Can cold compost kill seeds? I sowed some tomato and aubergine seeds today. The compost had been in my cold greenhouse and was very cold. I assumed since I was putting them in a heated propagator, they would be alright, but did wonder whether I should have warmed up the compost first.
Caroline - Don't worry they should be fine if you are now heating the soil in a propagator!
They would only have a problem if they were expected to grow in the cold soil and stay cold and clammy!
In the wild that is how they probably would start!
Good luck with them anyway. I put mine in last week and have my first few up!
Putting another load in this weekend!
Old Bird
I planted all my seeds with the compost mix from my cold greenhouse, everything has come up fine, my aubergines are doing nicley and I have just transfered them to the cold greenhouse today cause they are getting big, and my cucucmbers are doing well to
I thought about doing cucumbers today but decided it wasa bit early yet.
I always water my cold compost with a bit of warm water before I put in the seeds.
cj :)
Hi Caroline,
as has been mentioned the fact that you have now placed them in the propagator with botton heat will ensure that they still germinate ok, the tip that carolinej has given is an excellent one in that if you haven't managed to store the compost in a warmer place then water it with warm water before sowing your seed, this will also speed up the germination process and probably increase the germination success rate, regards Steve.
http://www.myallotments.com