Oakley's seedling death 2019

[oakley]

April first I noticed a bit of funk in one tray. I was starting to pot up what I had time for...
Not seed quality or soil having tested previously. Good seed, same soil.
Gardener error but can't figure out what I did.
I sow 3-6 seeds per cell, pot up 2, put one back in the same cell for back-up.
One tray went south fast.
Lower left in pic.
Three varieties did great without incident.
Curious what the dead and suffering have in common...carrot/frilly leaf?
KARMApink is tissue paper potato leaf at that age and it thrived.
....more pics to follow as I figure this out...

[NarnianGarden]

Sorry for your loss.
I have lost one seedling this year - it was Zlatava.
So much wanted to see it grow.

[PhilaGardener]

Sorry to hear another problem with seedling death. So many folks are having problems with seed starting - seems like the medium is to blame in most cases.

[greenthumbomaha]

Interesting, I have no solution but I don't see how this could be gardener error with your experience level. My only theory is a household chemical or random household pest may have been close to the tray with the worst damage. I hope the survivors grow healthy and strong for you going forward.

- Lisa

[KarenO]

I’m sorry this happened, very disheartening
I am glad that some survived including the KARMA pink though!
I hope all goes well for the rest of your season!
Karen

[xellos99]

Not sure but I would switch to larger cells next time.

Look on top of each other a little to be fair and that often increases the chance of problems.

[oakley]

Dense sowing is unconventional to some, but pretty common around here.

I think this is environmental. The week before we had a huge hail storm followed
by warmer temps that took out the last of the snow. Immediately the air quality changes.
Text from the 'water works' that we may see cloudy tap water. Not dangerous but we have a
filter system anywho.
I have a gut instinct every years to sow a few trays early. Much stronger plants by the Spring
thaw seem to do better.
No hoses set up yet at that time, so I filled a few gallon jugs of tap to feed the fruit trees and
various shrubs while the soil is so saturated. Maybe one of those made it downstairs by
mistake.
Good news is I have more than a hundred extra plants and in this pic the two trays on the
left are more back-ups from re-potting when I put one extra back in the cells.
I did re-sow a tray of the ones that perished.

[oakley]

What's crazy is the heap of 2-300 culls out on the potting bench all this time,
a month later, still alive.
I will have a few dozen to test everything I've been using...gnatrol, mosquito dunks,
Fert, JMS stylet-oil. Minor gnats this year and zero aphids, (knock on forehead).
JMS I mist on my larger plant stems as a preventative. Those are in fabric pots and
outside already. That could have been 'crop dusted'...spread by the fan.

I've already posted this pic elsewhere a few times, (yawn), but for the record, these
are the plants in grow bags outside. An early soil and germination test.

[Nan_PA_6b]

I don't have to see very many gnats to have root problems with my seedlings. I use either the "medium" or "heavy" infestation amounts recommended, as the "light" solution didn't solve the problem.

[oakley]

Update.

I moved all plants up and outside last week. The few that somewhat survived I doubt
will recover. Some have the root hair issue. Bald patches. The few 'decoy' plants I left
in the seed starting room have developed some leaf mold.
-I should take pics of all this...

Pic below is a few days ago. The 12 front row are the sick. The back two 1010 flats are
not needed, just extras. I pot up 2-3 healthy in a cell, then stick one back in the empty
cells for back-ups. They seem fine even neglected in those small cells...

[oakley]

I do have more plants than I need as I mentioned. Just missing a dozen or so I was looking
forward to. I do have two more 1010 trays I re-seeded but they began their lives in the
seeding room so not looking as good as early seeded pre-thaw/snow seedlings...
New potting bench was to help relieve the outdoor dining table...fat chance of that as all
surfaces are full of flats. Including all the bench seating.

[oakley]

Quick up-date. No real news but mid-week/weekend suffering, curling leaves, cold nights, lots of
thunderstorms. Stagnant growth...
Then total recovery the past couple days. Best advice is leave well enough along and stop
worrying. Keep tenders protected. No pots in standing water. Remove ugly foliage. Copper spray.

The dozen healthy seedlings I placed back downstairs in my grow room 'torture chamber' have
suffered some mold and unclear what else. Even with a dehumidifier and fan running...
just not a good growing room after the snow thaw.

Suddenly good root growth on all seedlings that have been outside in the elements.
Even the last late tray needed potting up and all look good even if not needed. Insurance if
we get a late snowstorm...unlikely