I have mold growing on seeds

This is the first time I have tryed seed And I think they are molding can you tell me what is happening is it to mosit no air will they take to ho tHere is one look and I will send another one
Thanks Dimmer(AKA) Kim

Here is another look

I don't think that's mold, that looks like the tiny little roots starting to sprout and find their way into the peat pellet.

When a seed sprouts it sends down a root first, then the tiny leaves show up.

No, those are not roots, they are mold. I don't know if there's a way to keep seeds once that's happened. I have tried washing them in a hydrogen peroxide solution and putting them on new peat pellets, but usually they just rot. Try squishing them; a viable seed will stay firm.
Be careful to not overwater the pellets. They are a pain, because no matter what, some seem to dry out really quickly, while others mold or develop algae really quickly. Very irritating!
Good luck.

Are you sure? I just sprouted a bunch of tiny greens seeds and they were so close together on the pellet, when they germinated they looked exactly like the picture.

I'd keep them for a couple more days just to be sure, can't hurt anything.

Wait a minute- looked more closely at the pic and saw the root tip sticking out from those root hairs. My bad.
Don't remove any of those seeds at this point, or you risk damaging all those little root hairs. Wait until the cotyledons emerge, and then very carefully cut them off so as not to crowd out the best seedling.
And forgive me if you already know this!

BTW, what seeds are they? Peony? Lily?

POst edited....Never mind....I couldn't see it very well.

This message was edited Feb 25, 2008 3:40 PM

The Clorox won't hurt the seed? I worried that it would be too harsh. What dilution rate do you use?

LOL! I tried to get rid of my post before you saw it....I use 10% dilution and mix with warm-hot water and spray the tops of my seedlings that have white mold on them. I am aiming for the soil, but the seedlings get it, too, with no ill effects.

..it also somewhat works on the green slime, but don't be scared when all the green turns to brown -- it looks worse than it is and the seedlings come up through it.

I seem to have a lot of seed that takes FOREVER to germinate, so I always get molds or fungus or other nasties and the bleach takes care of it all. I throw it away after using it because I think it loses its efficacy over time, plus it cools off and spraying chilled water over everything is not good!.

Suzy

Oh excellent! Now I can safely deal with all the green slime! I've posted some pics of seedlings and begged people to not judge me badly for all the green : )

If the seed hasn't germinated yet, do you not dunk the seed into the solution, or you still just spray it in situ?

You cannot imagine how timely this information is! < : o

I've only just sprayed. I do not think the Clorox is good for them, you know? But it won't kill them. The stuff you're worried about should all be on the surface, so a topical is good enough.

Green slime isn't harmful, is it? Only if it grows bigger than the seedlings. :)

Somebody once told me that algae/moss or whatever that stuff is wouldn't grow if you didn't over water, so I let a pot that I didn't think was going to germinate get dry as a bone and then rewatered it and the stuff sprang back to life. (No, the seeds never germinated, but I have a feeling they were old as the hills)

Somebody else said it wouldn't grow if you had enough fertilizer in it -- that was wrong, too. Fertilizer makes it bigger, greener and stronger.

Clorox was all I ever found to fix all ills.

Meanwhile, I have read that adding bone meal to potting mix is a great thing for little seedlings, so I have made a little batch of that up, and I'm expecting all kind of mold to grow because of it....I'll look for this thread and let you know how it went in another 3 or 4 weeks.

Actually bleach can be used to treat seeds to prevent mold--they use it in agriculture sometimes. I'm not sure what dilution they use, it might be a bit more dilute than the 1:10 that you use for most stuff around the house.

I'm off to stock up on bleach! : )
Thanks!

But...but... you don't need bleach! Those are tiny root hairs.

Hopefully she is getting the bleach for different pots than what is in the photo.

On the seeds inthe photo -- peonies? Why don't you cover those with some potting mix and see if they aren't roots first?

Oh, and on the bleach, use a 5% solution. I got looking at my spray bottle and it cannot be more than 5% that I use I'm ashamed to admit I don't actually measure it)...and I use the old fashioned kind that isn't concentrated in the big bottle which would also meak a difference.

Suzy

I am not getting bleach as of yet .The seeds that are growing are
cone flowers and they are pushing up the dirt
candy lily nothing yet
blackberry lily and a couple are comming up
datura tatula I see a sprout
Jackmanii Clemat can't tell
Easter Egg plant Can't tell if comming up .So I guess if I took a closer look I wood have seen that it is sprouting and not Molding Thanks for all the infor its good to have
Dimmer(AKA) Kim

Dimmer, how long did you blackberry lilys take to germinate. I just started some a few days ago in a pot inside a baggie over bottom heat. How do you have yours?

I started all my seeds the 18 of feb But it is just starting to sprout. Its the 3rd one the blackberry lily with all the fuzz. They are on a heat mat all day and night and growlites from the time I get up till I go to bed at night about 15 to 16 hours
Kim

This message was edited Feb 25, 2008 7:47 PM

Hmmm, where di you buy your seeds if I may ask. I got mine on Ebay. I have mine in a pot covered with vermiculite. You may want to try that on one and see how it does.

