A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum The Tomato Forum OOPS Help!!!!

I planted some tomato plants inside last night. I used regular topsoil, assuming it would be ok. Im reading now that topsoil is terrible for germinating seeds.
What should I do? Try to find the seeds and replant in soiless seed started? Add some kind of miracle gro? or just let them be?

IanL,
In my opinion yes a soilless mix is best. With that being said my Mother started all her seeds in garden soil for many years. That is all she had when she started seeds in the 30's and never switched. The thing is she developed a method that worked and stayed with it. I also start tomato seeds direct in the garden. But I'm also very sandy here so soil drains well.
Now to your question. First do you have any extra seeds you can start in a seed starting mix? If so I would start some in it and see how the others do. If not and you can find the seeds it would probably be best to move them. I'm also assuming you don't have a lot of seed starting experience so I would move them if at all possible. MG works well for me but any good seed starting mix would work. Just my opinion. Jay

If the label said something like "topsoil" and not much else, it probably is really lousy for starting seed. Like jay said, if you have any extra seed, start again, Jiffy Mix or another seed starting mix is good, sometimes even potting mix will do, but don't fertilize yet.

What is the soil that you sometimes see in tiny starting seedlings that resembles sand and something else. It's a very fine soil mix of some kind.

I started my seeds in Miracle Grow seedling starter mix this year and am a bit disappointed. I think it was too coarse for the seeds. That's why I'm looking into this other stuff. Just wondering if anyone has ever tried this or knows what this mix could be.

yea when i planted seeds like this the plant grew yes but was sickkk (5), this year i bought head start tomatoes and there doing amazing right now there already flowering