Hi All,
the skinny neck, or leggy seedlings is caused by lack of light, or the light
source being to far away from the plant. the plant will grow long to try to
find more light. so supply more light, or move it closer to the seedlings.
damping off is caused by a fungus, there are things you can get to combat
it. Chestnut Compound being one of them. when your seedlings first
germinate, water them with Chestnut Compound or some other fungicide as per
the insrtuctions on the tin. this will prevent damping off. hope this helps
you.

Richard M. Watkin.


"George" wrote in message
...
On this same topic: we have no trouble _starting_ seeds. But, after
we transplant them, some/all the plants develop a 'skinny neck'
condition where the stalk enters the ground.

The brocolli has been particularly bad. We used 2" round peat pots.
Planted in some 'starter mix', in a tray with a clear cover, watered
from the bottom. 2 shop light about 8" above the trays. After
germination, we removed the cover. Transplanted after ~6 wks. We
removed them from the peat pots when we transplanted them.

The brocolli grew a reasonable-looking stalk, except that it got very
scrawny near the ground - it couldn't support the plant.

And then a woodchuck ate them all.

If anyone has any thoughts about the scrawny neck, I'd appreciate
hearing them.

Thanks,
George