How can I tell if the insulation in my house is dangerous (i.e. vermiculite)?
Commiserations. I can only assume it is the soil or container rather than the poor plants at fault. Good luck with transplanting. Has anyone tried using growbags for tomatoes. I find them useless as there is not enough soil and when you water it the soil all runs away, althoughy inserting sawn off plastic botttles to pour the water into can help! I have started using hanging baskets with tomato plants especially suited for them like little Tumbling Tom and it is great for a sunny spot and you can sit and pick and munch!
If your tomatoes are not getting enough light (6-8 hours/day) this could be part of the issue.
Are you planning on keeping the tomatoes in a pot or plant them in the ground in your garden eventually? If you are going to keep them in a pot, you may want to separate them into a larger pot and amend the potting soil to something less dense. Potting soil that is sold in bags can become very compact and not drain well. The addition of something like peat moss, vermiculite or just sand helps 'lighten' the soil and promotes better aeration and growth. If you live in an area that you can expect your tomatoes to grow and bear fruit before the fall and frost, you should get them into the ground and you will see them grow a lot faster than being restrained in a small pot.
Your planting medium should contain vermiculite and perlite, that's it. Also the flat should be placed on a heat mat to induce sprouting. When the sprouts are about two inches high pinch back the top growth, that is so the root system can develop. Do this again when they grow back to the same height. Make sure the potting medium remains moist and I guarantee you that you will be growing tomatoes, that will be the envy of the neighborhood.
