This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: [SHADEGARDENS] Unfinished Compost

On Wed, 28 Jan 1998, Cidjohnson wrote:

> If hosta seeds and seedlings are sensitive to unfinished compost then it might
> explain why my hosta seeds germinate, grow a little, and then the seedlings
> slooowly decline until they die.  I don't think it is damping off because it
> is so slow (over a couple of weeks).  The seedlings start to turn yellow at
> the tips and then down the leaf until they die... :-(  (not all of them, but
> at least 2/3s).  I think I've kept them moist enough and the light is about 6"
> to 8" above the seedlings.

Sounds almost like nitrogen deficiency -- which is what I'd expect if
the compost was still in the process of decomposing.

Personally, I prefer a soil/perlite/sand mixture in trays for most seeds,
with seedlings covered either with plain sand or milled sphagnum if I know
there's often problems with damping off.

Kay Lancaster  kay@fern.com
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index