[massa]

hi, i planted a mixure of seeds a fortnight ago, some kale and primo cabbage in a cool place and some chilis and toms in a spare room above a radiator, a week after i had sowed the seeds i got a white mould on the compost and the experts on here told me what it was and how to deal with it. i followed the advice and got rid of it but i want to know if it will have effected the germination of the seeds it says on the packet 7 - 21 days so i thought i would have seen somthing by now. should i sow some more seeds or will these be ok with more time?

[gowing238]

what did the experts recommend to you?

[Shadrak]

I would say you would need to resow. But befor you do that take a good look around this forum been alot about sowing time's in the past few weeks and how to get  more heat onto your window sill.Hate for people to have to keep repeating themselve's

[massa]

i bought some damp off and sprayed them with that and stopped watering them and it cleared up!

[Loubs]

I'd start agarin. Moisture + warmth are always going to create ideal conditions for mould growth, but as it's happening so fast and in the pots you have in both warm & cool places, there are a few possibilities.

The most likely problem is that you have soaked the compost with far too much water right from the off, and continued to keep them too wet.

Or perhaps you've re-used old pots that you haven't cleaned out properly, that have mould spores ready to grow.

Or if that's not the case, it's possible there is a problem with the compost - if it's neither of the 2 other problems, then must be the third. Try & sow a couple of pots from a new bag and see what happens.

[massa]

the pots are brand new and steralized so i dont think it will be that, i may have over watered the compost though, ive just sowed some more seeds and not watered as much i will see how these go and if it does not work ill have to get some more compost and try that, ive left the others on another windowsill just in case.

[Kristen]

Compost should be nicely damp, but not wet (if you squeeze it hard in your hand and any water comes out its too wet). If the compost you have is dry and you need to add some water then use some of your damping-off compound (Chesunt compound is it?). Put the compost in the pots, sow the seeds sparingly, and if possible cover very finely with vermiculite.

Put the pot in a clear plastic bag (e.g. freezer bag) with a tie on it.

Put that on the windowsill. It will not need any water until germination.

As soon as you see the seeds have sprouted open the top of the bag so the seeds get some air, and after a couple more days take the bag off the pot - so the pot is just on its own.

Seedlings need lots of light, and this time of the year, and windowsills, light levels are not very strong. General recommendation on this forum is to cut up an old cardboard box to reduce it to "back, base and sides" only, line the back with tinfoil, and put that so that the foil is behind the pots and reflects light from the window onto them.

[mr Isaccs]

As for the chillies Massa I've had seedlings on the windowledge for nearly six weeks now and I'm still getting the odd one pop up even after that time, my compost always goes mouldy but the shoots still seem to appear eventually.
     Don't give up on them yet, but having said that it doesn't hurt to plant a few more seeds just in case (space permitting of course).
     

[Christo]

I had exactly the same thing with chilli on a window cill, but funnily enough other seed pots didn't get mouldy. I defo use less water now when germinating seeds. A few things (courgette & spring onions) currently germinating so it will be interesting to see if I'm getting nearer to the right balance.

C

[digalotty]

my chilli took ages to pop up