By Hank
Cheshire,
United Kingdom 
Today was the last day I’m allowed out and I went on my bike to Dobies - the nearest, biggest garden centre to me to pick up a small bag of seed compost. They had none and I need to set my toms now. So as an experiment I set one in my home made compost, one in ordinary compost out of a last year’s bag and one in soil out of my raised beds.
Do I have any chance or must I somehow get the proper stuff ?
22 Mar, 2020
Answers
You're fine! The seeds should spring up with no problem. The main thing is temperature, light & water. Be on point with all 3 of these, you're on the path to success. After about 4 weeks, it will be time to pot them up. By then you'll have a new bag of compost to use. All good! You can simply place an order and have it delivered to your front door.
23 Mar, 2020
Thanks both. What a relief, I’ll risk planting more. I didn’t think I had a chance
23 Mar, 2020
just remove any weed seeds you see popping up. I find tom seedlings popping up in all sorts of funny places and composts/soils
23 Mar, 2020
Over 60 years ago my Father used to have a small-holding, a supplement to his job as a Baker's Roundsman (who remembers those?) and had industrial sized greenhouses where he grew tomatoes. He and my Mother also grew bedding plants and never had any 'proper' compost. Ordinary sieved soil for the bedding plants and the tomatoes went into the greenhouse soil with rotted pig manure and loads of water. They grew like mad and we had the job of taking out the side shoots, tying them up and picking them. I have never liked tomatoes - I wonder why?
As Seaburn says you will get weeds, but they will be well looked after and healthy weeds!
23 Mar, 2020
As I can’t go out, I ordered a bag of seed compost from the local hardware shop. They’re very good and are happy to deliver. However, I think this must be an old bag, as it’s just solid. Would it loosen up if I emptied it into a wheel narrow and watered it?
24 Mar, 2020
when you tip it out it should then break up and be friable... i wouldn't add water - you'll just get mud pies"
24 Mar, 2020
I do this with my brown sugar when it becomes like a brick - drop it on the ground with force. Do like you do with brown sugar.
24 Mar, 2020
Great relief guys, all my toms now set, keeping a close eye on them.thanks
25 Mar, 2020
Seeds germinate in all sorts of compost. I had a self sown tomato plant in my veg plot and I've never grown any tomatoes there - goodness knows where it came from, but it had tomatoes on it... I think its mainly a difference in fineness/coarseness of the compost. You shouldn't have any problems - they are quite big seeds and should cope well.
22 Mar, 2020