First Sprout!

[Seven of Nine]

I have two varieties of cranesbill.  They are a hardy perennial while the geranium you have, Doc, will die with frost.  The way I understand it, cranesbill is more of a wild geranium while the other is a modern hybrid.  

I love the cranesbill in our garden.  They grow into lovely mounds of delicate flowers.  One is pink and the other is a bluish purple color.  They bloom practically all summer and never fail to make me smile.

[Holodoc]

Crane's bill?

btw a second Browallia sprout appeared today. It's spite I tell you!

[Peter_Pevensie]

*Deadpans*  I haven't heard this much Latin since seminary!

But seriously folks...I'm terribly envious.  I'd love to have the talent and time to garden.

[Holodoc]

Peter_Pevensie said:

*Deadpans*  I haven't heard this much Latin since seminary!

But seriously folks...I'm terribly envious.  I'd love to have the talent and time to garden.

I don't know just how much talent is involved beyond selecting plants which don't need constant direct sunlight and won't grow beyond a foot in height.

btw there is a second set of leaves starting to develop on the potted lavender sprout. There are now a total of four of them sharing the peat pot inside the BBQ Chicken hothouse. The carnation sprouts have stopped getting taller; either that, or they've slowed down. The Campanula are as dead as doornails.

Did I ever tell you about the weird daisies I raised two years ago? They were yellow with red stripes down along the center of each petal - darndest looking things.

Seven can vouch for me: I tend to grow real mutants. And then I take pictures of them.

[Holodoc]

THEY'RE DEAD!

Oh, woe! The first lavender sprout was doing so well! But this morning it was collapsed on the soil. Such a sudden death.

The single carnation sprout looked okay in the morning, but somewhat bent. It's a strange position for something so small with nothing heavy enough to warrant such posture.

Just in case, I put a drop of liquid soap into the mist water and gave them all a spray.

But now, ALL the exposed sprouts are DEAD! The other lavender sprout's leaves crumpled up and fell off. That and the further-bending carnation sprout were yanked out WITHOUT ROOTS! What happened to the roots? Did something eat them off? Were they burnt off by something suddenly wrong with the plant food? WHAT??!

***Holodoc looks at the dead sprouts

Nooooooooooo!!!  

What's happened? I'm now extremely apprehensive about the fate of the ones remaining in the BBQ chicken hothouse.

[Christina]

Oh dear, I have such sympathy for you.

It's known as 'damping off'

"A common disease that attacks young seedlings. The fungus infects the stems of young plants at ground level, causing them to collapse and die.
Several different fungi cause this disease, which is encouraged by wet, cold soils and crowded sowings.
To prevent it, water the compost with Chesunt compound or dust the seed boxes with a proprietary seed dressing."

It happens to all of us. Especially with indoor sowings. the only thing to do is dispose of the the compost and get fresh to start again.

[Holodoc]

Seven mentioned that possibility.

Shouldn't there have been any telltale signs? I mean, the older sprout was just starting to grow its second set of leaves.

What is Chesunt compound? Is it a local thing?

[Seven of Nine]

No Doc---there are no telltale signs at all with damping off.  It it the single most frustrating problem among people like us who start seedlings.  One moment your seedlings look healthy and strong, the next moment they are collapsed and dead.  

Christina is right---starting over with fresh soil will probably take care of it.  All things have to work together in just the right combinations--temperature, light, moisture and the presence of the fungus so next time, it'll probably be OK.  

[Holodoc]

Seven said:

Christina is right---starting over with fresh soil will probably take care of it.  All things have to work together in just the right combinations--temperature, light, moisture and the presence of the fungus so next time, it'll probably be OK.  <br>

But those factors are so random... I almost have to discount the soil itself because the peat pots in the BBQ chicken hothouse are filled with the same stuff. And Seven: you know in the past the dirtplugs were often plagued with a little mold in the incubation container before potting, and they came through okay for the year.

Is there anything at the greenhouse I can obtain? It's likely more sprouts will need to leave the protection of the hothouse later this week.

[Christina]

Cheshunt compound comes in a tub, you mix it with water.

And make sure they get some ventilation.

Otherwise, it is just chance.

[Holodoc]

Christina said:

Cheshunt compound comes in a tub, you mix it with water.

And make sure they get some ventilation.

Otherwise, it is just chance.

Comes... in a tub? bathtub residue?

btw only the Browallia sprouts are alive in the BBQ Chicken container. Everything died in there as well. I'm seriously pondering whether it was something in the soil (note I usually grow in clean soil from pellets -- where is that shipment of seeds?!).

I believe I only have carnations left from this year's packets. Those and the two pending packets will have to yield this year's growth as soon as they and the new pellets arrive.

[Christina]

Holodoc said:

Comes... in a tub? bathtub residue?

Rolls eyes.

two nations separated by a single language.

(yes, I do know you are 'winding me up')

[Holodoc]

Perhaps if you recalibrated the universal translator...?

[Peter_Pevensie]

^^^  Mine's still set for "Latin."

[Christina]

Holodoc said:

Perhaps if you recalibrated the universal translator...?

I'm in England, I speak English. Babelfish doesn't seem to have an English/American translation section. Sorry.