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Old December 28, 2016   #31
dmforcier
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I use/reuse plain ole MGMC Mix and don't sterilize anything. I'm pretty good about watering, using a basting injector for top watering individual cells. I do use Hydrogen Peroxide all over the place. It goes in the seed soak, in the starting towel, and injected directly into the cell.

Haven't had a single case of damping off since I started using H2O2.

Some people have expressed concern over using a chemical with the apparent ability to kill things. So I did a little experiment. I tried germinating a batch of seeds in straight (3%?) H2O2. Okay, it didn't work. A few popped then didn't do well. In concentration it acts like a weak bleach. After 10 days I had a batch of clean white dead seeds.

BUT never an adverse reaction when applied to a plant or soil. Hydrogen peroxide is your friend.
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Old December 28, 2016   #32
MissS
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Never again would I use H2O2, although it does work. Instead I choose to use MycoGro a live culture of fungi and bacteria to keep Damping Off in check. Not only does prevent infection but it promotes plant health and sturdy root growth. H2O2 will kill off not only the bad pathogens but also any beneficials that you might have growing.
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Old December 28, 2016   #33
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3℅ hydrogen peroxide may be helpful for plants. However, I called the manufacturer of mine to see if there were any hidden ingredients, and they told me it had organophosphates in it. They wouldn't tell me which ones, for proprietary reasons. I believe all of the standard 3℅ hydrogen peroxide has some kind of stabilizer ingredient in it like that, to keep it from turning into water longer. I stopped using it in soil after this (not for the plant's benefit, as the plants were fine, but for mine, since I didn't want to be eating random organophosphates). I'm not particularly against soaking seeds in water with hydrogen peroxide, if I discard the liquid afterward.

If you want pure hydrogen peroxide, get the food grade kind. I hear you have to dillute it considerably for safety purposes, though, since it's strong. It's probably so strong to make it last longer.

I never used hydrogen peroxide to prevent damping off in particular, though, as far as I recall. I used it in an effort to help speed germination and to sterilize seeds (before I started zapping them with a Z4EX instead). 2700k CFLs worked pretty much 100% for me, against damping off, when I started seeds indoors, even with the same soil that caused it without them. I just had perhaps one or two 22 watt 2700k CFLs per area, and then my other growlights, which were mostly 6500k CFLs.

Last edited by shule1; December 28, 2016 at 06:01 PM.
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Old December 28, 2016   #34
dmforcier
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Okay, I just checked the bottle.

Recommended for: Oral Rinse (et al.) Active Ingrediments: Hydrogen Peroxide 3% (stabilized); Inactive Ingrediments: Purified Water. Given the FDA's rigorous labeling requirements for medicinal products, any residual organo-phosphates would have to appear on the label.

But for the sake of argument, let's assume that there are nasty chemicals in there. The amounts involved -- a few ml of solution per seedling -- make the quantity of contaminant so small that even dioxin would be a near-zero threat. It's one thing to be careful; it's another thing to be paranoid.



Say, is that there H2O2 stuff kosher??
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Old March 19, 2018   #35
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I just started several plants in the past few days and damping off is my biggest worry, I lost almost all of my first planting in 2017 to damping off.


My plan based on this and other sources:
  • Bottom water with either just plain water or bottom water with teas and spices. I see cinnamon often mentioned but will other spices work like cayenne?
  • Top mist with water and hydrogen peroxide.
  • Don't water the plants until they dry out. This scares me a bit because while I definitely understand not being too aggressive with the watering, I thought that if the medium dried out that germination would be impeded.
  • Should I add a thin layer of DE / Floor Dry or sand at the top? Will that help? I think it helps with fungus gnat control so I may be doing it anyway for that reason.
  • Keeping the plants outdoors and bringing them in when the temperature dips below 45. For now I am also bringing them in on rainy days to prevent the seeds from being washed away or buried deeper. When they are more established I will leave them out in the rain unless it is a lengthy, heavy downpour is expected.
  • When brought indoors for a day or more to run a fan for a few hours.

I have read that you can use fungicides. I have Daconil on hand and also see Serenade mentioned but it looks like it needs to be ordered. I am still looking into this to see if I should also incorporate this in my plan, and if so figure out what the appropriate dosage is.

Last edited by agee12; March 19, 2018 at 04:41 PM.
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Old March 19, 2018   #36
Nan_PA_6b
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I used to have damping off problems. Now I sprinkle cinnamon on the surface and no more damping off. Cinnamon has antifungal (and antibacterial?) properties. I don't know about other spices.

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Old March 19, 2018   #37
JosephineRose
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I do this too. It has worked well for me. Plus my grow room smells good.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b View Post
I used to have damping off problems. Now I sprinkle cinnamon on the surface and no more damping off. Cinnamon has antifungal (and antibacterial?) properties. I don't know about other spices.

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Old March 20, 2018   #38
Gardeneer
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My way:
Make my own mix : screened pine bark , some peat moss, anout 25% floor dry (DE )
== bottom water every 5th day.
== use ground cinnamon and pure camile sprinkle on top of soil and in the tray.
I think damping off is due to sogginess not fungus for most part.
So the soil has to have decent drainage. DE or good amount of perlite can do that. Also pine bark fines added to peat moss can help prevent soggyness.
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Old March 20, 2018   #39
Ricky Shaw
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Seedlings in a clean porous mix, compost and manure free, bottom watered and kept above 60 degrees F is all but a lock on preventing damping off. Planty of other things don't hurt either.
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Old March 20, 2018   #40
roper2008
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I don’t have damping off problems. I do use a sterile mix, like pro-mix or seed
starting mix. I also have my growing shelf right over my vent, so when the heat
comes on they get nice and toasty. I keep my house on the cool side in winter
(hot flashes) so I bought a plastic sheet at the hydrophonic store to put over my
grow shelf. It keeps heat in and reflects the light back to the seedlings.
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Old March 20, 2018   #41
carolyn137
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I'd like to add a follow up post from Starting From Seed that I just did which I think is very important since the woman who did the experiments to assess how well cinnamon worked to prevent damping off used CONTROLS,which I think is crucial. Not many who use cinnamon do that and actually she was the only one I know of who did so.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=44279

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Old March 21, 2018   #42
ScottinAtlanta
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Well, folks, this year I had beautiful seedlings until.....this. It isn't stem rot - is this damping off?
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Old March 21, 2018   #43
Nan_PA_6b
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Are those stems black where they meet the soil?

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Old March 21, 2018   #44
ScottinAtlanta
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No. That was my first thought, but the stems are healthy and the root balls are well developed.
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Old March 21, 2018   #45
Nan_PA_6b
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Then it's probably something else. (I know that's not very helpful; sorry)

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