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habitat_gardener · February 23, 2010

I don't use my compost to start tomatoes or peppers because usually other seeds will sprout first (volunteer tomatoes are the ones I'm most concerned about). I used it one year (with wintersowing, so everything sprouted slowly) and ended up with a couple volunteer tomato plants, rather than the varieties I wanted.

But I do use my finely screened compost for starting brassicas. Kale and broccoli seeds are vigorous, and even if I have similar ones in the compost, they're likely to turn into good plants.

I also use my compost for potting up tomatoes. By the time they're a few inches high, they'll outgrow any volunteers in the compost. I grew a couple hundred tomato seedlings last year and didn't lose any to damping off. Snails and slugs got a few, though.

If the compost is finished, it won't be hot.

One other caveat about using compost. When I've added it to indoor plants, I've gotten fungus gnats or whiteflies indoors. So if I were growing my seedlings indoors, I wouldn't use compost.

February 23, 2010	#4
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	I don't use my compost to start tomatoes or peppers because usually other seeds will sprout first (volunteer tomatoes are the ones I'm most concerned about). I used it one year (with wintersowing, so everything sprouted slowly) and ended up with a couple volunteer tomato plants, rather than the varieties I wanted. But I do use my finely screened compost for starting brassicas. Kale and broccoli seeds are vigorous, and even if I have similar ones in the compost, they're likely to turn into good plants. I also use my compost for potting up tomatoes. By the time they're a few inches high, they'll outgrow any volunteers in the compost. I grew a couple hundred tomato seedlings last year and didn't lose any to damping off. Snails and slugs got a few, though. If the compost is finished, it won't be hot. One other caveat about using compost. When I've added it to indoor plants, I've gotten fungus gnats or whiteflies indoors. So if I were growing my seedlings indoors, I wouldn't use compost.