potting soil question

[Warlord]

I went to Walmart today and purchased some organic potting soil and a bag of worm castings. (No I don't have a worm box yet. I'll discuss in a later posting.) I plan on placing my tomato seedlings in bigger pots. I need to know what ratios of each to use and if I need any other type of soil to mix with my organic stuff. I also need to carefully support my tomato seedlings because they are getting rather squirrely. I would appreciate any help. warren

[Sinfonian]

Warren, if you are potting up your tomatoes, any potting soil will work. I use Mel's Mix since that's what I have on hand, but whatever you have is fine.

As for spindly, a fan on low blowing over your seedlings a few hours a day creates stocky stems. For now just burry the spindly stem when you pot up. It will sturdy up as a root.

Good luck!

[plantoneonme]

Warren, I am in the process of transplanting my tomato seedlings as well. I don't like to use a lot of fertilizer products on my first transplant because I want them to develop more roots and less green. Personally, I would not use the worm castings at this point as the potting mix may already have some fertilizer type product in it....if not make a weak tea of the worm castings and water with it once a week if you like.

Also I transplant mine very deep, right up to the first set of leaves. Tomatoes can always be planted deeper and will develop roots all along the stem. I am now putting mine into 3" peat pots and will probably transplant one more time into recycled 20oz styrofoam cups. This gives me an extremely large root system for final planting.

In many of my seed cells, I have more than one plant coming up and since I am an absolute tomato fanatic, I cannot find it in me to snip one off....so I gently swish the roots in room temperature water that I leave out in a bucket for a couple days to wash off most of the soil. I then gently divide the plants and pot up. I planted 60 cells, transplanted 20 of them so far, and now have 45 in peat pots with 40 more to divide up.

I don't have room for that many plants and last year took some of my extras to a senior center and gave them away and some more to a place that feeds needy children and seniors and gave some away there also along with family, friends and coworkers...I got lots of hugs and kisses last spring :D

I have one man who begged me to sell him 20 or so at $5 each, of course I will give him the best of the ones I have left over. Last year, he was given a couple plants and raved over them since he never even tasted an heirloom before. He is my first customer, so to speak, but it is a start. Kim

[Warlord]

Thanks for the info my friends. I don't feel like woking on remodeling our stairway today so I will be going to Speedway, buy a large Mountain Dew, rock out with some Thousand Foot Krutch on the MP3:cool: and start transplanting my tomatoes. I don't feel I have a steady enough hand at swishing the roots in water. I dread the thought of breaking any of the stems so I will take them out of their tiny cell and place them into (I'm guessing) 20 ounce pots. warren

[gardengirl72]

The key is really transplanting them deeply. Good luck!