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| Omg! I just can't beat it no matter what I do!
I tried all kinds of starting mediums. I've tried sphagnum moss, I've tried peat, I've tried perlite, I've tried vermiculite, I've tried coconut coir, I've tried those seed starting mixes that you buy in a bag too. I've even tried mixtures. I always provide good draining. I always sterilize the soil and all my tools and flats and containers. When I start to get germination, I remove the freezer bag that I had on it. So it's getting fresh air but I still get damping off! I can't turn on a fan because our house is dry (I'm not as lucky as some people that have a green house) and the seedlings will dry out and also, my parents don't want it running b/c of high electric bills. I've tried varying temperatures but they don't seem to make much of a difference. I always make sure to water from the bottom. I don't keep it too wet. I've tried hydrogen peroxide, chamomile and other home remedies with no luck at all. I've tried Physan but I'm wondering if my bottle is any good... I've tried using products meant specifically for damping off and have had varying results. But a lot of the time, even those don't work. The best results I've ever had was with Botanicare's Hydroguard, which is now Aquashield. But even that doesn't work as often as it should. I've even gotten damping off before with seedlings grown outside. Should I just stop trying? I'm getting really frustrated and tired of wasting time and money when all I get is damping off. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Sounds really frustrating. I've never had damping off attack my seedlings. I don't use any sort of humidity dome and seeds germinate fine for me. I use Pro-Mix for a medium. I use plastic pots and cells. I always start seeds off under lights so they intermediately get light when they break the surface. Once seedlings emerge I wait until the medium is almost completely dry before watering again. I water from the top and water until it flows out the bottom. I make sure no water sits in my trays after watering. Thats all I can think of at the moment. Keep trying! Jon |
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- Posted by ms_minnamouse 7a (My Page) on Sat, May 23, 09 at 23:08
| Yeah, I let them dry too between watering and don't let them sit in water besides when I'm watering them. This time, I used something like three times the recommended dosage of Aquashield. |
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| Some of us have a predisposition to keep our soil too wet. I realized this was a problem several years ago and have now finally got it under control. No matter how careful you are to start with a sterile mix, fungal spores are in the air everywhere. As long as you provide the warm damp environment the spores will grow. Decrease the humidity, Increase the light, decrease the temperature and you will solve the damping off problem. Little muffin fans used for electronic cooling are cheap and use about as much electricity as a night light. Al |
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- Posted by albert_135 Sunset 2 or 3 (My Page) on Sun, May 24, 09 at 11:02
| Try this, since you are doing bottom watering, take any of the things you mentioned, peat, perlite, vermiculite, coir, and dry them thoroughly. I'm think peat would be the best but any dry material should work, even sand. With a kitchen sifter sift a layer of the fine dry material over the plants just as they are beginning to emerge from the moist planting medium. Just a suggested experiment. |
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- Posted by ms_minnamouse 7a (My Page) on Mon, May 25, 09 at 4:37
| No offense but Calistoga... Did you even read any of my posts thoroughly? How is letting them dry out between waterings and not letting them sit in water keeping them too moist? And how can I decrease humidity when I said that my house is too dry in the first place? And how can I have a fan when I said that my parents won't let me have one? And contrary to what you said about decreasing the temperature, that won't decrease damping off since damping off is caused by different fungi. Some of which like cool temperatures, like Pythium, whereas others like warm, like Rhizoctonia. |
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- Posted by ms_minnamouse 7a (My Page) on Mon, May 25, 09 at 4:39
| Thanks Albert, I'll try it. Maybe I could even try some corn starch or something to make sure the base of the seedlings remain dry, even right after watering. |
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| No offense ms minnamouse, but you cannot grow a fungus without surface moisture, even if you don't think it is there. I did read your post thoroughly and I know you think your soil is dry. At an electronic salvage store you can buy a fan for a dollar. Ken Druse in his book "Making More Plants" is a proponent of grit as a surface additive for seed beds. He recommends "Chicken grit" or if not locally available "Parakeet grit". I have used it and it works OK, but I am not sure if it helps with damping off, but he says it does. Al |
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- Posted by albert_135 Sunset 2 or 3 (My Page) on Mon, May 25, 09 at 11:45
| When I suggested "even sand" I was suggesting a relatively inexpensive "grit" of sorts. The OP suggests you already have peat. Dry it. Use it. Relatively expensive. |
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- Posted by ms_minnamouse 7a (My Page) on Mon, May 25, 09 at 23:24
