Mouldy seedlings

baggins11

I hope everyone is having a wonderful (if a bit windy) weekend.

I have noticed today that a few of my seedlings that have come through in the heated propagator have a bit of mould around them. Does this mean I am watering too much before they go in the propagator?

I had been told that you should not over-water young seedlings but does this also apply to the seeds? My germination rate seems good and they seem to be growing well. Is the mould a problem? I keep the propagator vent closed - is this correct?

Also with regard to parsnips why do people sow in toilet roll rather than straight in the ground? Do they grow bigger if they get a head start? Or is there some other reason for doing it?

-taff

Mould on them or mould on the compost?
You should water the compost [either first or afterwards, I tend to do it first, then push the seeds in. I don't water it again unless it's not damp] so it's moist, not wet. If the mould is on the compost, they should be ok, unless it's really hairy fine filament mould that's out of control, not a little bit...Got any pictures?
People sow parsnips in toilet roll because they have a very long tap root. The root grows before you see the foliage so it's just t ensure there's enough room for the root to grow down and it doens't get squashed in a shorter growing length or fork.

baggins11

Thanks Taff! I think it is over-watering as when I took the lid off quite a bit of water was on the lid. It has only happened on a couple of the flower seeds and not on any of the veg seeds I have done.

Not sure how to add image as it asked for a url?

-taff

You need to use an image hosting site.


I get condensation on the top of my lids when I leave them on in the lean to, it's normal. Problem comes is the compost was too wet to start with. As long as they are not totally soaked, and you give them a bit of air, they should be ok.

forgotmyname

When using toilet roll tubes i tend to get a bit of mould on them also. never been an issue and usually the tube has broken down completely by the time it comes to harvest the item.

Damp and a lack of airflow encourages the mould.

Maybe an experiment in dipping the toilet roll tubes in something to sterilise them a bit?

Whats safe though?

Quick dip in a solution of bleach, disinfectant, vinegar, salt water ??

Farway

forgotmyname wrote: »

When using toilet roll tubes i tend to get a bit of mould on them also. never been an issue and usually the tube has broken down completely by the time it comes to harvest the item.

Damp and a lack of airflow encourages the mould.

Maybe an experiment in dipping the toilet roll tubes in something to sterilise them a bit?

Whats safe though?

Quick dip in a solution of bleach, disinfectant, vinegar, salt water ??

My bold, if around the house my guess would be something like the stuff used to sterilise baby bottles, Milton?

Apodemus

Farway wrote: »

My bold, if around the house my guess would be something like the stuff used to sterilise baby bottles, Milton?

Always amazes me that people will rant and rave about the dangers of using bleach (sodium hypochlorite) but are quite happy with Milton (sodium hypochlorite)!

-taff

Just leave them get mouldy, it's probably better than ingesting bleach, albeit in minute amounts...

forgotmyname

Yeah, never bothered about it before, although a bit of bleach is probably nothing compared to the chemicals the supermarket stuff has been subject to??