The itsy-bitsy gardener- hints and tips.

[Helen Troy]

I've become quite a little gardener lately. I have recently started my very own little kitchen garden on my tiny balcony. I try to grow radish, spinach, cabbage and differnent types of salad and herbs in boxes. I did the same last year, not very sucsessfully I might add, but still very fun. And this year I will do even better!

But I have a problem. And knowing that there are some gardening people here, (and hoping that the topic can be described as somewhat "vintage", ) I would like to ask for help.

I have a miniature green-house/seed starter in my windowsill, (indoors,) where I have started some tomatoes. I plan to plant them in bigger pots when they are a bit more grown up. I also have some crest in there, and around the crest there has formed somthing looking somewhat like mildew. (White and hairy, covering the earth.) The strange thing is that it is only on the crest, not the tomatoes. I don't know what it is, if it's mildew or something nasty or if it's something natural and unharming. I don't know what to do!

Anybody here that can help me?

Other that that spesific problem, I would like this thread to be a place where fellow miniature gardernes can share experiences and tips. So show yourself!

 

[Foofoogal]

I don't know what crest is but sounds like a fungal infection of some kind.
Cherry tomatoes do well on patios.

OT:I was amused when they kept saying rocket in Scotland. Took me forever to figure out it was lettuce so I apologize.
Either way it sounds like fungus.

 

[Joie DeVive]

I have to agree with Foofoogal. It sounds a lot like some variety of mold to me. Unless you have access to a botanist, it is impossible to tell if it is a variety that will harm your plants or not. If I were you, I'd scrape it off the dirt, taking a little of the soil below it, to make sure you get it all, and allow your plants to be a little drier. Let the dirt get somewhat dried out between waterings. That ought to discourage fungal growth. Good luck!

 

[Helen Troy]

Thank you so much for the help! Tomorrow, I will clean the dirt(!) and let the whole thing dry a little.

By the way, "crest" was me misspelling "cress". I'm not sure if that is the right word. I was thinking of "watercress", In Norwegian the "cress"-part of that word translates to the name for the thing I'm growing. It is small, green sprouts that grows really fast and tastes great on a sandwich. It's traditionally grown by kids in schools and kindergartens around easter her in Norway, because it is so easy and fast and you can grow it in a box on moist cottonwool.

 

[BonnieJean]

I think its called Damping Off disease....

Helen Troy:
I did a little research on the web and this is what I think you have (as others have also said) and this is from a gardening site where it talks about starting seedlings indoors. I had this once in one of my indoor terrariums, but I didn't catch it in time and the plants eventually died. Looks like you've caught it early.

"Controlling Damping Off disease. White mold is apt to form on the top of soil in cold, damp, dark weather, which will wilt seedlings and eventually kill them. Kept indoors, this disease can be eliminated by keeping seedlings in direct sunlight, allowing soil to dry, increasing air circulation, and removing existing mold."

 

[rumblefish]

The strange thing is that it is only on the crest, not the tomatoes. I don't know what it is, if it's mildew or something nasty or if it's something natural and unharming. I don't know what to do!

Anybody here that can help me?

Other that that spesific problem, I would like this thread to be a place where fellow miniature gardernes can share experiences and tips. So show yourself!

Helen,
I'll go with what the folks above have said.
It may be the mucilage, that cress seeds produce when germinating, becoming moldy. Cress seeds also get hairy roots when first staring off. I've seen this when I start them for salad sprouts, this is why they can't be grown in a jar. I cover a dish with paper towels, wet it and sprinkle the seeds about. They get watered twice daily with a spray bottle, and kept a little dryer than other spouts like alfalfa and beans.
There may be mold spores already in your soil just waiting for something like the cress seeds to get "gooey"
I'll post some photos of the sprout gardens "in action"

Any photos of the pots of cress?

 

[Helen Troy]

This really is a place of knowlegde! Now my poor cress has been diognised, Damping off disease! That must be the thing. Also, A very interresting point about the cress mucilage, that must be the explanation for why only the cress, not the tomatoes, has this problem. I grow them in the same green house, but in different parts. I will try to save the cress by removing the mold and letting the hole thing dry out. But in the future, I think I will grow my cress in the good old-fashioned half milk cartons with cotton wool. That seems to work much better.

 

[Real Swell Gal]

I think if you scrape it off and keep the lid off your green house from time to time you'll find it doesn't come back.
The tomatoes might be taking water more quickly than the cress which could be why they are not doing that.

I know mine do in comparison to the herbs I'm growing.