Mold in my Heirloom Starts - HELP!!!

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Okay folks ... I need your expert advice. I planted our heirloom pepper and tomatoe seeds in the square peat pots using a good grade potting soil. Watered them, covered them and left them alone - they are in our basement under flourscent (sp?) lights. The peat pots have appeared damp, so I haven't watered them, but was checking today to see if they were dry or not and noticed white moldie looking stuff in most of the pots, and I don't know why?

Should I leave the plastic cover off, move the lights closer, provide more air flow, water some more, or just trash the whole mess? It's too windy and cold to move them outside, so that isn't an option. And the 30-50mph winds we had the last couple days made mince meat out of the plastic on my little greenhouse, so can't use that either. Frankly, I'm at a loss! HELP!!!

And thanks ahead of time!

-- Phil in KS (cshomestead@planetkc.com), April 03, 2002

Answers

if mold is on the peat, ,shouldnt hurt anything,, Id increase the air flow though

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), April 03, 2002.

air flow and water and mist with camomile tea...

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), April 03, 2002.

Phil, I have had really lousy luck with the plastic covers and mold and no longer use them. Leave the cover off, move the lights to within an inch or two, provide more air flow and just water enough to keep alive for a few days. That white mold shouldn't kill the plants and you can kind of take a knife and scrape most of it off from around the plant. What you don't want is for it to go around the stem of the plant and start dampening them off. Do a search over on CS........I can't remember the formula for the spray people were using to prevent the dampening off. (you would think I would remember it cause I have used it in the past!!!) Older plants benefit from a small fan blowing in the room, as it helps them prepare for hardening off. Good luck!!

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), April 03, 2002.

there you go.........camomile tea!!! Sheesh.......I feel so brain dead sometime!!! It really worked for me last year.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), April 03, 2002.

Phil, is the white stuff on the soil or on the pots themselves?

-- Annie (mistletoe@earthlink.net), April 03, 2002.


Thanks folks, for all the great advice. I have the cover off now and the mold seems to have lessened some. The good part in all this that I forgot to mention is the plants aren't sprouted yet ... just had mold on the edges of the pots, a little on the top of the soil, and quiet a bit around the base of the label sticks. Surprised me cause all the other seeds I planted this way came up and are doing pretty good - no problem with mold at all. Thanks for the advice on the fans and the camomile tea, too!

I'll keep you all posted. Hey ... I just looked again and I have 1 (one) pepper plant up now - YEAH!!!! See - you all helped already! Thanks again!

-- Phil in KS (mac0328@planetkc.com), April 03, 2002.


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