Best Sellers Botanical Name: Calycanthus floridus Botanical Name: Catalpa speciosa Botanical Name: Cercis canadensis Northern Zone 5 Botanical Name: Cladrastis kentukea Botanical Name: Coffea arabica Botanical Name: Cornus sericea Botanical Name: Eucalyptus deglupta Botanical Name: Nyssa sylvatica Southern Botanical Name: Passiflora caerulea Botanical Name: Pinus eldarica Botanical Name: Pinus parviflora Botanical Name: Pinus strobus New York Botanical Name: Prunus avium 'CVI' Botanical Name: Prunus avium Alkavo Botanical Name: Sequoiadendron giganteum Botanical Name: Tilia cordata Botanical Name: Trifolium repens Botanical Name: Vitis vinifera « back My seeds germinated really well but then a couple of days later they seemed to rot at the base and died.This sounds like it is caused by a soil borne fungus. The condition is known as "Damping Off" . The best way to prevent damping off is to use sterile soil. You can buy a sterile soil mix at your local garden center. To insure that it is sterile or to sterilize soil of unknown condition you can cook it either in the oven or microwave. As long as all parts of the soil reach 180 degrees Fahrenheit you can be assured that the damping off fungus has been killed. Try not to exceed 200 degrees F. as toxins may be developed in the soil. If seeds damp off when sown in the sterile soil they could be harboring the fungus on the seed coat. Then a dip in a mixture of 3 parts water to 2 parts bleach for 10 minutes followed by a clean water rinse should kill the fungus on the seed surface. |