It seems to come and go here for me and I can't correlate it to anything I'm doing. Some rounds were perfect in my normal peat:perlite mix, some rounds absolutely everything died just after I saw the hypocotyl peaking through!
Usually I have more than I know what to do with and I have to put them out with a "free" sign and this year it was a struggle to get what I wanted. Never had this problem in my many years of propagation. Most frustrating is I went through a lot of my F2 seed from crosses.
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Originally Posted by b54red
I can induce damping off in seedlings started in DE by keeping it too wet; but that is the only time I have had a problem with damping off with DE. I always use just straight tap water and bottom water my small containers (egg carton cells) then plant the seed and cover with a very light layer of DE and then remove them from the water. I don't give them water again until the DE starts turning white and then only bottom water for just long enough to dampen the DE again. Whatever you do, don't leave your planting containers in the watering tray any longer than necessary.
The few cases of damping off I had were due to me getting distracted and leaving planting containers in the watering tray and leaving it for hours or longer. The only other thing that will bring on some damping off is to water them when they don't need it. I plant in egg cartons because they give me the perfect size container to work with the DE. I only use the UltraSorb brand from Auto Zone for seed starting. The DE dries out in the egg cartons in a few days so the DE doesn't remain too wet for very long. Are you using deep containers or large containers to start your seed? A large or deep container may keep the DE too wet for too long encouraging damping off. Are you using UltraSorb brand?
I spent years trying everything to prevent damping off down here and nothing worked until Ray posted about the DE. I used hydrogen peroxide, bleach, and various fungicides to little avail. One of the biggest problems I have now with damping off is when I am grafting. Trying to get my grafts to stay in a healing chamber long enough to heal without getting damping off is nearly impossible. No matter how sterile I make the environment it isn't enough because the stuff just seems to be in the air down here and give it too much moisture and it will flourish. By using fresh DE when I pot the grafts to go into the healing chamber I have reduced the problem but that damp environment is just asking for it.
Try not to bury your seeds too deep because they only need the slightest layer of UltraSorb. Make sure to only water when necessary and for as short a time as it takes to wet the DE and your damping off problems should get much better.
Bill
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