Damping off

Damping off (or damping-off) is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by several different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate.

Leaf spotting sometimes accompanies other symptoms, as does a grey mold growth on stems and leaves.

Spraying or drenching the soil with a recommended anti-fungal treatment (such as copper oxychloride) also helps suppress the disease.

Homemade solutions (including ones made from chamomile tea[8] or garlic) are used by some gardeners for this purpose.

[10] Developed at an Agricultural Research Council Experimental Station in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, UK, it was a mixture of copper sulfate and ammonium carbonate, which could be mixed by the gardener or bought ready-prepared.