Fungs in the seedling pots

tnkrer · April 13, 2014

I have up potted the seedlings a week ago. They are in garage, temps range around 52 to 68 deg. The growing media is the 3:2:1 mix (Raybo's mix). I am noticing white fungus on the surface of the grow media. Will that cause dampening off? How do I treat it? Should I treat it? I think I read somewhere that putting diatomaceous earth on top of the grow media might solve the problem. Here is the photo of the fungus. (Can' t really see it that well)

I put the seedlings out in sun today for an hour. They will go out in sun again tomorrow. But can't really do that every day

tnkrer · April 13, 2014

A better close up of the fungus .. (And how do I correct the typo in the title? I can't seem to be able to edit the title.)

Vespertino · April 13, 2014

I had a lot of fuzzy white mold in my germination mix this year but strangely I didn't get any dampening off. I think Worth1 had a recipe somewhere that mixes water with hydrogen peroxide to fend off any dampening-off molds, then you spray the top of the soil with it. You may want to do a search for that post of his, he says it works really well for him.

Cole_Robbie · April 13, 2014

The bacteria that cause damping off are invisible. I have never noticed a correlation with mold. Natural fertilizers do tend to grow mold, for example Terra cycle grows fuzzy white mold when left in the top of the media. I never noticed any harm from it.

Vespertino · April 13, 2014

Sometimes molds and fungus are a sign of a healthy soil mix. My peat cups that held my tomato babies were practically furry, but the tomato seedlings seemed happier than a pig in poop.

tnkrer · April 13, 2014

Thanks Vespertino and Cole_Robbie. I did mix up some plant-tone in the grow media .. lets hope that is breaking down and it's all good. I will look up Worth's post about hydrogen peroxide.

KarenO · April 13, 2014

Hello,
not all fungus is harmful and many are beneficial to plant roots but in general the presence of visible mold on the surface of the potting mix would indicate conditions that are too wet and a lack of air circulation. You can scratch up the soil surface, let them dry out a fair bit and giving them some air circulation and a little sun like you are doing will help a lot. Allow them to dry out almost completely between waterings.
Karen

April 13, 2014	#1
tnkrer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: MA 6a/b Posts: 352	Fungs in the seedling pots I have up potted the seedlings a week ago. They are in garage, temps range around 52 to 68 deg. The growing media is the 3:2:1 mix (Raybo's mix). I am noticing white fungus on the surface of the grow media. Will that cause dampening off? How do I treat it? Should I treat it? I think I read somewhere that putting diatomaceous earth on top of the grow media might solve the problem. Here is the photo of the fungus. (Can' t really see it that well) I put the seedlings out in sun today for an hour. They will go out in sun again tomorrow. But can't really do that every day

April 13, 2014	#3
Vespertino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Southlake, TX Posts: 743	I had a lot of fuzzy white mold in my germination mix this year but strangely I didn't get any dampening off. I think Worth1 had a recipe somewhere that mixes water with hydrogen peroxide to fend off any dampening-off molds, then you spray the top of the soil with it. You may want to do a search for that post of his, he says it works really well for him.

April 13, 2014	#4
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	The bacteria that cause damping off are invisible. I have never noticed a correlation with mold. Natural fertilizers do tend to grow mold, for example Terra cycle grows fuzzy white mold when left in the top of the media. I never noticed any harm from it.

April 13, 2014	#7
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,932	Hello, not all fungus is harmful and many are beneficial to plant roots but in general the presence of visible mold on the surface of the potting mix would indicate conditions that are too wet and a lack of air circulation. You can scratch up the soil surface, let them dry out a fair bit and giving them some air circulation and a little sun like you are doing will help a lot. Allow them to dry out almost completely between waterings. Karen