Germinating cacti seed; damping off problems.

[buffachino]

Hey guys,

I’m in the process of germinating some Peyote and T. Peruvianus seeds,
They have been sown in a good soil mixture, in a small tub with a transparent plastic lid, on top of a heat mat.
The tub has drainage holes in the bottom and is in a tray for bottom watering.
This is my second attempt at germination; the last one was overrun by ‘damping off’ mould that took over the soil in the pots used, no doubt killing the seeds.
The first attempt was using 4 glazed terracotta pots in a much larger container for humidification, and the excess moisture was the cause of the problems I believe.

Now with the second attempt, more mould is starting to appear. I sterilised the soil, am using much less water, and have only kept the soil moist enough and the air sufficiently humid for the seeds to sprout, yet the mould is returning.

I have used neem oil as a fungicide both times, and it seems it doesn’t work, or at leat not to an extent where it helps. I used copper fungicide after the appearance of the mould on the first attempt but it didn’t do much, if anything at all.

My question is this, what is the most effective way to combat this mould during the germination process, what fungicides do you use, if any, and how do you combat the emergence of contaminants when germinating cacti seed in general.

Hopefully someone can help me before my unborn babies die from another fungal onslaught.

Peace.

 

[Guest]

if you sterilized the soil, how can it be contaminated by mold ?
i once sprouted some peyotes the hard way, aka natural way. just lay them in a tray with soil and hope that they will born. portugal has a very desert-like area, and the peyotes loved it, they sprouted and grown, but very slowly.
but isn't sterilizing the soil and covering it with plastic paper the only thing needed so mold/fungi won't take your seedlings ?

 

[user_1919]

When the mold started to develop on my soil, I would just pick it off, but it never got to serious.

 

[Soulcatcher]

It won't help you much in fighting the mold (i had the same problem last year). But it's a nice piece of info, so here it goes.
This year I started growing in ziplock baggies, and so far it works great (few weeks into it now). I have a germination rate of about 80% and everything looks good. The best thing is that you don't have to pay attention to it all the time. You don't have to water them, just make sure its a nice temperature and that they get enough light. Also the chance of fungus is minimal because you sterilized the water and soil. This is the method I followed (altough I didnt make the wooden breizh bed):

Soil : As a basis, I use a good quality, fine earth bought in a shop, to which I add vermiculite (expanded mica), perlite or any other draining material, as well as possibly some sand. The important thing is to have an open draining soil. The presence of a quantity of peat does not matter as long as the seedlings are in the baggies. Once out of the baggies, it is better to repot the sensitive species into a more mineral soil.

Treatment : All pots and soil are treated by micro-wave, 15 minutes at full force, and moistened with fertilizer at a normal amount. Use water that is sterile(osmosed, boiled or mineral water). After microwaving, the soil should remain wet enough but not sodden.

Sowing : As soon as the soil and pots are back to room temperature, the seeds are sowed and burried at a depth of their own diameter. Then the pots are put in deep-freeze bags, hermetically closed and placed in an self made “piece of furniture

 

[Goran.Hrsak]

Your cacti were not destroyed by molds! I think that you are over watering soil and dense moist kill sprouts! And dense moisture invites molds to grow, but they doesn't attack cacti. Molds can be nice indicator of over moisted soil. Use styrophor pan, soil, moist it, place seeds on top and cover them with 0,25cm of dry soil. Cover everything with plastic foil. After germination wait for cacti to show green head. Then remove foil. Spray some water when soil become dry. And you will see after removing of plastic cover that molds are shrinking.

 

[GOD]

