Planting seedlings how to prevent fungi

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JCcares
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Planting seedlings how to prevent fungi

Post by JCcares »

I’m so stoked (sorry I love to surf) excited anticipating the delivery of these most excellent Trichocereus cacti seeds from Spain, San Pedro Island Cacti Farm. Check it out for yourself

https://sanpedro-island.com

My question is this I do not want to use any pesticides on these genetically pure solid babies.

HOW do I prepare the soil without pesticides to prevent fungi algae bacteria and such sorts from destroying my seeds??? What do I need to do to prevent this from happening?

As always THANK YOU for sharing your experience with me.
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My name is Joe I Live in Hickory NC USA four equal perfect seasons.
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RichR
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Re: Planting seedlings how to prevent fungi

Post by RichR »

I use hydrogen peroxide to soak the seeds in for 10 minutes, then rinse with tap water and dry. This will eliminate any microorganisms or spores that might harm your seedlings. If you want to treat your soil you can saturate it with tap water (I use distilled since my water is so hard) and bake it in your oven at 180°F for 30 minutes. This will effectively kill any microbes or fungal spores. I put my pots with sown seeds in ziplocs and have not had any infections in 6 months. Before, I used Physan 20 but still got algae and molds.
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JCcares
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Re: Planting seedlings how to prevent fungi

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RichR wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 10:23 pm I use hydrogen peroxide to soak the seeds in for 10 minutes, then rinse with tap water and dry. This will eliminate any microorganisms or spores that might harm your seedlings. If you want to treat your soil you can saturate it with tap water (I use distilled since my water is so hard) and bake it in your oven at 180°F for 30 minutes. This will effectively kill any microbes or fungal spores. I put my pots with sown seeds in ziplocs and have not had any infections in 6 months. Before, I used Physan 20 but still got algae and molds.
Thank you 🙏🏽
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greenknight
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Re: Planting seedlings how to prevent fungi

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Pasteurize the planting medium - a lot of people call it sterilizing, but you don't want to get it that hot, just get the moist medium to 140 - 180f for a few minutes. You can bake it in the oven, but your oven may give off an odor of dirt every time you use it for quite a while. I use the microwave method - see this thread, especially the third (iann's) post:https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3105
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JCcares
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Re: Planting seedlings how to prevent fungi

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greenknight wrote: Wed Jul 27, 2022 5:47 am Pasteurize the planting medium - a lot of people call it sterilizing, but you don't want to get it that hot, just get the moist medium to 140 - 180f for a few minutes. You can bake it in the oven, but your oven may give off an odor of dirt every time you use it for quite a while. I use the microwave method - see this thread, especially the third (iann's) post:https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3105
THANK YOU GreenKnight for the warning about the oven I would never have known that.
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greenknight
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Re: Planting seedlings how to prevent fungi

Post by greenknight »

When you bake it in the oven it takes a while, so the odor gets pretty strong (maybe cleaning the oven after would get rid of it, though). Microwaving is quicker, only a little odor which quickly dissipates.

Another method I've seen suggested is to solarize it, put it in a plastic bag in the hot sun for a day. Never tried it, but it seems like it should work.
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Re: Planting seedlings how to prevent fungi

Post by 7george »

Sterilization of seeds, pots and soil is the only way. Sealed for several months until they reach size to be treated as grown-up cacti.
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