Tea and fungi
Chamomile tea prevents damping off—I’m a believer! It’s one of those natural but-do-they-really-work remedies, used where more product-minded folks would fork over a few bucks for a bottle of No Damp fungicide… Damping off is the name for a bunch of different fungal infections that can hit seedlings in trays with similar effect. Typically, they attack right below the soil line, strangling the stem just out of sight. Dig up a stricken seedling and there’s a small section of the stem, all pale and shriveling to nothing. It’s pretty shocking to see in action. One minute, your seedlings are looking all perky, and then you touch one…and it topples over! Whooaa! Up to a couple of years back, I’d lose a few seedlings, usually PEPPERS for some reason, never anything major, parts of a tray or two, but enough to be scary. I seed-start in soilless mix, trays and tools are given a good disinfection at the beginning of the season, there’s always plenty of air circulation—all the things these soil-borne fungi don’t like. Still, damping off was sneaking in, until chamomile tea spray came along… Coincidence?
Somewhat related posts: • Compact tractor tricks • Seedlings aplenty • Seedling treatment • True leaves • Peppers…
tech_sam said,
February 27, 2008 @ 9:22 pm
Hmm.. something to try. I sprinkled cinnamon on top, but the mold is still all around. My seedlings are just now poking out, so I will have to see if any succumb.
Katie said,
February 27, 2008 @ 9:25 pm
Thanks for the tip. Now I know what was wrong with the cabbage plant I had to pull out the other day!
Deborah said,
February 28, 2008 @ 2:26 am
Thanks for the tip. I’m going to grow chamomile this year, but it’s the lawn variety. I wonder if a ‘tea’ from the leaves will work too, I’ll have to experiment next year.
Travis said,
February 28, 2008 @ 5:27 am
Great comment/suggestion on the tea. I’ll apply some today to our seedlings.
Thanks!
-Travis
Nashville, TN
willing hands organic farm said,
February 28, 2008 @ 6:54 am
Thank you so much. I am having this problem in flower and herb seeds. Some of these are so picky, any little thing will make them go kaput. Can you do a topic on starting fussy seeds, and how you grow them?
Julie
Meg said,
February 28, 2008 @ 7:24 am
That is good to know! We haven’t had much problem with damping off–maybe a couple sprouts here and there–but as we start more and more seeds inside every year I can the need for some defensive tricks. Thanks, Mike!
Anita said,
February 28, 2008 @ 9:04 am
Deborah, lawn chamomile should work fine, but the *flowers* are the best bit. Use the flowers!
P~ said,
February 28, 2008 @ 10:35 am
I’ve made it a point this year to really begin to learn and understand more about the organic ways to prevent and treat pests and plant ailments in my garden, I’ll definitely be adding this one to my list; especially since I will be starting some of my seeds this week! I wanted to let you know also that since I found this blog a week or so ago, it has quickly become one of my favorite daily reads. Great pictures, good information. Thank you and keep it up!!
P~
Kristi said,
February 28, 2008 @ 11:17 am
I will need to try this, I’ve tried some other methods without success.
VP said,
February 28, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
Wow - I’ve not heard of that one before - thanks for the tip Mike!
willing hands organic farm said,
March 1, 2008 @ 10:06 am
I forgot to ask how you prepare this. Yesterday I took a guess and used 4 teabags to a bit less than 2 quarts water. Steeped the bags for 1/2 hour or so, actually I forgot about them……….uh oh. Is that too strong?? What ratio do you use and if in fact does it even matter?
Julie
Mike (tfb) said,
March 2, 2008 @ 4:21 pm
Julie: I don’t have an exact recipe. I’ve been using tea bags, about one bag per quart (2l) of water. I steep the bags for 10-15 minutes or so, but sometimes forget ‘em too. If you search the web, you’ll find all sorts of different ratios, so I think “real weak” seems like a good general rule. I’ll dilute to a pale brownish-gold.