HI I just wanted to give an update on my damping off!
Firstly thanks to all of you for your advice, I have learnt ventilation is key! Since keeping a focus on ventilation I have had no further issues, all my second sowing of seedlings are off to a flying start, even some of the first batch which I removed to a sheltered position have survived!
The greenhouse cover gets practically removed when it will be a good day, covering the top when rain is predicted and is zipped up on one side during the night unless it will be very cold when I zip up both sides. Also, in handling the cover I've made some accidental ventilation holes which I think may have been beneficial!
You can't believe how happy I am now to come home every day and find success rather than disappointment!
That's brilliant news, given how fed up you were a month ago. I shall be planting a lot of seeds later next year after my experiences this year. By now, your main worry is a late frost, but provided you can give shelter for that eventuality, hardening off is in full swing in May and by June we can still things out with confidence!!
Slightly off topic here but related, I've got some cucumbers in my gh they were grown inside and planted in the gh when they were too big for windpw sill they looked fine until about a week ago when some started to wilt, I've noticed the stems near the compost look to be rotting is this damping off too? The gh is unheated so the temp swing is quite big!! Too cold of an evening perhaps??
We are basically city centre Wolverhampton and all the seedlings are right next to the house so I'm not overly worried about frost (famous last words!!) It's the slug that's done in my wallflower fire king and my sea lavender that I'm most worried about now!
Carol, my old gardening book says that cucumbers should be planted at the top of a mound to avoid water gathering round the stems, and you have to make sure it drains away when you water. Also, that everyone thinks cucumbers need more water than they do, so watering should be regular but not excessive. Whether or not at this stage you could earth them up a little further I don't know. They tend to sulk anyway when you transplant them, even the slightest disturbance of their roots will make them look sorry for themselves, but they do perk up.
Glad you've resolved the problem SLouise. Up here we're resigned to the fact that sowing a lot of stuff has to be done later unless you have a conservatory or a proper greenhouse. I sowed some cornflowers outside directly into pots a few weeks ago, just in the shelter of the house wall. They're about 2" high now and growing well. I only use the plastic greenhouse thingy for my tomatoes, which are on the kitchen windowsills just now, and a few pelargoniums. Not much else. As others have said - it's the difference between night and daytime temps that causes a lot of problems with early sown stuff, and then ventilation.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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Well, to pick a few at random….. tomatoes, chilies, basil, parsley, marjoram, cornflowers.
HI I just wanted to give an update on my damping off!
Firstly thanks to all of you for your advice, I have learnt ventilation is key! Since keeping a focus on ventilation I have had no further issues, all my second sowing of seedlings are off to a flying start, even some of the first batch which I removed to a sheltered position have survived!
The greenhouse cover gets practically removed when it will be a good day, covering the top when rain is predicted and is zipped up on one side during the night unless it will be very cold when I zip up both sides. Also, in handling the cover I've made some accidental ventilation holes which I think may have been beneficial!
You can't believe how happy I am now to come home every day and find success rather than disappointment!
That's brilliant news, given how fed up you were a month ago. I shall be planting a lot of seeds later next year after my experiences this year. By now, your main worry is a late frost, but provided you can give shelter for that eventuality, hardening off is in full swing in May and by June we can still things out with confidence!!
Slightly off topic here but related, I've got some cucumbers in my gh they were grown inside and planted in the gh when they were too big for windpw sill they looked fine until about a week ago when some started to wilt, I've noticed the stems near the compost look to be rotting is this damping off too? The gh is unheated so the temp swing is quite big!! Too cold of an evening perhaps??
We are basically city centre Wolverhampton and all the seedlings are right next to the house so I'm not overly worried about frost (famous last words!!) It's the slug that's done in my wallflower fire king and my sea lavender that I'm most worried about now!
Carol, my old gardening book says that cucumbers should be planted at the top of a mound to avoid water gathering round the stems, and you have to make sure it drains away when you water. Also, that everyone thinks cucumbers need more water than they do, so watering should be regular but not excessive. Whether or not at this stage you could earth them up a little further I don't know. They tend to sulk anyway when you transplant them, even the slightest disturbance of their roots will make them look sorry for themselves, but they do perk up.
Glad you've resolved the problem SLouise. Up here we're resigned to the fact that sowing a lot of stuff has to be done later unless you have a conservatory or a proper greenhouse. I sowed some cornflowers outside directly into pots a few weeks ago, just in the shelter of the house wall. They're about 2" high now and growing well. I only use the plastic greenhouse thingy for my tomatoes, which are on the kitchen windowsills just now, and a few pelargoniums. Not much else. As others have said - it's the difference between night and daytime temps that causes a lot of problems with early sown stuff, and then ventilation.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...