[A Reyt Tayty]

Although my toms are now trotting along nicely, their progress from being tiny seedlings has been chequered to say the least. I thought it may have been down to the compost I sowed them in, which was sieved Vitax Q. It was some left over from last year, so I thought it might have picked something not nice up. So, I mixed some with a bit of sand (25%) and microwaved it to kill of any nasties. Planted tom seed of four different varieties. This was over a fortnight ago. Result: a perfect germination rate of ZERO! Seems sterilising doesn't always pay dividends.

[DD.]

You're supposed to put the seeds in AFTER you nuke it! 

[Trillium]

  I was just thinking that myself.

My preferred way of starting tom seeds is to place some seed in damp (not soggy) and labelled paper towel squares, fold, and place them in a small zip bag. Check every few days for progress. When you see seeds sprouting, plant those immediately in damp potting mix and keep the soil gently moist. Now you know you have germinated seedlings.

[BabbyAnn]

I was just thinking that myself.

My preferred way of starting tom seeds is to place some seed in damp (not soggy) and labelled paper towel squares, fold, and place them in a small zip bag. Check every few days for progress. When you see seeds sprouting, plant those immediately in damp potting mix and keep the soil gently moist. Now you know you have germinated seedlings.

Usually I've never had problems with tomato seeds (providing they are fresh) - they'll even germinate after over ripe toms have been tossed in the compost bin in autumn and then spring up like weeds everywhere else on the plot    Last year there were some heritage seed I wanted to try that were struggling to germinate so I did the damp paper towel square in a zip lock bag to chit them this year, and it worked    I could see which were viable and which were duff seed and so not waste any compost.

[JayG]

Although my toms are now trotting along nicely, their progress from being tiny seedlings has been chequered to say the least. I thought it may have been down to the compost I sowed them in, which was sieved Vitax Q. It was some left over from last year, so I thought it might have picked something not nice up. So, I mixed some with a bit of sand (25%) and microwaved it to kill of any nasties. Planted tom seed of four different varieties. This was over a fortnight ago. Result: a perfect germination rate of ZERO! Seems sterilising doesn't always pay dividends.

Have you read this thread on the subject Tayty?

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=103363.msg1156560#msg1156560

It's possible you overheated the mixture and produced toxins which may have inhibited germination.

I grew my tomatoes in 60 litre bags of compost last year (the much-criticised Wickes product at the time and also Vitax Q4) and the plants all looked pale and were reluctant to grow. It may have partly been the low temperatures but they all did better after a liquid feed.

It may not be a fair or even true suggestion that some of the compost producers may be economising on the most expensive ingredient in their products, but possibly worth bearing in mind anyway. 

[A Reyt Tayty]

It was probably the overheating thing Jay..............I gave it some right wallop!
That's another thing on the NOT to do list for future reference!

[JayG]

Perhaps we should start a new thread:

 "Gardening made easy - what I DIDN'T do on the plot today!" 

[Trillium]

If we started that thread, Jay, then I'd have it filled in no time all by myself 

[Headgardener22]

Where were you germinating them? I put all my tomatoes in the greenhouse as usual (I know its wrong you're supposed to germinate them in a place which keeps a constant temperature of between 20 and 25C but I put them in the greenhouse with a heater running at night to keep the frost away). Most germinated within 10 days but a few varieties took over 3 weeks.

I looked at the packets and found that the supplier suggested a number of different germination temperatures so perhaps you had some which needed a higher temperature to germinate.

[A Reyt Tayty]

Low temps are a possibility. I emptied the pots today and there was no sign of any seeds whatsoever. The strange case of the seed eating micro-nuked compost?

[shokkyy]

I've used Vitax for everything this year and the last couple of years. The only problem I've ever had with tomato seeds is more germinating than I actually sowed 

I guess I need to go to spec savers, or maybe stop trying to pick seeds up with damp fingers. I actually thought Vitax this year was even better than the last couple of years, really nice and fibrous. All my tomato seeds and seedlings are in it and all doing well. All I ever do is chuck a few in a 3" pot, cover with compost and spritz with a spray bottle, cover with plastic bag and stick it on the worktop near the boiler so they're nice and warm. They always seem to germinate very well and very fast, and some of my tom seeds are years old.