Well sure you can use a commercial soil drench but the main things you want in a first-transplant soil are:
-STERILE
-NO ADDED FERTS
-LIGHT AND FLUFFY
The drench will leave the soil wet and stagnant, since there are no roots in there to remove moisture. You want it to be nearly dry when you put the plants in, and water it nice and gently as they start to grow.
Your compost sounds like it is causing you problems and I would suggest saving it for the NEXT transplant, whcih should be pretty soon after the first, into a 5-8" pot.