Michael Bell wrote:
I am growing alder seeds (specially selected from wild populations,
and quite a bit bigger) in wetted compost under lights. I pressed the
seeds in in their sides, they are too small for my big fingers to push
end -down. I have covered them with cling film and droplets of water
have condensed on the underside of the clingfilm. Temperature is about
25°C

After 2 days some of the seeds have white fungus around them. I
understand that this can be a normal part of the germination process.
But just to be on the safe side I have taken the clingfilm off for a
few hours to kill the fungus off by drying it out, the seeds haven't
sprouted yet - it has only been 2 days.

Am I doing right? Any helpful hints?


In the past I've had little bits of mycelium form and attach themselves
to tomato seeds, but they germinated and sprouted fine. So my guess is
there's nothing to worry about. Damping off fungus is a bigger problem,
but I don't think that has anything to do with the fungus you can see.