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b54red · February 26, 2012

I have now done 5 starts of tomato seeds and 4 of pepper seeds.

My first big start was a total loss with only 3 seedlings surviving out of 72 different varieties started with at least 6 seeds of each.

My second start of 36 varieties gave me a good many seedlings but I did lose well over half of all varieties to damping off.

My third and fourth plantings were total flops with great germination but devastating damping off. I may get a couple of seedlings that may survive but it's not looking good.

My fourth planting is now mostly up and looking great but this is when they usually get hit by damping off so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for those 30 varieties.

I planted my fifth bunch of tomato seed a couple of days ago.

We have been having rain every day or two with high humidity and it has been impossible to keep the surface of the planting medium dry with the constant high humidity. I would love a week or two with no rain and lower humidity to give these latter plantings a good start. This has been the worst year for damping off that I have experienced in over 30 years of starting my own seeds. Three years ago it was really bad because of frequent spring rains but the humidity wasn't as high and since then I have gone to great pains to sterilize everything and use only fresh starting mix but this year it has been more than a little frustrating. I will still have plenty of plants for my garden and to give away but the variety will be lacking at least in the early plantings.

February 26, 2012	#12
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have now done 5 starts of tomato seeds and 4 of pepper seeds. My first big start was a total loss with only 3 seedlings surviving out of 72 different varieties started with at least 6 seeds of each. My second start of 36 varieties gave me a good many seedlings but I did lose well over half of all varieties to damping off. My third and fourth plantings were total flops with great germination but devastating damping off. I may get a couple of seedlings that may survive but it's not looking good. My fourth planting is now mostly up and looking great but this is when they usually get hit by damping off so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for those 30 varieties. I planted my fifth bunch of tomato seed a couple of days ago. We have been having rain every day or two with high humidity and it has been impossible to keep the surface of the planting medium dry with the constant high humidity. I would love a week or two with no rain and lower humidity to give these latter plantings a good start. This has been the worst year for damping off that I have experienced in over 30 years of starting my own seeds. Three years ago it was really bad because of frequent spring rains but the humidity wasn't as high and since then I have gone to great pains to sterilize everything and use only fresh starting mix but this year it has been more than a little frustrating. I will still have plenty of plants for my garden and to give away but the variety will be lacking at least in the early plantings.