| Calistoga, my seedlings would die if the surface was not slightly moist. Especially since they're very small seeds that are surface sown. Without out surface moisture, they wouldn't germinate, nor would they live. And I said that my parents won't let me have a fan running. And when I've had seedlings outside in the fresh air with air circulating, I've still had damping off. A fan is not going to be a magic cure. Albert_135, If I use a layer of dry peat each time my soil has to be watered, what am I going to do when my seedlings get buried? |
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- Posted by karyn1 MD 7 (bhkalen@aol.com) on Tue, May 26, 09 at 11:27
| A small fan on a low setting is what seems to help the most with my seedlings and even then sometimes I still lose some, especially varieties that have to be kept constantly moist. Sometimes I use milled sphagnum to start seeds but I don't know if that's really any better. Chamomille tea sprayed on the soil or cinammon are supposed to be antifungals. I've never tried them. I've also heard of a Canadian product called No-Damp but have never tried it either and don't know if it's even available in the US but you might want to look. |
Here is a link that might be useful: No-Damp
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- Posted by albert_135 Sunset 2 or 3 (My Page) on Tue, May 26, 09 at 11:44
| In the OP it says you are using bottom watering. A layer of dry peat on top won't wick up water and will remain a layer of dry peat, won't it? Peat is hard to water. Dry peat will float on water for some annoying length of time. Again, as in my first follow-up, I am suggesting an experiment. |
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| I've always watered my seedlings with a weak Chamomile tea solution and kept a fan on low for few hours a day and never got dampening off. Running a small fan for a few hours each day will definitely also help strengthen the stems of the plants. It sounds like you have tried everything else so try a fan and give you prents a few $$ each month. I have had some green mold grow while the plastic tops were still on the trys, but it never has caused a problem with the plants. Pam |
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- Posted by burry 7 Maryland (ctcwash@verizon.net) on Tue, May 26, 09 at 21:44
| Have you tried winter sowing? I always had such bad luck with seedlings inside, but I have had the healthiest seedlings when I winter sow. They seem to be especially hardy, and I can plant so many more than when I do it inside. I think I had about 100 containers this year. Let me know if you want more info -- and there is a winter sowing category within the garden forum, too. |
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- Posted by ms_minnamouse 7a (My Page) on Wed, May 27, 09 at 18:38
| I love wintersowing! Lol. I tried it this winter but with very old seed and got okay results. I can't wait until next year when I try with fresh seed. My parents aren't very rational sometimes. If they have their minds set on me not putting on a fan for seedlings, they're going to stick to their guns. If one reason they give for me not having a fan is made void, they'll come up with another, and another... Yes. It is pretty odd. But it's a whooooolllleee other issue that no one would want to get into here! As per my original post, I have tried chamomile tea, cinnamon, hydrogen peroxide and other home remedies but no luck. I have heard of No Damp but haven't tried it yet. It'll probably be the next product that I try. I really wish I could find something systemic though that won't cost an arm and a leg. I can't afford to pay what commercial growers pay for Banrot and the other things they order for damping off. |
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- Posted by karyn1 MD 7 (bhkalen@aol.com) on Wed, May 27, 09 at 20:00
| Why does it matter what your parents want if they are your seedlings? If they are worried about the cost of the electricity get a battery operated fan or tell them you'll give them $5. |
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- Posted by ms_minnamouse 7a (My Page) on Thu, May 28, 09 at 20:27
| B/c it's this whole complicated thing with my parents... But battery powered might work. |
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- Posted by karyn1 MD 7 (bhkalen@aol.com) on Fri, May 29, 09 at 7:55
| You can use one of the little hand held battery operated fans. You don't need anything strong, just enough to circulate the air a bit. You could use it in conjunction with some of the other methods mentioned. Maybe it would help. It certainly won't hurt. Good luck. |
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| Are they the same batch of seeds you're using every time? How much light are the seedlings getting, are they leggy? |
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- Posted by pitimpinai z6 Chicago (My Page) on Sun, Jun 7, 09 at 21:20
| Would you like to try Winter Sowing this winter? You won’t have any problem with damping off at all and it’s a lot of fun. All my seeds are sown this way now. People over there are crazy about it. It sounds nuts, but it works perfectly. We have more seedlings than we can ever use. |
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- Posted by ms_minnamouse 7a (My Page) on Sun, Jun 7, 09 at 22:12
| No, I use all different batches of seeds. All different ages, kinds, methods, and from different sources. Some times they get damping off before they even barely emerge. I've tried all different amounts of light. Thanks Pitimpinai. I did it this year. |
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