There is no law of gardening that says you must add fertilizer before planting. :) Many gardeners never do it first. Besides different crops need different nutrients and some need them at different times so even if you had added it you'll still need to add more later too. No need to be concerned. The seeds will do fine until after they come up anyway and then you can feed them with liquids or whatever you want. Google 'side dressing plants with fertilizer'. Dave

I'm not sure...read a bit about it...have frozen jugs of it just to fill freezer space now and again...the pups like it...full of protein. add to compost and the worm bin in random amounts... What i've read seems to have many contradictions... It is healthy waste so i would go ahead and use it as a side dressing. Not sure about using it for powdery mildew but i often, given the damp weather, get it on some zukes...and would not hesitate using it fi it rears its powdery head come july... just to give it a go...with other methods. -not very helpful but do not toss it down the drain...at least compost it...

Diane, I am glad y'all are planning on coming despite Steve's accident, and am thrilled he is doing so well although I know a very long recovery lies ahead of him. You know, all we really care about is that you folks come! Everyone will understand if the chaos continues and you don't have extra plants to bring. It's amazing to think you have any plants up and growing at all after what y'all have been through the last couple of weeks. I know it is going to be a tough spring with Steve unable to help you like he usually does, so don't be too hard on yourself and try to do too much. The important thing is that Steve survived amazingly well considering the seriousness of his injuries. We're all going to have such a grand and glorious day together at Paula's. Dawn

So sorry for the late reply to everyone... thank you Jean for letting me know that antacid tablets won't work... however, as for the catfacing issue.... it is only on a few tomatoes and the temps were in the upper 80s when I put this one seedling in the final pot. Seysonn, no fruits were touching the soil. I just made sure to start to water the pots everyday to keep the soil moist as you both advised. Interesting that BER is associated with cooler temperatures as here in Dubai I planted while it was in the low 90s/high 80s. Vince, it was indeed the early ones. The first 7 tomatoes all ended up with BER but all the others that came after that look fine so far, though a few have a bit of zippering. Interestingly, BER was only an issue with the first plant that I was able to plant the earliest (November 14th I think) as I only had one 20 gallon fabric pot. The other 4 plants were planted a month later in lower 80s temperatures and none of the tomatoes on those plants are showing signs of BER.