Overcrowding, overwatering and poor ventilation are usually the worst offenders. If you can keep these under control it's easier to avoid damping off. I think you're right Mike about watering as if they're bigger plants. Lots of people use a spray instead of a can to dampen seedlings. That can help to avoid overdoing the water.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Mike said ".... Please don't waste your time, poncing about sowing indoors/under glass in trays/cells veggie seeds. Select your outdoor site, prepare the ground, and sow direct..... "
Music to my ears Mike
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Our area by the sea is proving to be very moist, damp conditions for us. No matter how I ventilate we still seem to suffer. I have spaced out plants/trays and open doors in the daytime. It could perhaps be due to temperature but I don't have a heater for the greenhouse so my options here are limited.
I have noticed some damping off lately affecting some, not all, plants, so today I have removed any affected species/leaves etc and sprinkled the rest with cinnamon. I hope this will help. Thanks for the info above.
An alternative to the sterilisation route is including a proportion of garden soil/compost/leafmould in your seed mix, rather than a pure bought compost. This will introduce a range of beneficial/harmless microbes which help to control the species that cause damping off. Weed seed germination can be a problem so this is a better method to use for seeds that germinate quickly and/or larger seeds, plus you need to be able to distinguish your wanted seedlings from any weeds.
Also stick to the other advice above regarding environmental conditions and not sowing too thickly.
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Overcrowding, overwatering and poor ventilation are usually the worst offenders. If you can keep these under control it's easier to avoid damping off. I think you're right Mike about watering as if they're bigger plants. Lots of people use a spray instead of a can to dampen seedlings. That can help to avoid overdoing the water.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Mike said ".... Please don't waste your time, poncing about sowing indoors/under glass in trays/cells veggie seeds. Select your outdoor site, prepare the ground, and sow direct..... "
Music to my ears Mike
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Our area by the sea is proving to be very moist, damp conditions for us. No matter how I ventilate we still seem to suffer. I have spaced out plants/trays and open doors in the daytime. It could perhaps be due to temperature but I don't have a heater for the greenhouse so my options here are limited.
I have noticed some damping off lately affecting some, not all, plants, so today I have removed any affected species/leaves etc and sprinkled the rest with cinnamon. I hope this will help. Thanks for the info above.
Last edited: 15 February 2017 10:57:10
An alternative to the sterilisation route is including a proportion of garden soil/compost/leafmould in your seed mix, rather than a pure bought compost. This will introduce a range of beneficial/harmless microbes which help to control the species that cause damping off. Weed seed germination can be a problem so this is a better method to use for seeds that germinate quickly and/or larger seeds, plus you need to be able to distinguish your wanted seedlings from any weeds.
Also stick to the other advice above regarding environmental conditions and not sowing too thickly.