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I have a problem with my seedlings!
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Posted by
armymomma CenTX 8 (
My Page) on
Tue, Feb 2, 10 at 22:50
| I am sure this has been addressed before, but it hard to search...
My seedlings are about 2 weeks old. Some of them have developed that white fuzziness on the top layer of soil. The ones that were bad I immediately pulled and discarded :(
I have been really careful about watering, using a bottom soak method with a bit of liquid seaweed in the water. The seedlings haven't been affected themselves (in other words, none have keeled over). I've also had the fan on them at intervals during the day trying to dry out the top layer of soil.
This white stuff has occurred in both my seed starting mix and some cups that have potting soil where I potted up tomatoes.
Any suggestions would be helpful. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| Do you have they a cover on them? It sounds like a air circulation/moisture issue...but if you have fans going this shouldn't happen...hum! What kind of soil do you have? Is it a sterile mix? |
Oops!
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| oops! thats suppose to say: "Do you have a cover on them?" |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| Like sarah mentions, this is a very common issue that happens with dome greenhouses & such. Let them air out for half a day in a lighted location and also remove the spider-webby mold by hand and the seedlings will be fine. |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| None of these are under a dome! I moved the tomatoes to my garage and they are under lights, all in 16 oz coffee cups (started in a sterile seed starting mix, potted up to cups with ferti-lome potting soil for seedlings). The ones inside (peppers, eggplant etc) are in seed trays mostly, with a few other random things with herbs etc, all in sterile mix. both sets are under flourescent light fixtures. I will scrape off the mold and keep the fan on them. I'm thinking my house might just be humid as we have a humidifier going because my kids are prone to nosebleeds.!! |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| That white fuzzy stuff is mold, and your plants will damp off. You are giving them too much water. When you soak them from the bottom the soil gets very moist and if you do it too often or let them sit too long in the water, then you give them too much water. Seaweed is a good fertilizer but, seedlings do not require any fertilizer until they have at least their second leaves. Personally I only soak large plants which dry out fast and are hard to keep moist in the greenhouse. With seeds I make sure the soil is moist right through but not overly wet and I do a lot of misting on seeds and seedlings. That way I can control the moisture and not overly disturb the plants or seeds. When I do water I use a fine nozzeled watering can. |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| I think that the 16oz. coffee cups are probably too big to start seeds in. They hold too much water...it is better to use something smaller to start seeds (like maybe the 6oz. yogurt containers). Like oilpainter above, I like the misting method, I just use a spray bottle you can get from any hardware store and adjust it to the finest setting. I never bottom water seeds or tiny seedlings. |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| So then what is "too often" as for watering. I've been letting them almost completely dry out between waterings, and when I do water them, I try not to let it soak up through the top. All my seedlings do have their second set of leaves, in some cases more than that (they are going on 3 weeks old), so I used the seaweed for the first time a few days ago. My plan was to use half strength Garret Juice until transplant time. Do you mist your tomato seedlings? I was told that was a huge no-no so I don't do it. So far none of the seedlings have been affected, but I am worried as even the dry seed pots are showing signs of white fuzziness. |
Or it could be....
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| It may be your soil mix, it could be contaminated with some sort of fungus/mold. Or it could be you just have the perfect temp./wetness ratio. I would def. try the misting method, probably get new soil mix, and make sure my containers were well washed with bleach solution. |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| I mist-water my tomato seedlings, but I mist the potting mix, not the plant itself. I do this once a day usually. |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| I started my seeds in 72 cell flats. The stuff in 16 oz cups has been potted up (they are 3 weeks old now). However, the white fuzz is affecting stuff that is still in the trays (peppers and eggplant) as well as stuff in cups and various other containers. Both the seed starting mix and potting soil were commercial blends. It's funny you all say you mist the tops to water as I've read top watering is what contributes to damping off (but you see where that got me). and just as an aside I've included a picture of my best seedling, 3 week old Flame/Hillbilly tomato. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Flame Tomato Seedling 3 wks
moldy seedlings
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| I started my seeds in 72 cell flats. The stuff in 16 oz cups has been potted up (they are 3 weeks old now). However, the white fuzz is affecting stuff that is still in the trays (peppers and eggplant) as well as stuff in cups and various other containers. Both the seed starting mix and potting soil were commercial blends. It's funny you all say you mist the tops to water as I've read top watering is what contributes to damping off (but you see where that got me). and just as an aside I've included a picture of my best seedling, 3 week old Flame/Hillbilly tomato. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Flame Tomato Seedling 3 wks
my response ...
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| I started my seeds in 72 cell flats. The stuff in 16 oz cups has been potted up (they are 3 weeks old now). However, the white fuzz is affecting stuff that is still in the trays (peppers and eggplant) as well as stuff in cups and various other containers. Both the seed starting mix and potting soil were commercial blends. It's funny you all say you mist the tops to water as I've read top watering is what contributes to damping off (but you see where that got me). and just as an aside I've included a picture of my best seedling, 3 week old Flame/Hillbilly tomato. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Flame Tomato Seedling 3 wks
my response ...---
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| I started my seeds in 72 cell flats. The stuff in 16 oz cups has been potted up (they are 3 weeks old now). However, the white fuzz is affecting stuff that is still in the trays (peppers and eggplant) as well as stuff in cups and various other containers. Both the seed starting mix and potting soil were commercial blends. It's funny you all say you mist the tops to water as I've read top watering is what contributes to damping off (but you see where that got me). and just as an aside I've included a picture of my best seedling, 3 week old Flame/Hillbilly tomato. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Flame Tomato Seedling 3 wks
sorry!!
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| It kept giving me an error message and told me to change my subject line, hence the multiple postings! ugh...I am sorry about that. |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| To determine watering, stick your finger in the soil and see how deep the water is. This is a good rule to see if watering is needed. The others are right though, your seelinds will be fine if you dry them out and take off the mold. |
Here is a link that might be useful: My Gardening Blog
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| armymomma: Nice lookin' mater plant! =) |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| I'm no expert at seed starting... and with that disclaimer I'm going to tell you what I think anyway! :) Sounds like the fungus is in the mix you used. I honestly don't know if you can save the little guys you have already but I would stick to your bottom watering for now- making the top moist is likely to make the fungus happy up where your plants are! (And there is no single proper way to water plants, it's more about what works given the variables of your house/area, the soil, light, temps, and you the gardener!) Get out a fan; normal size or small, personal sized one, and put it on a setting that makes a small breeze across your affected seedlings. They should vibrate a little, not look like they're in the beginning of the Wizard of Oz. Run the fans for a few hours each day. This will cause them to dry out faster, so be aware. This should make it an unhappy place for mold and maybe your little guys will pull through. Oh, and for checking water, I usually go by weight of the pots/flats (you don't really want to try to stick your finger in such a little pot). Note, if they feel bottom heavy but look real dry on top, carefully add a small amount of water to the top. Another thing you could do is buy some fresh soil, and carefully remove the seedlings, taking a very small amount of the 'bad' soil with them, and transplant them in new, clean pots. Or quick! Start some new seeds! Hope this helps! Sunni |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| Thanks all...I scraped off the mold, carefully as not to spread it around, brought the plants inside from the garage adn have been airing them with the fan. They probably were holding onto too much water since it's been so chilly and damp here!! It's not reoccurring, so hopefully I've got it before it got too bad. Thanks for all the good advice (and for the compliment on my baby Flame tomato :) |
RE: I have a problem with my seedlings!
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| Yea!!! I love a happy ending! |
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