tomato seed starting medium?

I've been successful with germinating everything so far this year in my home sterilized compost and perlite mix. The tomatos are taking twice as long as usual. I normally get germination in 5-14 days with bottom heat. This year the first sprouts didn't show for 12 days. More are coming up now.

QUESTION:

Is fine smooth soiless mix more important to tomatos than to other seedlings (herbs, peppers, sunflowers, greens....)

I'm wondering if I ran the compost thru the food processor would the tomato seed be happier?

Chris

Personally,as long as it's not clumpy,or has clods,I wouldn't think that would be the problem.I've used lots of mediums,and the one thing that I've seen that makes any difference is moisture.The only thing I won't use are the little Jiffy brand pellets that expand into a tiny 'pot'.There's no way to properly control moisture in my situation,and they seem to be misrable homes for tomatoes and peppers.

Hmmm,
Well there aren't any of what I would consider clumps or clods but it isn't as fine as Jiffy mix, that's certain. I've replanted my seeds that haven't germinated. At least those that are must have for this year. I'm in the desert so if they aren't planted by the end of April outside I can forget about fruit till after the heat of summer (sigh). I'll let all know if using finer mix makes any difference at all. Thanks for your input Melody. I hope the original seeds will sprout anyway....I'm not ditchin them yet
Chris

okay it seems I've answered my own question. The mix definitely needs to be smooth and "fluffy" for quick germination. Of the seeds I replanted, 95% germinated within 10 days so that their sprouting coincided with the (more or less) 28 day sprouting of the originally planted (same variety) seeds.

So there we are.

Chris

Chris,

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. Your problem, likely, is that the seeds weren't actually in contact with the mix; that is, they were sitting in air pockets. As a result, they weren't getting the moisture they needed to germinate.

I'm sure you're right Brook. And where the pepper seeds appreciated the extra air, the tomato seeds just sat there......and sat....sat

Thanks for responding anyway.

Chris