Seedlings

[chrisfoerst]

I started my first group of seedlings about two weeks ago. I put one group in vermaculite and the other in perlite in those burpee fiber pots. The seedlings are growing well and look healthy enough but there are small whitish patches on the burpee pots that look a little like mold. Is it alright to transfer these seedlings into my aquaponic unit?

In fact, I have always had a terrible time starting seedlings that don't end up with these little mold like patches on the pots. They always transfer fine into my soil beds but now I'm unsure about using them in my aquaponic unit.

[urbanfarmer]

Yes.

The mold is very common for people starting seedlings. That mold will kill your plant if you let it grow all over it. Heat and humidity provide the right conditions for the mold. Either adjust the temperature or humidity or just keep wiping it off so that it never gets a strong chance to grow. Some people, like myself, use store bought hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle to keep the mold in check. It doesn't hurt the plants and is more or less organic (granted I am buying it from a chemical factory, but pure H2O2 is perfectly safe you can even drink it straight at very low concentrations).

When you put the transplants into the AP grow bed, the mold will not survive because it will not have the conditions it needs to survive. The sun alone should kill it. I believe the worms like to eat mold and fungi as well, if you have any in your grow bed.

[chrisfoerst]

Thanks Urban Farmer,
This is very helpful. I was hoping that I wouldn't lose them. I have my system set up inside my studio (sunroom) rather than outside because of the dust storms we get this time of year. The room gets very humid at night so I hope that I won't create the same conditions in the aquaponic unit as well.

Can I add the worms while the tank is still cycling?

[urbanfarmer]

Yes, you can definitely add them. If you have pellet fish food I would put a few whole pellets in the gravel for the worms. You don't have to because they will survive on nothing for a good while, but it will also add nitrogen and help colonize the gravel with the right bacteria (the worms have the bacteria in their gut, and if you get them to eat and poop it will culture the gravel faster).