Released March 3, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Despite the frigid weather outside, many gardeners are flipping through seed catalogs in anticipation of spring.
A wide variety of flowers and vegetables can be started indoors long before the weather becomes warm enough to move them outside. A little care for delicate seedlings will reap great rewards later in the summer, when you’ll enjoy your beautiful garden plants.
For those starting seeds indoors, it is important to work now to prevent losses from “damping off,” a common disease of seedlings. Damping off is a fungal disease that affects a wide variety of flowers and vegetables when they are seedlings.
Damping off can kill the seed before it emerges from the soil or it can attack the young stem and new leaves, resulting in tan mushy spots, pinched and rotted stems, and often complete collapse of the seedling. Once an infection has begun, the damping off fungi can move through the potting mix to infect nearby seedlings. Often multiple seedlings in a tray suffer from damping off, resulting in few or no surviving plants.
There is a critical period when special care needs to be taken to protect sensitive seedlings. This period begins before the seeds are even planted. The damping off fungi survive in soil and plant debris, so start out with sterile supplies. New trays, pots and potting mix are typically clean. If you are reusing last year’s pots and trays, soak them in a 10 percent bleach solution for about 30 minutes. It is best to use new, unopened potting mix to start seeds. Garden soil should not be used.
Once seeds are planted, maintain a good growing environment. Providing young seedlings with adequate light and warm soil will result in quick germination and a sturdy plant. Potting mix should be moist but not soggy. All pots should have drainage holes to allow excess water to drain away. Seedlings should be watered with lukewarm clean water (like tap or other drinking water). Cold water will slow seedling growth and favor the damping off fungi.
Different types of seeds have different optimal planting dates and growth requirements. Visit University of Minnesota Extension’s Gardening Information website at http://www.extension.umn.edu/GardenInfo and search for “Getting ready for seed starting” to learn more. For additional information, contact Michelle Grabowski, a horticulture educator with University of Minnesota Extension at (763) 767-3876 or magrabow@umn.edu.
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http://www.extension.umn.edu/extensionnews/2008/dampingoffofseedlings.html
Contact: Catherine Dehdashti, (612) 625-0237, ced@umn.edu
Michelle Grabowski, (763) 767-3876, magrabow@umn.edu
