Beginners Q about mould?

Hello,

Firstly, i'm really new to gardening so please bear with me and my (possibly) daft questions!

I've been starting off a whole load of chilli plants from seed. The seeds were soaked overnight and then for an additional hour in germination solution, then kept in an unheated propagator in the airing cupboard until shoots appeared.

I've spent the last week or so moving the larger seedlings into individual modules in a heated propagator so they can be by the window and get some light.

But I noticed that on the surface of the soil and around the base of one or two of the seedlings there was what I first thought was just a very small patch of condensation (it had that sort of glistening quality that you get sometimes when there is water/condensation on the surface of soil). There were only two or three patches, and they were very small - no larger than a five pence piece.

On closer inspection the patches looked like they could be mildew or mould, but I really have no idea about these kind of things and was hoping somebody could advise....?

I know you are supposed to open the vents in the propagator once the seedlings emerge to help improve air circulation and prevent mould growing. Could it be that there was insufficient circulation when the seeds were in the airing cupboard?

My concern is that i've now moved the seedlings into a heated propagator with other seedlings from different batches and I dont want them to all become infected. Could that happen?

Is there anything I can do prevent this (eg an anti-fungus spray from a garden centre?)?

Or am I worrying about nothing and its just a bit of condensation like I originally thought?

Many thanks for reading my post.

 

Welcome to the forum Rocket.
I can't see your plants, but if the plants themselves look healthy then this mould on the surface is likely to be harmless and won't affect the plants. It comes with the compost and appears in damp conditions.
You can just scrape the mould from the surface of the pots and top dress with some fresh compost or better still, some compost mixed with vermiculite.
I hope I'm right and you have no need to worry.

 

Thanks for the Alice, much appreciated.

That is re-assuring, I hope that is the case too. The plants are definitely healthy and they have withstood being pricked out into module pots. I'll keep a close eye on them over the next few days.

Cheers
Tom

 

Why did you soak the seed?

 

I think I would remove the cover on the propagator and just rely on bottom heat.

Once the seeds have germinated they need air, while the bottom heat will keep the roots moving.

High humidity will only cause problems and result in leggy seedlings.

Hi Dai.

 

I would agree with Pete. But in addition I would be tempted to spray with Cheshunt compound. This is a copper based antifungal compound that is used for spraying seedlings. Ask in a garden centre - it may go by other names as well.

As Alice said mould is unlikely to affect healthy live seedlings, but its not a good thing to have.

I germinate my seedlings in a heated propagator. As the propagator has a lid, very little moisture escapes so you don't need to water them. But I do spray them regularly with this compound, which keeps the mould at bay and also supplies a tiny amount of moisture to replace what is lost.

Pete - does humidity increase legginess or is it soley the temperature and low light level?

 

Your right Peter I dont think leggyness is a problem produced by humidity, I put it badly.

I was actually meaning that keeping the propagator top on the plants would make them grow faster, due to the high temperature around the top growth, and low light at this time of the year will make the plants leggy.
No, humidity in itself would not make the plants leggy but will cause other problems, mould being one of them, also soft growth.

 

It helps with germination doesn't it? That's what I have been led to believe. The water softens the coat of the seed and 'primes' it for germination :cnfs: