Damping Off

My celery root seedlings are damping off.

Or, in the least, they’re falling over at a thin point in the root. I’m hoping that potting them in seed cells filled with a soil-less mix will improve their condition.

Damping off is a fungal condition that thrives with too much moisture and too little air circulation. I learned about this very early on in my seedling forays, years ago before my daughter was born. I started seeds in an inappropriate medium: pots and yogurt cups filled with heavy black dirt taken from a bag of topsoil we purchased to fill in some deep divots to the lawn. One day, my tomatoes were three inches high. The next morning, all had fallen over at a rotted point in their severed stems. Hey, I didn’t know!

To be honest, I don’t think my celery root, or celeriac, is truly damping off. At least I hope not. The root structure they develop early on is not like a tomato seedling’s, whose fingers and hairs weave their way through the growing medium. This root vegetable just goes straight down with one thin thread to start, kind of like a carrot. Considered a “challenge to grow,” celeriac also has a long (120-day) growing season. I’m hoping I don’t lose them. If I had to start new seeds at this point in time, there’s a big chance a frost would kill them outside before the crispy, knobby roots are ready to harvest. I’m hoping a deeper planting for support and more light to reduce “stretching” are what my 18 little seedlings need.

I pray that’s all they’ll need … When I came home from work today to take care of transplantation, the peat was very, very wet. I am thinking a little pair of overeager hands has been overwatering. Let us pray.

I also purchased the $3.49 bag of soil-less mix for transplanting any and all seedlings that outgrow their peat pellets. My seed cells are free, left over from last year’s annuals and the flat of purple pansies my mother bought to brighten up her porches this spring.

So, let’s add $3.73, tax included, to the Eco-nomics running total:

Past total of Seeds,
Peat Pellets, other: $40.60
Soilless Mix $ 3.73
Total: $44.33