White mold around seedlings

[Marb67]

Ok, so I have sowed seedlings like onion, leek, salad etc and have always watered from below in the tray and not directly above as advised. To enable the seedlings to spring into growth they need an initial watering but unfortunaley white mold always seems to grow where there is a slight hint of damp compost. If I don't water the seedlings will not grow or die. Tried cinnamon powder as advised by a grower as it's supposed to be anti fungal but to no avail as the mold still grows. Hence damping off.

Same with peas. If I sow dry they will not sprout. Add water and they rot. It's a dark art

[Lisasbolt]

How deep are you sowing? You could try using damp compost to begin with. Maybe you have something in the compost so you could try baking the compost to kill any bacteria.

[veggiechicken]

Similar thread http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...uld_88666.html

[kathyd]

Hi Marb

I find it really hard to get the watering right with seedlings too. I know advice is to water from the bottom, but I've repeatedly found that my seedlings die off if I do this, so now I've gone back to doing things the 'wrong' way . I fill my pots or trays with dry compost, then water the compost lightly and leave for a while before adding the seeds. I make sure I stand pots and modules in a tray which drains well - some of my trays don't have holes in the bottom. I place seeds on the surface of the compost, and barely cover them - nowhere near 0.5cm deep, just enough to keep the light off really. Then I don't water them until the compost is almost dry again - certainly once they've germinated. Again, I water from the top but trying to avoid the leaves if possible. If this isn't possible, I do it while the temperature is warm (but not in bright sunshine of course!) rather than at night when I'm leaving them chilled. I've found they do better if I can provide some bottom heat for a while (less easy now my propagator's just broken!) and if they're in a cold place at night I cover them over with bubble wrap or similar. They seem to survive being under watered a lot better than being over watered - even if they go a bit droopy from lack of water most of them usually recover, whereas once they get too wet and start rotting they've had it. Deep breath and try again?

[Alison]

I too tend to under rather than over water which I always think gets them used to erratic watering that they'll probably get later in life . Joking aside, mould is worse if the compost us over watered but you may still get some. I tend to just not worry about it, life is too short.