Seedlings: Without defeat you cannot appreciate victory

Over half of our seedlings fell victim to a juvenile plant disease known as damping off. This disease begins its attack in humid, stale air.  When Deb and I started our miniature incubator greenhouses in the living room, we didn't realize that we were creating the perfect home for not only young plants, but this parasitic micro fungus as well. With the commercial seed starting medium we chose, we believed we had sterile spore free soil. That's what we get for making assumptions.

Once the first few seedlings went limp and rotted off at the ground line, it was too late. Each morning we checked the tray and found 10 or so more dying or dead seedlings.  In a late attempt at recovery, I removed the top of the tray, and moved it under the grow light 24 hours a day.  I sprinkled the soil surface with cinnamon, which is said to be a natural anti-fungal agent.  I also made a concentrated garlic spray from 6 cloves and about 20 oz of water.  It didn't matter. Many of the resources I read said that prevention is the best way to avoid infant plant death from damping off.

This morning, Deb and I took the remaining 40% of the seedlings and planted them in the ground, in the greenhouse at the big garden.  We figured they would have a better chance at fighting off a light frost than the damping off.  With soil blocks as small as we used, it was very difficult to properly manage the moisture. If they became too dry, they would die from drought. If they were too wet, the soil surface would remain moist, inviting the fungi to stay for a visit. "Fungi is not such a fun guy" says Debbie.

At the greenhouse, we decided to roll the dice and plant all spring seeds. Included in the sowing was lettuce, kale, kohlrabi, cabbage, turnips, radishes, endive, miner's lettuce, celery, basil, fennel, dill, carrots, potatoes, leeks, onions, garlic, collards, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and artichoke. Planted last week was several strawberry transplants that overwintered. The strawberries have already started making fresh green leaves in the greenhouse.

A bit later, while Debbie turned the steaming compost pile over, I cut the top off a plastic 50 gallon drum that was previously used for a rotating composter. It will be used this year to house sweet potatoes. In the fall we will turn the container over, and have easy access to 50 to 100 pounds of sweet potatoes. One trip to the local bulk nursery will fill that container up.  A truckload of compost/soil mixture costs about $30 bucks and that would fill up this 50 gallon drum several times over. The rest will be used to top off the new raised bed we plan on building at the home garden.

Later I fired up the Troy Built rotor tiller. Debbie spread out the kelp meal while I worked the dirt.  The soil is now loose and broken up down to about 10 inches. Earlier in the week, I scattered several pounds of a chicken-based organic fertilizer on top of the soil, so that was worked in today as well. The moisture of the dirt today was perfect for the tilling, so the clods were to a minimum and the work came easy. When I went to the deepest setting on the Troy Built, I did have the machine try to run away from me a few times, but that is always to be expected when digging 10 inches below ground. When I finished up tilling the soil to satisfactory for planting, Deb and I covered up the entire garden in cardboard and plastic sheeting. This will keep the weed recovery to a minimum, help the sun heat the soil temperature, and make sure that any precipitation won't erode and leach the nutrients that we left in the soil.  About 30 days from now, we will uncover the dirt, rake rows, and plant!