The Dreaded Damping-Off: Prevention

Probably one of the greatest frustrations for gardeners is having the Image Courtesy of © FreeFoto.com. Ian Britton, Photographer. anticipation and hopes of successfully starting seedlings dashed when damping-off rears its ugly head. It's a tragedy: All that time, effort, and expenseof germinating seeds, only to have the stems thin out and become limp and watery filaments, mowed to the surface of the starting medium. Once it starts, it's hard to control, and the experience is much like watching a train wreck in progress: Despair and a general feeling of helplessness. There are some techniques that gardeners can use to prevent this ugly disease from occurring in the first place.

1. Consider the whole experience of starting plants the same as one would consider a hospital nursery. A clean and sterile environment is the key. This concept really isn't unlike a newborn nursery. Just as hospitals keep equipment and environments scrupulously clean and sterile, the would-be seed starter needs to regard the equipment and medium for seeds and cuttings in the same manner: This is a fledgling plant's newborn nursery after all, and the same principles hold true. None of us would want a newborn infant to share the same isolette or blanket as the baby before it without these items having first been scrubbed and sterilized. Do the same with seed-starting equipment. Scrub all flats, pots, and other non-disposable items with good hot soapy water. Make a bleach dip to sterilize any container used to start seedlings or cuttings. If the equipment is brand-new, still do a bleach water dip for good measure. Here's a simple sterilizing solution for dipping pots and flats for seed starting:

1 part household bleach to 10 parts water.

2. Wash your hands! Handle soil mix, seeds, and equipment AFTER having washed your hands well. Consider that hospital analogy: Wash your hands to prevent spreading disease!

3. Use a soilless medium to start plants. You can make your own, but there are many good pre-blended mediums on the market which are fairly inexpensive and do the job quite well. Mixes vary, so be sure to choose one that is specific to your needs: Choose the appropriate mixes for seed starting or for the propagation of cuttings.

4. I may be a bit extreme, but I won't just use tap water to moisten my soil mix. I mix in boiled distilled water that has been cooled. I do not want the residual chemicals, water conditioner salts, etc., that are found in tap water or the possibility of having any stray fungus spores contaminating the planting medium. I also don't soak my starting mix. I blend water into a sterile bowl filled with soilless medium using a large mixing spoon that has also been sterilized. Mix and blend more water in gradually so it isn't dripping, but nicely moist. Think about a damp sponge that isn't dripping, but still has moisture in it. The medium should not hold together in a dripping ball, but should hold together if formed into a small moist ball which will crumble if slightly poked.

5. Place this mix into sterilized pots/containers or flats. Be sure there are adequate drainage holes in any non-seed pot types of containers, like margarine tubs, etc.

6. Don't sow seed too thickly or space too closely together. It may be tempting to do this, but crowded seedlings can spread damping-off like wildfire. Crowded seedlings also reduce good air circulation, which also contributes to damping-off.

7. The tricky part: Keep the planting medium moist, not soggy. At this point you may want to cover your seedling trays with plastic wrap to prevent loss of moisture. If the seeds require darkness, you may wish to use a covering that will keep moisture in while preventing light from reaching the seeds. Be sure that coverings aren't touching the medium, and be sure that there is an air gap to keep good circulation

Other Helpful Hints

There are some other tips that can help to prevent damping off:

You can pre-soak seeds in a blend of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide and water. Some gardeners prefer to purchase 35% Hydrogen Peroxide and dilute it at home to 3%. At the proper dilution, I have found that standard 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, even though it has fixatives, doesn't harm my seeds or seedlings. Here's the ratio of Peroxide to water:

Seed Soak: 2 TBSP. of Hydrogen Peroxide to 2 cups or 16 ounces of boiled and cooled distilled water.

Chamomile is an excellent agent to prevent damping off:

Use three chamomile teabags. Pour boiled distilled water and steep for fifteen to twenty minutes, then add the concentrate to a sterilized gallon milk jug and top off with more boiled distilled water. Once seedlings are up and growing, use this in a sterilized spray bottle to spritz and mist seedlings.

Hydrogen Peroxide again is also useful in preventing Damping-Off Disease after the seeds have sprouted:

This time, add 1 cup of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide to a gallon of boiled distilled water. Use this to mist seedlings.

You may be surprised to learn that cinnamon has excellent anti-fungal properties and acts as a deterrent to damping-off:

Simply sprinkle the surface of the potting medium with ground cinnamon.

Once seedlings start to emerge, remove any covering and put them under grow lights. This is crucial so that seedlings can grow stout and strong and this goes a long way to preventing damping-off.

Thin seedlings. Transplant them or remove them, but prevent overcrowding. Thinning assures that the remaining seedlings will be stronger and will grow normally. It also will help to maintain good air circulation between plants.

Preventing damping-off is a simple blend of common sense, cleanliness, and good gardening practice. By using some of these helpful hints and techniques, gardeners can nip damping-off in the bud. Try a few of these tips and see if your success rate increases!