A very good friend of mine Susan51 gave me them I had a vacation and drove to her home all by myself it was great we planted all kinds of AV leave and to relaxs she gave me seeds as we watched TV. My summer is in the winter and in the summer is when I have all my work
Kim

The canna don't look like they were nicked and the way you have them above the peat won't work. Canna can take 5 years to germinate. You need to nick those, I use a dremel tool and then soak them for 24 hours in H2O2 and warm water. I can get good canna seeds to germinate in a matter of days that way. It's hard to get water into a canna seed so leaving them on top of the peat will not work.

Side note I hate peat discs.

I have no idea which one is a canna seed and this is all the first time I am doing seeds so what ever happens I will be happy. I have to go play with more seeds its a good day to plant 4.5 inches of snow came and I don't want to go out and shovel yet.
I have a bunch of seeds so I will try them in different ways thank for all the input
Kim

The black round ones are the canna. I could be wrong but that's exactly what a canna seed looks like.

This might be a dumb question but the seeds I planted are Lily Candy and Blackberry Lily are they in the same family as Canna or is that them only How New am I
Dimmer
PS Can you tell by the name LOL

No they aren't. Looks like I was wrong but the seeds look very much like the seeds I have. Hmmm, don't know much about what you have there.

Dimmer, Blackberry Lily is Belamcanda:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/41/

Very pretty flower, and spectacular seedhead. I don't know which one I have, but the flowers are all different colors at once.

Hey- I got 5"! I haven't shoveled, but I was out at midnight gently knocking snow off of my more delicate woodies. It was so pretty.

Only 3 more months until spring! ; )

Be careful to rip that netting that is on your seedlings when you plant them. I have found that they don't deteriorate when planted. Last fall when I was pulling up my annuals, I found that netting still on the roots of my geraniums. You could see that it was didn't allow them to grow properly.

This message was edited Feb 26, 2008 7:39 PM

3 months till spring. Ours is here.

Show off! :)

Hey! No fair!

I was watching the new and the lady on Local new said 1 month till spring
Did you know that we turn the clock on the 9th of March that is early To Spring Ahead

Well, one month until 3/21, which is the calendar start of spring, but we usually get hard frosts through the end of April. Isn't the Spring Ahead thing usually in mid-April? Why the heck are they moving it earlier?

They just started to do that didn't they last year ? Isn't it 3 weeks ahead of what it use to be . I have no idea. I wish that it wood get warm than I can go back to work I am done resting now and I almost caught up with my plant I have to be carful what I wish for the tollway 294 is where I have to go back to I see that they have been seting up thing to get ready for the North side
Dimmer(AKA) Kim

Yes, they just changed things starting last year. Daylight savings ended later in the fall last year than it normally would, and this year it'll be starting earlier in the spring too. Unfortunately things like that have no impact on the temperature--it would be nice if they could make spring start 3 wks earlier too!

I believe blackberry lilies and candy lilies are very similar, and they both have"...canda.." in their names. They are actually members of the iris family though and you can get flowers the first year as opposed to true lilies which usually, I gather, take three. Also blackberry lily seeds look exactly like the black balls in the picture.
I have had mold on (other) seeds and I think 24 hours a day of light has killed it.
I thought I had killed seeds with about a 1% solution of bleach in the past but reading the comments above I begin to wonder now.

little late, but it looks like your blackberry and candy lilliies are still "berries." Don't know if it makes a difference but I rub everything off mine. I didn't right the date I planted down, but I received my blackberry seeds less then a month ago and 11 of 12 germinated and an inch tall.

Can soineone please tell me how to get the datura to germinate? I cannot take this ay longer. This is agony. Everythng else has germinated, the moonflowers, the hibiscus, the coleus...everythng with the exception of the datura and brugs which are the ones I want so desperately. Please give me some pointers here. PLEASE. I'm going to cry, I will...really, I'm going to bawl like a baby. I'm reaching for the tissue box. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

For some reason, my computer will not let me edit. I meant to ask if someone. And the second word that I made jelly soup is everything. My fingers are flying tonight, unfortunately they're flying in the wrong direction.
Must be al that powdered fertilizer I've been breathing lately. You know, the ones, "The Sulfates." LOL

Misty, I hear soaking them over night in warm water can help. I planted some Datura as well. Some a couple weeks ago, and some BCS, and Datura 19 a week ago. The ones I planted a couple weeks ago still no sign of life, but the 19 has already popped up. I read it takes 6-9 weeks for Datura and Brugs to come up. I hope they do, more then two months waiting on a seed and to have no germination is so sad. Good luck to both of us!

Oops, over watered & have bright green mold. Do I do the 5% bleach? Does it mater that most seeds have germinated?