Re: seedlings etc
Gerry - Thanks for the input. Don't know why I always assumed Promix to
be sterile - I guess because it's a soiless mix, and peat moss has the
reputation of being sterile... I only used the boiling water and
microwave because the mix was damp and the bag had been opened several
weeks earlier, and I was concerned about fungi. I certainly didn't
expect THIS little problem. I've probably started thousands of seeds
over the years and only once before have I had something similar
happen. That time the worms were green, it was gaillardia 'Burgundy'
and there was zero germination, so I blamed it on the seed. Years ago I
grew gesneriads for resale and kept the pots on huge trays with felt
liners for constant bottom moisture. At that time, I would on occassion
find these same critters swimming around when I watered the trays. I'm
just rather amazed that the boiling water treatment didn't do the trick!
Helen
Gerry/Bob O'Neill wrote:
>
> Helen,
> I'm not sure where your white worms came from..But my best guess is that
> eggs were present in the Promix and even your boiling water/nuke treatment
> didn't get them.
>
> But, Promix is NOT sterile! I use it at work as well as at home, and I have
> learned the hard way that there's all kinds of critters in the stuff. I no
> longer use it for sterile culture, because even if it's pasteurized
> (flowing steam for 10 minutes on each of three successive days) the texture
> is pretty much destroyed by this treatment.
>
> If it's damping off you are concerned about, you might try sterilizing sand
> and putting a thin layer of it on the surface of the Promix after sowing
> the seed; that's what I use for my hibiscus seed, which can take months to
> germinate. Doesn't eliminate the problem entirely, but helps. Or buy a seed
> starting mix that is labelled "sterile."
>
> Gerry
>
> At 10:45 AM 2/11/01 -0500, you wrote:
> >Here's the story...
> >
> >Start with one clean never been used container with tight fitting clear
> >dome. Add Promix for seedlings, (supposed to be sterile). Pour boiling
> >water over, then nuke in the microwave for 2 mins for good measure.
> >Allow to cool, sprinkle with h. chirifu seed, close lid.
> >
> >The lid was opened once momentarily to add a little extra water after a
> >couple of weeks. I now have delightful (translation - yuck!) thin white
> >worms in the mix, that I believe are fungus gnat larva. Are these
> >fungus gnat larva???? Can anyone hazard a guess as to how these manage
> >to appear in a closed sterile environment? Is it possible these things
> >were in the seed? Or the bit of water I added later?
> >
> >Thanks
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
> >message text UNSUBSCRIBE HOSTA-OPEN
> >
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
> message text UNSUBSCRIBE HOSTA-OPEN
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE HOSTA-OPEN
