wrote:


Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

Its a bit chilly, so may take longer, mine are up (just)
Had a talk from a rep from westlands last week, he explained that
seed compost needed to be finer than most compost if it was to work
for very small seeds, he showed us ten bags of the range and
explained the difference between them, the most telling comment was
that the one marked 'for hanging baskets' was the same stuff as the
multi purpose, , not trying to mislead the public, but helping out
those who want something for the hanging basket and don't want to
appear stupid.

The ones advertised as being for containers and baskets often have water
retaining granules added.
--
Chris French

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

On 13/04/2012 13:51, David WE Roberts wrote:
Two things:

I set out looking for seed sowing compost at the sheds, and the best
they did was a JI No. 1 which seems to be for cuttings, or a very small
bag of compost for seeds but nothing in bulk.

So I took the pragmatic decision to use GroBag compost.

Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

So is it necessary to have a particularly fine compost for tomato seeds,
or am I just unlucky with my seeds - T&M Ildi and Mr. Fothergill's
Principe Borghese?

Is there anywhere (national chain) which sells seed compost?
Or is JI No. 1 adequate?

I can't remeber having these problems in the past, but it is a good few
years since I grew tomatoes from seed.


I just sow them into multi-purpose compost, and have done for over 30
years without problems. Put the compost in a tray, moisten it and gently
press the seeds in. Cover with about quarter of an inch the compost, put
a sheet of newspaper on top and place the whole lot in a plastic bag and
put it somewhere like the airing cupboard. Doing that, mine always
germinate very quickly.

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

Farmer Giles wrote in news:
:

On 13/04/2012 13:51, David WE Roberts wrote:
Two things:

I set out looking for seed sowing compost at the sheds, and the best
they did was a JI No. 1 which seems to be for cuttings, or a very small
bag of compost for seeds but nothing in bulk.

So I took the pragmatic decision to use GroBag compost.

Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

So is it necessary to have a particularly fine compost for tomato seeds,
or am I just unlucky with my seeds - T&M Ildi and Mr. Fothergill's
Principe Borghese?

Is there anywhere (national chain) which sells seed compost?
Or is JI No. 1 adequate?

I can't remeber having these problems in the past, but it is a good few
years since I grew tomatoes from seed.


I just sow them into multi-purpose compost, and have done for over 30
years without problems. Put the compost in a tray, moisten it and gently
press the seeds in. Cover with about quarter of an inch the compost, put
a sheet of newspaper on top and place the whole lot in a plastic bag and
put it somewhere like the airing cupboard. Doing that, mine always
germinate very quickly.



Yes. But I put mine on a window cill, its the same really but at night on a
cill the temperature can go down dramaticaly. I think (probably wrong) it
helps to harden them off. ALL of my Gardeners Delight have shown. I know
that because I sow in cells, 2 per cell and plant half of them too early to
get a head start, if frost kills them I have more to plant, so what! Same
with runner beans.
I admit it can only be a couple of weeks before the younger ones catch up
but by that time we are eating tomatoes.

Baz

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

On 14/04/2012 11:00, Baz wrote:
Farmer wrote in news:
:

On 13/04/2012 13:51, David WE Roberts wrote:
Two things:

I set out looking for seed sowing compost at the sheds, and the best
they did was a JI No. 1 which seems to be for cuttings, or a very small
bag of compost for seeds but nothing in bulk.

So I took the pragmatic decision to use GroBag compost.

Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

So is it necessary to have a particularly fine compost for tomato seeds,
or am I just unlucky with my seeds - T&M Ildi and Mr. Fothergill's
Principe Borghese?

Is there anywhere (national chain) which sells seed compost?
Or is JI No. 1 adequate?

I can't remeber having these problems in the past, but it is a good few
years since I grew tomatoes from seed.


I just sow them into multi-purpose compost, and have done for over 30
years without problems. Put the compost in a tray, moisten it and gently
press the seeds in. Cover with about quarter of an inch the compost, put
a sheet of newspaper on top and place the whole lot in a plastic bag and
put it somewhere like the airing cupboard. Doing that, mine always
germinate very quickly.



Yes. But I put mine on a window cill, its the same really but at night on a
cill the temperature can go down dramaticaly. I think (probably wrong) it
helps to harden them off.

I think that is wrong. The seedlings would not appreciate the cold nights.

Do you grow them on the sill, or just put them there to germinate?

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

Farmer Giles wrote in
o.uk:

On 14/04/2012 11:00, Baz wrote:
Farmer wrote in news:
:

On 13/04/2012 13:51, David WE Roberts wrote:
Two things:

I set out looking for seed sowing compost at the sheds, and the
best they did was a JI No. 1 which seems to be for cuttings, or a
very small bag of compost for seeds but nothing in bulk.

So I took the pragmatic decision to use GroBag compost.

Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

So is it necessary to have a particularly fine compost for tomato
seeds, or am I just unlucky with my seeds - T&M Ildi and Mr.
Fothergill's Principe Borghese?

Is there anywhere (national chain) which sells seed compost?
Or is JI No. 1 adequate?

I can't remeber having these problems in the past, but it is a good
few years since I grew tomatoes from seed.


I just sow them into multi-purpose compost, and have done for over
30 years without problems. Put the compost in a tray, moisten it and
gently press the seeds in. Cover with about quarter of an inch the
compost, put a sheet of newspaper on top and place the whole lot in
a plastic bag and put it somewhere like the airing cupboard. Doing
that, mine always germinate very quickly.



