Damping Off

Hi All,

Besides good air circulation and clean soiless mix whats the thing that mostly prevents damping off for you? Any tried and true recipes for success?

Chris

dsrtdgn~ Have you tried a VERY light dusting of sulfur as a fungicide?

No I haven't. I'm trying to work with stuff I have here already. Got a recipe for horsetail tea, another for chamomile tea. Both have high recomendations. And of course I've set up the little fan....

I just don't want the problem to continue. SAY... Shouldn't baking the soil kill the fungus? I understand there are several types of damp off type fungi (?) that cause different types of killing of seedlings, I thought that heating the soil killed all that....
Chris

Dsrtgdn: I recycle my soiless starter by baking it. Here's a thread I started about it: http://davesgarden.com/showthread/202837.html

Be sure to use clean containers washed in soapy bleach water and rinsed, as well as sterile starter mix.

Howdy folks. Altho I haven't tried it I read somewhere a while back that you can use Hydrogen Peroxide diluted in water (about a Tbs/quart I believe it said) and spray over your soil before you plant.
I've had great results tho just putting a thin layer of vermiculite on top of the soil. That helps to keep the top surface dry. Have also used perlite in the same manner.

'Shoe, I use hydrogen peroxide - and a lot stronger than that (1:8 ratio, although I think you could probably use it almost full-strength if the mold is severe.) If I start to see signs of mold on the soil surface, I mix it up and use a bladder-type hand sprayer to drench the soil.

Chicken grit is also good for helping prevent damp-off; I bought a 50-lb. bag for $5 at my local co-op last year (still have about a 1/4 bag.)

I think one of the best ways to avoid damping off is to water from the bottom and keep the top of the soil on the dry side, especially once the seedlings are up and growing. Give the plants good air circulation (don't crowd them, and keep a fan going over the tops of them if there's no natural air movement.)

As I understand it, the pathogens (that are naturally present on leaf surfaces and in the soil) are triggered by water; keeping the foliage and top surface dry will help keep them from "springing to action."

Okay!. Great input folks. Thanks much. I had forgotten about the vermiculite/perlite on the soil surface. I tried it for the first time last year and it did work well. H2O2 is readily available and cheap. I'll list that one with the file I started with the tips you all have given me.

Thanks everyone
Chris

The easiest way I know of to prevent damping off is to water your plants as soon as they are up with chamomile tea - 1 tea bag to a quart of water, steep 15 minutes and cool before using. I water my babies once a week with it for the first month or so and have had no damping off problems for years. I'm trying to start my own chamomile bed to make it even cheaper. the up side is, if there's tea left over, you can drink it!