shule1

I know it's an old thread, but I wanted to add my two cents in case anyone finds it helpful. I've found the following to be pretty good:

* Nature's Seedling Mix. It's very low on nutrients (so you need to add some before too long); so, I added potassium sulfate, basalt rockdust, and a 7-7-7 fertilizer, and that worked out very well for me. I think the 7-7-7 fertilizer caused some mold, though. Anyway, seeds germinated very well indoors in this mix (whether or not I amended it as I said). It's very soft stuff, and it's not full of wood chips like some mixes. The even fertilizer I used didn't burn plants or seedlings, and the potassium sulfate would have helped there, too (plus, the potassium made for stronger seedlings). High nitrogen fertilizers aren't recommended for seedlings. Actually, people usually don't recommend any fertilizer for seedlings, but I found the kinds I used helpful (I do know what it's like without them). I used 16-20 ounce cups for containers that year; so pre-amending the soil was more practical, since they were to be in the containers longer.
* Worm castings with a little peat moss mixed in. I used this in our unheated Strong Camel greenhouse to start seeds in this spring. I didn't amend it. It worked great and drained excellently while not drying out super fast. The plants didn't need extra nutrients added until they were in there too long anyway (at which point they needed extra phosphorus and maybe potassium to a lesser degree). I bought the mix from someone local for a few dollars per 25lb bag, I think. I found him on Craigslist. I grew the tomatoes in regular seed trays a bit on the large side (except for Missouri Pink Love Apple, which was in a foam cup). I didn't put them in larger containers before transplanting. I started over a hundred varieties this way.