First issue with my seedlings on living soil - are these fungus gnats?

[chamenon]

Setup;

-Solo cups
-Dirtcraft G-Force living soil mix
-Inside the closet, I cleaned the entire closet with ISO/water mixture before placing them in there but haven't got to purchasing the grow tent.
-Using distilled water only at the seedling stage.
-Might have over watered them first two-three days. (I started with a wet soil and sprayed them lightly everyday which I think resulted in too much hanging water in the soil, currently trying to dry out while trying to keep topsoil still moist)
-09/11/23 Germination start
-11/11/23 Tap root cracked out of the seed
-13/11/23 First two embryonic leaves made it out of the soil (might have sowed them a little too deep about a full inch but they look strong and healthy)

And today I've seen more than one flying insects. I think they're fungus gnats. I don't know where they come from (if they came with soil etc.) and I'm not sure how to go about this, especially with living soil, at the seedling stage.
Could this be because I started without a grow tent and if I purchase a grow tent to isolate these plants, how should I make sure I don't bring these gnats with the seedlings, into the plant?

Thanks in advance for all the suggestions!

 

[Hippie420]

Yep, them's gnats. They won't hurt your plant, but their grubs that they lay under the soil will play hell with your roots. Diatomaceous earth sprinkled on top of the soil won't kill the grubs, but it'll kill the flies when they burro down to lay the eggs and the flies after they leave the larvae stage and burro up.

 

[chamenon]

Yep, them's gnats. They won't hurt your plant, but their grubs that they lay under the soil will play hell with your roots. Diatomaceous earth sprinkled on top of the soil won't kill the grubs, but it'll kill the flies when they burro down to lay the eggs and the flies after they leave the larvae stage and burro up.

Thank you! Diatomaceous earth should be okay to use in a living soil environment right? The local hydro shops sells food grade diatomaceous earth (%65 Diatomaceous earth, %35 montmorillonite)

 

[oldfogey8]

DE only works when dry so the soil top should be dry when you apply it.

 

[chamenon]

DE only works when dry so the soil top should be dry when you apply it.

Thank you, wouldn't drying out the top soil be detrimental to seedlings? Should I wait for maybe a week or so in order to get them to become a little vigorous to do that? What do you think?

 

[Hippie420]

I don't think I'd completely dry 'em out. What the DE does is act like a handful of razor bladed to the gnats. Cuts 'em up. Do yourself a favor and don't breathe the dust in. It'll do the same thing to your lungs.

 

[oldfogey8]

Thank you, wouldn't drying out the top soil be detrimental to seedlings? Should I wait for maybe a week or so in order to get them to become a little vigorous to do that? What do you think?

My bad. I didn’t look at the pic of the seedling. I agree, I would wait until they are a bit bigger.

 

[Necromancer]

A little tip I liked to do with seedlings is I water their solocup or cell pot thoroughly, let it drain of course. Then I mix the soil up with a stick to make sure no dry or compacted spots. Plant seed, cover with a baggy or dome to keep humidity up. Once they sprout, briefly remove baggy or dome a few times a day for airflow and they won't need watered again until day 5 when I remove the baggy for good. After that you can water them every 2-3 days with a shot glass amount. No gnats

 

[chamenon]

Thank you for the suggestions! I'm going to apply diatomaceous earth in a couple of days once they get a little bit more vigorous. (Also I haven't seen any other gnats yet so maybe I have a couple more days before the ones in larva form start to emerge from soil.

I'm also reading about companion plants, such as mint, rosemary and basil in the vegetation room for repelling insects and attracting beneficial bacteria. Should I clone a couple of organic mint/basil/rosemary cuttings I got from the store in the same room? On one hand I'm inclined to try, on the other hand I'm afraid to bring external plants in to my grow room?

Any opinions/past experiences/suggestions?

 

[joeb631a]

A little tip I liked to do with seedlings is I water their solocup or cell pot thoroughly, let it drain of course. Then I mix the soil up with a stick to make sure no dry or compacted spots. Plant seed, cover with a baggy or dome to keep humidity up. Once they sprout, briefly remove baggy or dome a few times a day for airflow and they won't need watered again until day 5 when I remove the baggy for good. After that you can water them every 2-3 days with a shot glass amount. No gnats

I think its a great idea !
The fungus gnats not so much.

 

[Necromancer]

Any opinions/past experiences/suggestions?

I prefer LOTS of airflow, no overwatering, ideal temps/humidity.

 

[dogster]

Baggies create mold and fungi more than they help anything.
Soak overnight in plain water then plant in moist medium then keep warm and moist.

 

[Necromancer]

Baggies create mold and fungi more than they help anything.
Soak overnight in plain water then plant in moist medium then keep warm and moist.

I disagree. I used them before I got a propagation dome because my humidity can be as low as like 15% or less even. Without covering your seedlings with a dome or a baggy, there's no other way to keep the humidity up where I live. Even a humidifier in the room doesn't help. I removed the baggies briefly several times a day for airflow though. Sopping wet media and not removing the bag, I agree, will create problems.

 

[dogster]

Our humidity is currently at 13% and have zero issues with seedlings.

 

[chamenon]

I think I'm doing fine with the humidity and temperature. Temps are around 72-77F, RH is around %45 if I don't run the humidifier, jumps to %55 if I run at the lowest setting, gets up to %70 on the second setting and reaches around %85 if I close the closet doors. I try to keep them open in the day time in order to provide fresh air to the seedlings.

I think my topsoil got dry enough today that I felt the need to lightly spray them, and it seems like they're drying out again today; my question is if I apply diatomaceous earth when the soil is dry, how do I go about the next watering/spray? Should I apply diatomaceous earth again after spraying? How much accumulation of it would be detrimental to the soil?

 

[SubmarineGirl]

Get some sticky traps for those gnats while you wait tho. Sticky traps will capture a lot of them

 

[chamenon]

Get some sticky traps for those gnats while you wait tho. Sticky traps will capture a lot of them

Thank you! I already ordered them, should be arriving tomorrow or the day after.

 

[Necromancer]

Our humidity is currently at 13% and have zero issues with seedlings.

Mine take an absolute shit in low humidity.

 

[Hippie420]

I always germ mine in a half and half mix of water and hydrogen peroxide. The peroxide kills any nasty stuff clinging to the outside of the seeds.

 

[chamenon]

I always germ mine in a half and half mix of water and hydrogen peroxide. The peroxide kills any nasty stuff clinging to the outside of the seeds.

I've used h2o2 during the germination; just not half and half but 1 tbsp of %3 h2o2 to 1 cup water.