Yes. But I put mine on a window cill, its the same really but at
night on a cill the temperature can go down dramaticaly. I think
(probably wrong) it helps to harden them off.

I think that is wrong. The seedlings would not appreciate the cold
nights.

Do you grow them on the sill, or just put them there to germinate?



I put them on the cill to germinate then plant them out in a full sun
position when they have nice sturdy stems. No re-potting. I just sow them
in pairs and break them apart when I 'think' its time for them to be
planted outside. If frost gets them, I have plenty more to plant out.

Once they are outside and fruit has set all I do is take off side shoots,
water them daily and feed them weekly. In the few years I have grown them
I have had a very nice crop indeed, enough for bottling, sauce.etc.

Baz

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

"Baz" wrote in message .. .
I put them on the cill to germinate then plant them out in a full sun
position when they have nice sturdy stems. No re-potting. I just sow them
in pairs and break them apart when I 'think' its time for them to be
planted outside. If frost gets them, I have plenty more to plant out.

Once they are outside and fruit has set all I do is take off side shoots,
water them daily and feed them weekly. In the few years I have grown them
I have had a very nice crop indeed, enough for bottling, sauce.etc.



I assume soup for the freezer is included in the "etc" !
We still got about a hundred servings of the last two years tomato to enjoy.
Today it is celery 2010 vintage, thawing out for lunch as I write.
We do try to consume most within twelve months of production though.

Regards
Pete

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

On 15/04/2012 04:45, Baz wrote:
Farmer wrote in
o.uk:

On 14/04/2012 11:00, Baz wrote:
Farmer wrote in news:
:

On 13/04/2012 13:51, David WE Roberts wrote:
Two things:

I set out looking for seed sowing compost at the sheds, and the
best they did was a JI No. 1 which seems to be for cuttings, or a
very small bag of compost for seeds but nothing in bulk.

So I took the pragmatic decision to use GroBag compost.

Most stuff so far seems to be germinating, but not the tomatoes.

So is it necessary to have a particularly fine compost for tomato
seeds, or am I just unlucky with my seeds - T&M Ildi and Mr.
Fothergill's Principe Borghese?

Is there anywhere (national chain) which sells seed compost?
Or is JI No. 1 adequate?

I can't remeber having these problems in the past, but it is a good
few years since I grew tomatoes from seed.


I just sow them into multi-purpose compost, and have done for over
30 years without problems. Put the compost in a tray, moisten it and
gently press the seeds in. Cover with about quarter of an inch the
compost, put a sheet of newspaper on top and place the whole lot in
a plastic bag and put it somewhere like the airing cupboard. Doing
that, mine always germinate very quickly.



Yes. But I put mine on a window cill, its the same really but at
night on a cill the temperature can go down dramaticaly. I think
(probably wrong) it helps to harden them off.

I think that is wrong. The seedlings would not appreciate the cold
nights.

Do you grow them on the sill, or just put them there to germinate?



I put them on the cill to germinate then plant them out in a full sun
position when they have nice sturdy stems. No re-potting. I just sow them
in pairs and break them apart when I 'think' its time for them to be
planted outside. If frost gets them, I have plenty more to plant out.

Once they are outside and fruit has set all I do is take off side shoots,
water them daily and feed them weekly. In the few years I have grown them
I have had a very nice crop indeed, enough for bottling, sauce.etc.


Seems a very unconventional way of doing things, but if it works it
can't be wrong.

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

Farmer Giles wrote in
o.uk:


I put them on the cill to germinate then plant them out in a full sun
position when they have nice sturdy stems. No re-potting. I just sow
them in pairs and break them apart when I 'think' its time for them
to be planted outside. If frost gets them, I have plenty more to
plant out.

Once they are outside and fruit has set all I do is take off side
shoots, water them daily and feed them weekly. In the few years I
have grown them I have had a very nice crop indeed, enough for
bottling, sauce.etc.


Seems a very unconventional way of doing things, but if it works it
can't be wrong.


Or I might just be lucky. But I know from my own experience that if you
throw waste tomatoes into the compost heap, or might be that some have
dropped off the plant onto the soil they will grow next season and really
look after themselves. Seems like you can't stop them germinating when the
temperature is right for them! Just the point that we like them to grow
where we intend them to, other than that if it weren't for tomato blight I
would just leave them to self set.

Baz

Tomatoes and sowing compost
 

"Pete" wrote in
:



"Baz" wrote in message
... I put them on the
cill to germinate then plant them out in a full sun position when they
have nice sturdy stems. No re-potting. I just sow them in pairs and
break them apart when I 'think' its time for them to be planted
outside. If frost gets them, I have plenty more to plant out.

Once they are outside and fruit has set all I do is take off side
shoots, water them daily and feed them weekly. In the few years I have
grown them I have had a very nice crop indeed, enough for bottling,
sauce.etc.



I assume soup for the freezer is included in the "etc" !
We still got about a hundred servings of the last two years tomato to
enjoy. Today it is celery 2010 vintage, thawing out for lunch as I
write. We do try to consume most within twelve months of production
though.

Regards
Pete



First thing is that my celery always goes to seed before the stems are only
2" high. So I am doing somthing wrong.

Second thing I use bottled tomatoes to make soup as needed. It never
occured to me to make it,(in bulk?) then freeze it. Homemade tomato soup is
something our family adore.

We haven't a extra large freezer(like you must have) and must bottle or
pickle our surpluss everythings. Sometimes make a clamp of sorts(in boxes
carrots & parsnip). Clamp is the wrong termination but I am sure you know
what I mean.

Good luck
Baz