Troubles with damping off

[Christine]

Can anyone tell me more about 'damping off'?
I seem to be having a problem for the first time this year. I'm using my own compost to pot on well-grown cue and tomato seedlings. They do well for a week or so, then not...
Symptoms are that seedlings are draped over the sides of the pot like discarded socks.

[Flo]

Here's a pretty good article - tells you lots of good stuff as well as giving the normal professional cure.

Hope that helps.

[Christine]

Thanks, Flo. I think this article probably does explain everything I need to know. Perhaps using my own compost to plant on the seedlings wasn't the good idea I thought it was - the compost holds water very efficiently and the seedlings are in my greenhouse, which is effectively a large coldframe with no temperature control. The recent drop in temperature caused just the right conditions for the fungus to spread...

[Flo]

Yep, been there and know all about it. I'm brilliant at damping off tomato seedlings.

[citizentwiglet]

Wow, thanks Flo - fantastic article. I am very stringent about washing my tools and pots and keeping everything off the ground (as far as is practical) because we have New Zealand flatworm in this area, but the concept of watering seedlings with warmed tap water rather than rainwater is a revelation and one I fully intend to share with the community garden, who are growing seeds in the polytunnels for the use of members and who are fully intending to use rainwater - and our own compost.
I lost my tomato seedlings last year - and my coriander and most of my parsley - now I know why. At least I can blame a fungus and not just me being crap!