Mold, mold and more mold.

Upon arrival at the lab on Tuesday I was excited at the prospect of what my little seedlings had accomplished over Spring Break 2013. It had been twelve long, restful days since I had last seen them and I had visions of leaves and possibly a trimming dancing in my head! Unfortunately, the vast majority of growth was not plant growth, but an overwhelming massacre. The perpetrator was (of course) the devastating effects of fungi growth!

Yes, molds are a fungi. Which fungi is growing on my little seedlings I am sorry to report I do not know. I do know that there are estimated to be possibly more than three hundred thousand different species of mold. They grow everywhere, but prefer warm and damp or humid conditions. They reproduce – and quite effectively I might add – by making spores. Clearly, mold is an insidious organism and I have deemed all three hundred thousand species my foe, particularly in terms of my current project!

As you can see from my pictures, the mold has overtaken and in many cases killed my little seedlings.
The questions that I am now asking are:

Is there anything I can do to kill the mold that won’t kill my remaining seedlings?

Is there anything I can do, on my next batch, to prevent the mold from every growing?

In order to find the answers I went straight to Google. Finding the internet version of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Seed Saving and Starting I learned that once germination has begun there truly is little that can be done to save the molded seedlings. Mold quickly reaches the embryo and once it has reached this delicate origin of the plant there is no hope, as the seed at this point is dead. It does mention that, if the embryo has not succumbed, a hydrogen peroxide bath can destroy the mold and give the damaged seedling a chance, albeit small, at survival.

Preventing mold in future batches is my best hope. Suggestions to prevent mold include: sanitizing the paper towel medium before placing the seeds, use a minimum amount of moisture, place in an entirely dark area, check seeds frequently and remove infected seeds immediately, use cinnamon as an anti-mold agent.

Thankfully, Matt is a resource even greater than Google and under his remarkable tutelage Ainsley and I began labeling and preparing a new batch of Petri dishes for our ever more interesting allelopathy project. We are counting seeds and starting the growing process once again – a few changes made and a new hope for the growth and happiness of our little seedlings.