Emmymcc
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Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2016 11:27 pm

White fuzzy web over my seedlings!

Hi All,

I'm a beginner gardener and I've started my first ever seedlings. This morning I discovered a white fuzzy spider web looking thing on my red bell pepper seedling that was spreading over to the tomatoes. Do any of you know what it is? Do I need to trash the whole tray of seeds? Will the veggies be safe to eat? Where did I go wrong, it's been less than a week!
image.jpeg
Thank you so much, I appreceate the guidance.

- Emmy

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applestar
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Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

What are you using as growing medium? This looks like a fungal -- mushroom -- mycelia, and it most likely came from the woody looking material in the pots. While generally harmless, something like this could overwhelm the seedlings, as well as could be indication that the medium was not suitable for seed starting.

For now, you could briefly expose the tray to sunlight, which might be sufficient, or spray with diluted hydrogen peroxide ... Hang on, trying to remember the dilution -- iirc, straight out of the bottle is too strong for seedlings.... I want to say 1/2 or 1/4 strength....

Rubbing alcohol might work, too.



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