Some of my very healthy looking tomato seedlings ( about 8 - 10 cm high ) have just collapsed. It looks as if the stem where it enters the soil has just rotted. What am I doing wrong? I thought I was doing exactly the same as the last few years...
Sounds like damping off !
Make sure everything you use is very clean and as soon as they are up geet them into as much light as you can and let them dry out a little before you water them, watering from the bottom can help.
In future put a sprinkle of cinnamon around the soil surface, or spray with chamomile, both are natural fungicides, good luck
Too late for this advice but you could have put a layer of vermiculite on the compost to regulate the temperature at this point.
What is happening is the compost is at one temperature and the air around the plant is at another.
The temperature at soil level can be quite wet, this wetness can be condensates formed by the varying temperatures.
This point becomes quite cool causing the plants to 'damp off' the vermiculite raises the temperature at this point and helps to prevent the damping off happening!
Watering from below is another way to decrease the chances of damping off as this keeps the compost surface relatively dry and therefore warmer.
Well I 've learnt something new today! Thanks TeeGee.
And I'm learning Alternative Things to Do with cinnamon ;D
Use it in Caramelised Oranges, Lishka!!
This is not 'clever talk', but in ****years, I have never experienced 'damping off'. And I'm a bit careless about hygiene. So, why should others suffer?
But 'the professionals' do recommend treating with Copper Sulphate to avoid it.
I've definitelt had less trouble with damping off since I started putting a layer of vermiculite on top of my seeds after sowing. Not sure how it fits in with organic ideals, but it works!
vermiculite, doesnt a bag of it go a long way!!
I got really sickly seedlings last year - again a good start and then they suddenly took ill. Although I treated with Cheshunt Compound, and they didn't die - they never recovered.
I think they don't like the temperature going up and down at this time of year - particularly if they are still in the house, which is heated in the evenings and can get very cold at other times...
I'm going to start them later this year - when I'm prepared to turn the heating off!
I didnt have any problems last year in the house with tomato plants, but this year my onion seedlings have had a problem with damping off in the greenhouse.
btw just sown my tomato seeds, 14 pots in total (so far) !!!
Just done some reading up and found this:
"Asbestos contamination has not yet made
vermiculite a prohibited substance in organic
production, but that is a possibility in the future.
Until that time, each producer should weigh the
risks before using this material."
Very small amounts of asbestos apparently occur naturally in vermiculite so it should be used in well-ventilated areas and wetted quickly or mixed with other media.
I used to lose cactus seedlings to damping off regularly, since they need a lot of bottom heat, and with the lid on the propagator it was inevitably damp and ideal for fungi. I haven't seen it otherwise.
Quote from: caroline7758 on March 03, 2008, 20:16:57
Just done some reading up and found this:
"Asbestos contamination has not yet made
vermiculite a prohibited substance in organic
production, but that is a possibility in the future.
Until that time, each producer should weigh the
risks before using this material."
Very small amounts of asbestos apparently occur naturally in vermiculite so it should be used in well-ventilated areas and wetted quickly or mixed with other media.
is perlite the same ?
Don't know if its the same, but anything that produces small particles in the air should be treated with care.
Quote from: manicscousers on March 04, 2008, 08:49:40
is perlite the same ?
Evidently not, see this link which says it doesn't contain asbestos: http://www.schundler.com/perliteasbestos.htm
Three relevant papers available from TVA's website at http://www.vermiculite.org/papers.htm are: 1. Vermiculite - Health, Safety and Environmental Aspects 2. Vermiculite is not Asbestos 3. Review of: Sampling and Analysis of Consumer Garden Products That Contain Vermiculite
I shall continue to use it after reading these.
thanks, paddy..you've put my mind at ease but I'll be a bit more careful with it :)