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RE: Gradual Damping Off?

Alaiyo, I could call myself an expert at damping off, because I seem to
have the ability to induce it better than anybody I have met. Not
because I've become adept at avoiding it. But let me share my recent
experience with you.

I have seen it happen overnight and I have seen seedlings struck by it
last a month and just get more and more hopeless looking. Did you see
any really fine fuzz on the plants or on the roots? You can't always see
it though, but you can count on it if they stay in the seedling stage
for too long. It has taken me too long to learn to be sterile and always
germinate in sterile potting medium. So far so good this year if I don't
overwater.

To deal with the high tendency to damp off in my musty basement, I have
gotten very good at keeping my equipment sterile, bleach dips, new soil,
...etc.
and I use the covered mini greenhouses for germination. When I see a
"bloom" of the fuzzy white fungus, I scoop the whole plant, label, or
clump of dirt and wash it down the drain. As soon as most of a flat is
germinated I remove the cover and make sure the room has a small amount
of air movement. Oh, and the Gnats had to go, I think they spread it.
Wooden markers bloom fuzz even after bleaching. When I water, I try to
water from underneath [flats in trays]. Some seedlings need to be misted
though.
You probably didn't get any takers on your question previously because
we're all busy planting, covering and buying supplies. Damping off is a
common affliction. Then again, I don't know  V. Bonariensis from a V.
Dogbonensis  ;-)

Tim Chavez  z6 Wichita, Kansas  
Crocus and Anemones are blooming. Pyrethrum, Aquilegia, and Platycodon
are sending up their first shoots under the thin leaf mulch. 4 flats of
seedlings have my sap running high and fast. A friend gave me some soil
called Baccto-dark and it works great!  Snow is coming tonight so I'll
be mulching again.  

> Hi Folks,
> I had no takers for my question about the Verbena Bonariensis
> seedlings with
> "hunchbacked" or bending stems.  Consequently, I assumed they were
> damping off
> and threw them out.  I thought damping off happened suddenly (not sure
> because
> I've never experienced it).  Can damping off be gradual?  Is that what
> happened to my seedlings?  I really, really would like to know.
> Thanks.  
> Alaiyo Barnes
> Zone 7B
> Southern Maryland
>
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