1:- try again with the peyote in one pot and the T.Peruvianus in another . They dont grow in the same conditions . Growing Trichocereus is about as easy as it comes with cacti , Peyote is one of the harder ones to grow . Both can virtualy swim when they are very young but the problems start with peyote as soon as you try to harden them off .
2:- if you try to grow in times of the year where there are less spores in the air you have much less chance of contamination . If the problem persists you will have to sterilise everything ......... properly ...........first . What you cant sterilise with heat or micro waves can be sprayed with a medical sterilising spray , but test it first on your surfaces to see if they like eachother and only use one that fully evaporates , not one that leaves a greasy stain behind . Look for something called "melisept medical" or "sagrotan" , asking chemists for a product is a good idea ....... but think about the storey you want to tell him first and not when he starts asking questions . If that doesnt work do it somewhere else , some rooms are poluted with spores and you will never be sucessfull if you keep trying there .
3:- get rid of the soil mix and try it hydrophonicaly . Spread the seeds over damp sand in a greenhouse like you use for cuttings . Put a layer of news paper over the greenhouse and put it in your grow room next to your plants but not directly under the lamp . If you get it right you dont need to spray your babys with water much as the air around them is wet enough from the condensation from the sand . This has worked for me thousands of times .
4:- still and stagnant wet air is deadly if you dont ventilate enough . So at least 3 times a day you need to take the lid of them and give them a bit of fresh air .
5:- forget neem oil its all hippy propoganda and absolutly useless ............... exept for the people who sell it .
6:- if you still get contamination ignore it or try to get rid of it with a spoon , or repot them ......... or throw them away..............

 

[druglessdouglas]

there is a compund to buy to stop damping off, i knoe it as chestnut compound, a mixture of copper sulfate and ammonium carbonate. it applied as a week solution to he soil just efore planting. its used in comercial nurserys. i use it from time to time and it works well.

 

[Ultima]

i use this stuff called no damp.. works extremely well. i had one little peice of fluff mould.. took it out, and had 0 problems after that, heck i still have my peyote in the saran wrap:P

 

[druglessdouglas]

if you cant find chestnut compound you could try watering with dilute hydrogen peroxide solution. its almost as good. chestnut compound is made especially to stop damping off

 

[buffachino]

Thanks for all the replies guys.
Ill give the chestnut compound a try, I heard it works from other sources too.
Ill order some when I attempt another germination.

 

[Goran.Hrsak]

if you sterilized the soil, how can it be contaminated by mold ?
i once sprouted some peyotes the hard way, aka natural way. just lay them in a tray with soil and hope that they will born. portugal has a very desert-like area, and the peyotes loved it, they sprouted and grown, but very slowly.
but isn't sterilizing the soil and covering it with plastic paper the only thing needed so mold/fungi won't take your seedlings ?

U MY FRIEND CAN GROW VERY POTENT CACTI! DRY PLACE WITH LOW MOIST AND LOW RAIN FALLS FROM NATIONAL STATISTIC MONITORING WILL YIELD FINE CROPS! USE THAT. SEE U IN MIDDLE FINALS OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CUP. OF COURSE, CROATIA WILL OVERTHROWN EVERYONE!

 

[Goran.Hrsak]

Hey guys,

I’m in the process of germinating some Peyote and T. Peruvianus seeds,
They have been sown in a good soil mixture, in a small tub with a transparent plastic lid, on top of a heat mat.
The tub has drainage holes in the bottom and is in a tray for bottom watering.
This is my second attempt at germination; the last one was overrun by ‘damping off’ mould that took over the soil in the pots used, no doubt killing the seeds.
The first attempt was using 4 glazed terracotta pots in a much larger container for humidification, and the excess moisture was the cause of the problems I believe.

Now with the second attempt, more mould is starting to appear. I sterilised the soil, am using much less water, and have only kept the soil moist enough and the air sufficiently humid for the seeds to sprout, yet the mould is returning.

I have used neem oil as a fungicide both times, and it seems it doesn’t work, or at leat not to an extent where it helps. I used copper fungicide after the appearance of the mould on the first attempt but it didn’t do much, if anything at all.

My question is this, what is the most effective way to combat this mould during the germination process, what fungicides do you use, if any, and how do you combat the emergence of contaminants when germinating cacti seed in general.

Hopefully someone can help me before my unborn babies die from another fungal onslaught.

Peace.

I DISCOVERED ONE NEW METHOD HOW TO DEFEND OR PROTECT YOUR YOUNG LINGS FROM MOLDS. OR HOW TO SUPPRESS THEIRS GROW.
USE TINY GRAVEL WITH SAND IN 50/50 MEASURE. PUT SEEDS ON RICH SOIL, WATER IT GOOD AND PLACE LAYER OF THIS MIX OVER SEEDS. SOMETHING LIKE 0,5cm- MAX 0,75. THERE IS NO WAY FOR MOLDS APPEARING!
THIS IS MY PATENT! 8) :D
ONE OF EIGHT BIG DISCOVERIES! EVEN MY MENTOR AGREE WITH ME! 8) :)