Fungus on my potting soil! Need advice!

I have been putting 3-5" tomato seedlings started in Jiffy peat pellets into 3" peat pots. I have mixed up my own potting soil (peat moss, perlite, garden compost, Espoma Garden Manure, local sand and greensand). Now a few days later I am getting some kind of wispy white fungus on the top of the soil - a lot of it. I scraped it off, but it it is coming back. I'm worried about damping off. I used bagged potting mix on some other seedlings and did not have this issue.

Any advice on potting soil? I could just use peat, sand and perlite, but there are little if any nutrients in it. I'm trying to stick to "organic" if I can (this is why I am not using the bagged mix, and also for cost reasons -- I have hundreds of seedlings). These will be going in the ground mid-May, and some will be traded at a plant swap.

Thanks!

Tags: fungus, seed, soil, starting

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Permalink Reply by Sophie Allen on April 25, 2011 at 10:42am

If the fungus is white a wispy it's most likely due to lack of ventilation and you'll probably have to start from scratch--you could try transplanting--but it may not be worth the trouble. I had this happen to me, I consulted a friend of mine who is a horticulturist and that's what she advised me to do. So now I have to restart my seedlings again!

Permalink Reply by Sophie Allen on April 25, 2011 at 10:46am

Forgot to add, this fungus will kill your seedlings!

Permalink Reply by Jutta Middel on April 25, 2011 at 10:51am

Thanks Sophie! Did you see the attached photo link above?

I've isolated the "infected" seedlings. So far they are still ok. I wish I could stick them right in the ground, but it is too early.

By the way, these did seem to have good ventilation -- widely spaced and in my kitchen by a south facing patio door.

Permalink Reply by Sophie Allen on April 25, 2011 at 10:57am

Just looked at your pix, yep, that's it. My horticulturist friend said these things happen, even with good ventilation!

Permalink Reply by Jutta Middel on April 25, 2011 at 11:15am

So, I guess I should ditch the 40 gallons I already mixed up? I wonder if it is ok to use it outside in the garden. Does your friend have any advice on mixing up a good batch?

Permalink Reply by Sophie Allen on April 25, 2011 at 11:33am

I didn't have as much soil as you. I just turned it out in the garden in an area that's not too precious!

My friend didn't say anything really, just that these are some of the hazards of gardening. Basically you have to make sure you son't spread the fungus by making sure that everything has been sanitized: pots, tools, seeding areas and such.

That's why I decided to start from scratch.

Permalink Reply by Barbara Taylor-Laino on April 25, 2011 at 11:51am

Try spraying the seedlings and the soil surface with a strong brew of room-temperature german chamomile tea!

It is super-effective!!!! I spray all my indoor seedlings with it as a preventative.

~Barbara

Permalink Reply by Jutta Middel on April 25, 2011 at 2:39pm

Thanks! I think I'll plant that in my herb garden for next year. Does it have to be German? I'm thinking "Mother Earth"...

Permalink Reply by Barbara Taylor-Laino on April 25, 2011 at 2:45pm

Yes it should be the german (Matricaria recutita) - not the roman (Anthemis nobilis). Also, don't spray it until the seedlings have germinated! It tends to disrupt the seed germination process as well as fungal growth. Horsetail tea is also effective for keeping fungus at bay - I used it in 2008 on my tomatoes and didn't get late blight ... The german chamomile and the horsetail are both biodynamic herbs.

Permalink Reply by Jutta Middel on April 25, 2011 at 6:03pm

Thanks again for your reply! How long do you brew the tea, and where do you get it?

Permalink Reply by Sophie Allen on April 25, 2011 at 12:05pm

huh! fascinating--next time around I'll try that and see if it works. I'll pass that tip along to my horticulturist friend.

Permalink Reply by Jutta Middel on May 3, 2011 at 10:05pm

UPDATE: Here's how the tea treatment went:

I bought about $4 worth of bulk German Chamomile tea from Red Hook Health Foods store - they did confirm it was German -- Matricaria recutita. I put about a quarter cup in 3 cups of very hot water and let it sit for a few hours, then strained it and put it in a clean spray bottle. I heavily sprayed the soil surface, seedling leaves and the outside of the peat pots, including the bottoms. The next day, most of the wispy white fungus was gone, I reapplied where I still saw some remnants, and it completely by the next day.

To make a long story short, it worked like a charm, and the fungus has not returned (it's one week later now). I bought some Matricaria recutita seeds from Neseed at Adams to grow for next year (hard to find).

Thanks so much Barbara and Sophie!

Now, what to do about those aphids I found on one plant...