Does anyone have trouble with algae growing on the surface of the grow mix for your seedlings? I have peppers and tomatoes started but the algae also grows as fast as the plants and makes a fairly hard/slimy layer. I'm trying to stay as organic as I can, but I'm willing to deviate a little if I can fix the problem easily. A hard spray of water to break it up is too hard on the plants. I've also sprayed with a copper solution that we use for fungus on the tomatoes and strawberries, but maybe I'm not spraying enough. I have fan continually circulating the air. And this is in a 16x20 leanto greenhouse. Any help would be appreciated. thanks, carolyn.
Any chance of a picture carolyn? I've seen white mold form on the top but not algae. two thoughts , are you bottom or top watering? you might want to swap to bottom watering to let the top dry out a bit. the other thought is to put dry sand on the top. I seem to remember sjoerd giveing a good answer to a similar question a few weeks ago. Might be worth searching back through the posts.
Hi Dan, I have way too much to water from the bottom. I will try to get a picture for you.( my batteries are charging as I type). This is in a greenhouse on benches. I do try to let it dry out in between watering and I also spot water. I only water the whole house when I'm going to be gone for the whole day (and only if most of it needs water). I'll go look through the the posts to see if I can find the other post. Thanks. carolyn
Hi again Dan, Any ideas on where I could find that other post? I looked and then googled algae but could not find anything that was relevant to this, only pond stuff. I am guessing that this is a form of algae. I worked in a greenhouse in high school, but don't remember this problem at the time.thanks.c
Is it algae or is it mold? If it's mold, mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda with two cups of water, and mist the surface. I do this to prevent damping off, but noticed that I didn't have the usual white crusty moldy stuff when I used it.
Hi Marlin, No I don't think that it is mold. It is a dark green and is slimy. As soon as my son is home from school , I'll have him load some pics of it.(tech junkie I am NOT). It mostly is a problem from Jan to March/April. I know that sunlight quality makes a difference but there has to be a way to get rid of or control it. I can't water very often because the plants aren't big enough to use much water early in the season and the stuff grows faster than the plants, then the fungus gnats start becoming a problem. I have this problem every year. Has anyone used hy. peroxide when starting seeds. Ive heard of it but not done it. Maybe it would help with this. I get a lot of my supplies from an Amish man and he mentioned using it.
Sorry it took till today to get this up. Techie i am not. If there are any ideas, let me know. thanks C algae? ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden )
It looks to me like moss. Is your soiless mix 100%, soiless mix, or part compost? Moss if well blended into compost blooms pretty quick. Bonsai growers sometimes want moss as a faux lawn for their trees in pots. Next batch of mix, sprinkle in a a cup of ground limestone per 20 gallons mix. That should make it a little sweeter, and a less perfect home for moss... Thats my lawn, er story, and I'm sticking to it.
Thanks Coppice for your input. This is a soiless mix (Baccto brand). I am willing to try the lime. It's the best advice I've had so far. Is there a moss that gets hard and slimey? Because this picture is a beginning stage picture of the stuff. As it "ages" the surface becomes a hard layer and then the fungus gnats appear and start a new problem.
