Tomato, zucchini, broccoli, kale, lettuce, and beet seedlings tend to get leggy because they’re started in spring when daylight is still limited. Photo: Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood. Leggy seedlings often happen with seeds started indoors and any type of vegetable, herb, or flower seedling can be affected. Covering the seeds with compost or Sphagnum Moss (instead of sowing mix) may also help. Sulfur powder, or a tea of Seaweed, Garlic or Chamomile has been used to treat small areas of infection and prevent it spreading. Damping Off fungi need high humidity, so thin your seedlings promptly to prevent overcrowding, avoid overwatering (especially on cool sunless days when water doesn’t evaporate quickly) and make sure there is good ventilation and air circulation. However, if your climate dictates that you start your seedlings inside then you have a potential problem. Growing your seedlings in a well ventilated, cool greenhouse will produce far fewer problems with Damping Off. Damping Off is mostly a disease of indoor seed raising. This year, the seedlings came up as normal, but when theyre about 2-3' tall, they fall over and die Ive lost about 80 of all my seedlings. I start the seeds in Jiffy pellets under grow lights and have never had a problem until now. You may lose a few plants occasionally, but so what. I have grown zinnias from seed for the last couple of years with great and satisfying results. It shouldn’t be a big problem if you take the precautions outlined below. The best defense against Damping Off is to avoid giving it the growing conditions it needs. Fortunately such techniques aren’t really necessary for the home grower. Outdoor plants benefit from the open air, which naturally restricts stretching, while. This is a sign of the burning we mentioned earlier. Almost all soil contains the spores of Damping Off so commercial growers often avoid soil in their mixes, or sterilize it with heat or chemicals. Preventing seedlings from stretching and falling over Implement good air circulation. This can indicate that the plant isn’t absorbing water properly, which is a symptom of over-fertilizing. Other kinds of Damping Off kill the seed before it germinates, or rot the roots, causing the tops to turn yellow and die. For the majority of home gardeners, the number-one cause of leggy seedlings is almost always insufficient light. This type of Damping Off mainly affects very small seedlings and becomes is less of a problem as they get older and their stems get tougher. These develop shrunken black stems and eventually fall over and die, though the stem may remain upright for a while afterward. The best known type of Damping Off first manifests itself as a fuzzy whitish mold on the surface of the soil and then goes on to girdle the succulent stems of newly germinated plants. This fungus disease can be the bane of the inexperienced seed starter and comes in several guises.
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