New to growing your own tomatoes? This is the forum to learn the successful techniques used by seasoned tomato growers. Questions are welcome, too.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Lafayette, CO
Posts: 9
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Has anyone tried sprinkling ground cinnamon around seedlings to prevent/combat damping off? Did it work, or cause more problems. Would like to hear you about this or any other tricks. Just transplanted seedlings to larger pots, worried I will have some fatalities.
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Cinnamon is expensive use a one part hydrogen peroxide to 9 or 10 parts water and spray the soil.
It doesn't have to be exact. Yes Cinnamon has some antibiotic/microbial properties but as far as I am concerned leave it for the food. |
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#3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Lafayette, CO
Posts: 9
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will try the H2O2 spray. wish me luck. trying a bunch of different heirlooms this year, in grow bags since we moved to a condo. want a good start for these guys.
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#4 |
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a
Posts: 21,169
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Damping off of tomatoes is caused by several genera and species of FUNGi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tomato_diseases Scroll down to fungal diseases and look for damping off. The only way to prevent it is by sowing seeds in artificial mix where there's no soil,aka dirt. You can also sterilize other mixes in the oven but hardly anyone does that these days.All b/c those fungal pathogens are soil borne pathogens. I posted last week here that while the brown constricted area at the soil line occurs with newly germinated plants is well known that it can occur up to seedlings 4 to 6 inches tall as well.There's a nice picture of that in one of my tomato disease monographs. Yes cinnamon has some antibacterial properties,I never used it, and here's why. Back in the early 80's when I started at the AOL tomato forum there was a woman who posted there who was a technician at some company, I can't remember which one,and the use of cinnamon for damping off came up. She asked her boss if she could do some experiments with that,used CONTROLS, she did doit and it clearly showed that cinnamon was not effective in preventing damping off. Consider England who controlled the spice trade in the mideast and south sea islands. When they brought all those spices back, yes,they were used in baking and otherwise,but also to help preserve especially meats of all kinds by coating them with cinnamon and allspice,etc. to help preserve them. One of the History magazines I sub to is published by the BBC in England and they always publish some recipes from way back. Just what I've always wanted to taste,eels preserved in spices. ![]() Summery,use the correct seed starting mix and you won't have damping off. Carolyn
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Carolyn |
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,069
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As Carolyn says, use a sterile mix. In addition, don't keep seedlings in cold, damp conditions. Cool temps aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves, but be extra careful to not overwater if your seedling starting area is on the cold side. I pretty much keep the first 1/2" of soil as dry as possible and only water from the bottom and don't let the water wick up all the way to the surface when I do.
I've tried cinnamon in the past to ward off fungus gnats and prevent damping off. It wasn't effective. Also, be aware that cinnamon can kill very young sprouts. Not sure whether the essential oils in it burns them or the powder itself dessicates them, but don't sprinkle on top of new sprouts. They seem fine if you put the cinnamon down before the sprouts break the surface. Once they get a little more robust, they cope fine... but as I said, the cinnamon doesn't do much. It does make the seedling area of your house smell really nice, though. |
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#6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 6,794
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Ah, cinnamon!!
![]() ![]() What the heck, it was worth doing for the smell alone. ![]() |
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#7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Lafayette, CO
Posts: 9
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Thanks for all replies. Needless to say, I did the H202 spray like Worth suggested. So far, so good. Saving the cinnamon for breakfast!!
On a side note-am growing big green dwarf and sleeping lady dwarf. I like that they have pretty stout stems starting out. Can't wait to see how they do in the grow bags here in Colorado. I am so glad I found this website. Glad to know there are other tomato-freaks like me in the world!! ![]() ![]() |
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#8 | |
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a
Posts: 21,169
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Carolyn
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Carolyn |
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#9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: virginia
Posts: 743
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Sometimes I wonder how these poor little seedlings make it all on their own out in the wild battling the wind and rain all the bad fungi and stuff.
![]() I use Farfard Outdoor Planting Mix (Purple Bag) to start all my seeds and potting up. It is 7 dollars for a huge bag,(the one that feels like it weighs over 50 pounds) and never had a problem with damping off. Never bleach containers. It doesn't say sterile but I guess is has no soil like most mixes. Don't over water, (I use rainwater), don't fertilize until they have true leaves and then a very dilute fish emulsion. Maybe Miracle Grow but I have never used it. Take them outside on pretty days or put a fan on them to provide circulation or shake them.These seedlings are a lot tougher then a lot of gardeners think they are. I love cinnamon on sweet potatoes ![]() |
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#10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 1,420
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As Carolyn has said fungal spores are contained in SOIL so I use a sterile, soiless mix and brand new plastic cells. I don't grow hundreds of plants so one sheet of plastic cells is all I need each year so I buy a new one.
Some spores can travel through the air so I don't give them attractive growing conditions which would be cool and damp. I grow my tomato seedlings in my sunroom which is about 72 degrees. I don't worry about watering from the bottom like many recommend. I think that the combination of sterile, soiless mix and warm temperatures do the trick for me. I have never lost any seedlings to damping off. To prevent fungus gnats I freeze my seed starting mix for several days before use to kill any possible gnat eggs that might be in the mix and it seems to work. Last edited by brownrexx; March 20, 2018 at 02:35 PM. |
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#11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NewYork 5a
Posts: 2,303
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I don't believe freezing does much to kill any eggs. As soon as the ground thaws from
winter, all the bugs and mosquitoes and ticks come alive. Freezing will kill some mold spores but not much else. Only heat at around 180º will take care of that. Those that have had years of success better get out your drum sticks and bang some wood. And cross some fingers. Household pests can enter so many ways. In birdseed, spices, pet food, a bouquet of flowers, or just opening a door. Last year this time I had fungus gnats and later aphids having never experienced it before. Jury still out what the original cause was but I took care of it quick and now know how to monitor it. Either old stock potting mix or my Meyer lemon that spends the summer outside...who knows. |
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#12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 1,420
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Freezing is a well known organic method to kill many pests. No it does not kill ticks or mosquitoes but beekeepers commonly freeze their hive equipment because it kills the eggs of the wax moth without using chemicals and many gardeners freeze their dry beans and peas before long term storage to kill the eggs of bean weevils which would destroy their stored crops.
Indian Meal Moths (pantry moths) can also be killed in all life stages by putting the grain, seed or other food in the freezer at 0 degrees for 4-7 days. I don't know for sure that freezing kills the eggs of the fungus gnat but I used to have fungus gnats every year around my seedlings and since I have been placing the seed starting mix in the freezer for several days before using it, I have not had any fungus gnats at all. Maybe I have just been lucky but my mix is in the freezer right now just in case. |
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#13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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You can no more live a life without love and trust.
Than you can you make cinnamon rolls without cinnamon. Worth |
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#14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 80
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On the H2O2 just spray the soil or can the leaves be sprayed too? And what concentration of H2O2 do you use to start with? I am going to get mosquito dunks for the fungus gnats but next year may try freezing the soil too. Might have to make some cinnamon rolls just because I am hungry now.
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#15 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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A little more one hurt. |
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