Last year I sowed some cabbage seed which germinated but got no further than the first leaves before collapsing and dying.i thought maybe it was the compost.This year I have sowed some more and the same thing has happened.Any suggestions please of what I am doing wrong ?
Can you describe sowing medium, and ambient growing conditions.
It does sound like some kind of damping off problem. It's usually caused by the growing medium being too moist at the early seedling stage and with insufficient airflow - but hard to be sure from just what you describe.
If it's any consolation I've had it with brassicas quite a lot in the past.
Quote from: Ian Pearson on May 01, 2015, 20:45:03
Can you describe sowing medium, and ambient growing conditions.
I am growing in a growise multipurpose compost with a little JI seed mixed in. They are in a cold greenhouse.
Usually I have no problem with brassica seeds but one lot this year failed - I think a combination of not warm enough, compost too wet and possibly a mollusc ...
I shall be looking out for some cabbage plants this weekend.
I have this theory that they need sunshine the day the cotyledons open. It takes about four or five days from sowing, so I use the long range weather do give me a good chance.
I've had a similar problem with caulis and cabbage seedlings last year and this. They get past the cotyledon stage and produce
a couple of true leaves before the cotyledons yellow and shrivel and the plant generally looks unhappy. All my other seedlings grow happily with the same compost and general conditions as the brassicas. Think I'll try the seedbed method outside from now on.
I sprout brassica seeds indoors under polythene and the minute the first ones sprout is when the polythene comes off and they go out into the light and fresh air and under net. I give them a bit of water when I think about it but they do remarkably well if not damp. I think yours have damped off op. Digeroo is right
Yes, I agree it sounds like damping off. As others say, more ventilation and light is the key. Having a leaner, more free-draining compost helps too. Try mixing in 50% sand, or using a true seed compost (which have lower nutrient levels).