I have mold on my seedlings... HELP!!!

So, I have these spider-like mold covering on some of my seedlings and a good chunk on a couple of other ones. What do I do? I currently have 4 trays/72 seedlings each that I am working on for the coming Spring sitting in my home office bay window... The ones that have been touched by mold (even just a little bit), do I throw them out? Can I, at least, clear off the mold on the ones that aren't as bad? Will this hurt the ones that have not yet been touched? I should've paid closer attention!!! For now, I have propped the lids... I think it was too much moisture in a small enclosed space. Will this keep it from happening? Please help!!!!

I can't really make out the pictures. Perhaps you could spray them with Neem oil and remove the lids completely.

I would just remove the lids and yes, throw out the ones with mold. Usually mold indicates dead seeds, IME. The seeds could have been DOA or they could have rotted from overwatering.

Ditto what paracelsus said, "remove the lids" so it can start airing out. Definitely too much moisture and I bet too much heat as well. air circulation is needed as well so if you can put them in an area that will provide that I'd do it. If those needs are met the mold will dry up on its own. And being in a bay window I wonder if they are being overly-heated by the sun.

I can't tell exactly what is what in your pics but those long thin things (not the white mold strings), are they plant stems? If so they are getting enough light.

Shoe

Thanks, paracelsus! But what about the ones that just have a few threads over them? Can I maybe clear them off a and wipe out the containers to prevent the mold from spreading?

IME, it won't spread--it's growing because underneath there's a rotten seed. I have some jiffy pellets right now with little spots of mold over angelica seeds that were apparently DOA. The pellets around them with other seeds in them are fine. This happens to me every year--that some seeds are just dead. You could, though water them with tepid chamomile tea. This is a decent antifungal that won't hurt seedlings, and once when I let some henbane seedlings get too wet and warm so they started getting moldy, I used chamomile tea and it cleared it up. However, those seedlings remained stressed and produced weak plants.

First off, thank you ALL (and hopefully more to come) for the advice. My husband (the non-gardener) was trying to tell me what I should do (absolute opposite of you guys) and just kept telling him that I was waiting to hear back from all of you... This is why I'm paying for this site! WELL WORTH IT!!!!

So, from all of your advice so far, this is what I'm thinking I should do... Let me know what you think:

1. Definitely, get rid of the fully molded pellets... Luckily it's only 3 or 4 out of 280!
2. Remove the lids. Indefinitely?
3. Maybe I should take the trays out of the bay window and stick them on my 'portable greenhouse' (6 ft tall x 3 ft wide x 2 ft deep) and put up against the wall opposite of the bay window? I think this would give it less 'direct' lighting and less heat.
4. Could I just 'scrape' off the ones that have just a few strands of beginning mold?
5. JoannaBanana said something about spraying them with Neem Oil. What is this and would I spray everything, just the pellets or just the stems?

Shoe: By the way, yes, what is not mold in the pics are stems. Do you think they're getting too much light?

Sorry about the pics. I was trying to get as close as possibe... But it was with my camera phone :(

So many questions!!!!!

The neem oil isn't necessary but everything else you mentioned should take care of the problem. If you "google" neem oil, you will find a ton of info regarding gardening remedies and neem oil.

I use neem in the garden and love it! However, I wouldn't recommend it on such young seedlings.

The leggy seedlings are from not getting enough light, not too much. Plus, too much heat and not enough light encourages fast top growth so you want to slow it down. Best to let your seeds "declare" then up the light level. By the way, you haven't told us what kind of seedlings you have there so that may come into play as well.

Shoe

I would definitely keep the lids off. I don't use lids because I tend to overwater. They are great for people who don't water enough. Otherwise, they just cause problems.

Horseshoe:

I have a bunch of different things in the trays... Dill, Rosemary, Oregano, Cat Nip and Sweet Basil... Peppers and Tomatoes... Zinnias, Morning Glory, Moon Flower, African Daisy, Impatiens and so on... However, the few pods that were most affected were 2 or 3 of the Zinnias and 1 Tomato. The Tomato I could understand because I think it was the one that I had 2 or 3 'old' seeds left. But the Zinnias are new. Purchased this year at Home Depot. They are the State Fair, Giant, Mixed Colors by Ferry-Morse.

And yes, MOST of the seedlings were popping up strong... See a better pic attached.

These are the Morning Glories

Here are other Zinnias...

And see what I mean about how some of the other pods are just starting to 'thread' with mold?

Aha, there's the culprit. Now that we/I can see what your seeds are actually in...peat pots, well known for holding too much water/moisture. Those, above other things like plastic cell packs and pots, need to be treated quite differently. Water sparingly and keep air circulating.

Let them dry out and the mold will die on its own. If you want to wipe some away by hand that is fine, too.

You've got quite a collection started! Wishing you a great garden this year!
Have fun!

Shoe

Awesome! Thank you sooo much, Shoe!!! I spent the evening wiping some off... For now, I've got the lids off... Hopefully some of the water will soak up better. Thanks, again!

When I first plant my seed trays, I sprinkle some Captan powder, an anti-fungal, on them and I never have any mold problems anymore. Might be too late for this year, but try next year. The first year I bought it, I sprinkled it on some seedlings that already had mold on them and it got rid of the mold.

livelaughlovepa,get that fan blowing,move the air,i too tried to listen to my hubby,he was on the opposit side of the fence with everything,well I waited to hear from dg and he was wrong , I was right !!we disagreed on water ,light height,fans,anyway I have great sucess with my seedlings,thank god,or i would have never heard the end of it !!!water sparringly while germinating ,keep air moving,lots of light.great luck to you.

Would a light spraying of hydrogen peroxide in water help in this case? I used it on some hard wood cuttings kept under a plastic tent on a heat mat and it seemed to help. Just wondering.