@dimitri_7a - Makes sense. Thanks.
Not sure this is helping my plants along…
Found him sleeping in the peppers. 
7 Likes
Is this the dreaded fungus gnat? Saw a few today while starting some new pepper seed.
I found a recommendation from @Drew51 to mix 1 Tbs H2O2 per gal water and spray. That sound right? Anything else I should do? I am seeing a few more as I type this, they must have hatched very recently.
I think I said that but found you need more. 1/4 to 1/2 cup in a gallon. It won’t hurt the plant. But it may work only on larvae not the gnats? They are a pain, and can spread disease.Water your plants with it too.
Maybe use horticultural soap or make some, or oil too.
I’m now using Mosquito bits or donuts which contain a BT strain of bacteria. I need it for rainwater anyway. I use rainwater all year and just treat the rainwater.
I have had white fly around this year too, outside at least!
The most danger is the larvae which can eat roots, so the peroxide alone should stop more. I wonder sometimes about the quality and shelf life of peroxide. As it has worked, but other times has not. Use some in all watering water at this point. Start with 1/4 cup and if no improvement double it.
OK this article says to use more 1 cup to 3 cups water.
Another confirming ratio, no wonder it didn’t work for me at times! Duh!
1 Like
Wow that is a lot more than I thought, I am glad I checked with you. Thanks for the articles, I will read them next. I appreciate your advice and past perspective on H2O2 use . 
Ive had really good success with those yellow sticky trap sheets. I buy them in the 6x8" size and cut them down to the size I need. Basically put them out as soon as you see the gnats somewhere near the pots.
1 Like
You can try adding a small circulation fan to dry the mix faster and make it harder for fungus gnats to fly around freely. It will also make the stems and leaves stronger.
2 Likes
Thank you @hoosierbanana. I do have a fan set up, but I didn’t want to leave it on 24/7. I often forget to turn it back on. 
1 Like
Quite a few of the tomatoes I started developed these spots or yellowing areas in the leaves about a week or two before I planted them outside. I tried to remove leaves as I saw the spots appear. They got sprayed with fungicide when I planted them.
Here they are now, still looking tough, What is causing this?
I was putting them outside on the porch everyday so they got acclimated to sun and wind. At first I thought the yellowing was because I needed to fertilize more frequently. Could this be blight type disease already? I thought that was soil-borne.
Here are a few still in pots. I don’t want to give any more away if this isn’t curable.
Would like to start my tomatoes and peppers in my basement this year. Its only 60 degrees down there. What light can i order that will give off some heat? The ones ive looked at all say they dont let off heat… when at 60 degrees I definitely will need some heat from the light… from my understanding heat pads are just to get the seeds going and would not work for growing at these temps otherwise?
I have LEDs and they get hot (they have fans built into them). I also have a basement that is cold (right around 60F right now). I use heat mats for all seed starting. I have a bunch of them now. They seem to keep teh soil around 80F. What i did last year is sort of box in my plants using some foam sheets i have to raise the temp. I think i remember it staying low 70Fs in that area.
1 Like
Do you need to use thermostats with your heat pads? Do you have the vivosun? Most popular on amazon it seems. Going to put in an order for pads and lights and some say the pads will cook your seeds without a thermostat others say they are fine without. Not sure which to believe.
@Codym17
I have had this light for a couple years. It definitely gives off heat. I germinate my seeds on top of it too.
1 Like
I had a paper with my LED grow light and i noticed they said not to run it for over 12 hours at a time? I see some people leave lights on 24/7… I’m guessing it has to do with heat? i do have mine in a cold’ish basement (mid 50Fs).
I started 7 trays of seeds. That is how many heat pads i have. I still have more to go.
I also couldn’t find good seed trays (like the one mentioned above) so i just used some deep aluminum roasting pans you find at walmart.
I built some wooden freestanding shelves and stapled clear plastic around them to keep the heat in. The only problem is that it will raise the humidity too when they get bigger.
thermostat is a good idea unless it’s cold enough that the heat pad would need to run full time. I have the vivosun with thermostat and it turns on and off to hit my target temperature even when it’s 60 in my greenhouse
This is a pro level tip for anyone starting cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, cauliflower, or brussel sprouts. Start with 1020NH trays with 1204 cell packs (48 cells) or something close to this. Fill with good quality seed start mix such as promix BX-M. Make sure the promix is damp before filling the trays. Pour a quart of water into the bottom of the trays to ensure the seed start mix is at the right moisture level for germination (almost soggy, but not quite). Let it set for an hour or two so the moisture can wick up into the cells. When you are ready to plant seed, poke a hole all the way to the bottom of each cell using your finger or a stick of similar diameter. Make the hole a bit wider at the top than at the bottom. Plant one seed in each hole. Do NOT cover the seed, they will grow just being in the high humidity environment at the bottom of the 2 inch deep hole! As the plants grow, they will attach to the bottom of the hole and after a week or so emerge above the top of the cell. Pinch the soil closed around the stem to support the plant. Voila, now you have a plant that won’t flop over and roots form all along the buried part of the stem.
6 Likes
darn, that’s cool. I’ll try that in a few weeks
For Tomatoes
In the Puget Sound lowlands;
I start the seeds March 15th indoors.
Need a good light source besides the windows.
I don’t plant outside until about May first.
Try to give them 16 hours of light/day.
1 Like