A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 fungus free wheatgrass

I've been trying to grow wheatgrass inside again, and though it comes in beautifully there always seems to be a layer of white thready fungus near the base of the blades.

Is this preventable at all? Is it worth worrying about?

Thanks!

Permadude...this could be caused by many things. A little more sunlight, even indirect, could help, as UV rays destroy most fungus. If it isn't harming the blades, it may not be much to worry about. What soil is it in? What kind of light? All information you can give would be helpful.

It's currently in regular potting soil. We put the wheat berries down on top of the soil, then covered it with a layer of vermiculite. It's next to an east facing window, but does not get a lot of direct sunlight. THe fungus forms a spidery web that comes about a half inch into the blades. I have read of people getting ill from wheatgrass juice extracted from moldy wheatgrass., and am a bit concerned to juice this batch.

What you need to do is either get a product called citriside from http://www.growwheatgrass.com/citricide.htm or apply a spritzing of one cup of water with one tablespoon of grapefruit juice added, once every other day or so. Don't soak the seeds or sproutings just mist them and when the grass starts to grow same thing, just give the whole flat a misting of this when you water it about every other feeding. The citricide is best but can be hard to come by. Check out this website too, it's full of wheatgrass/juicing supplies - http://877myjuicer.com and they have a cool wheatgrass sprouter http://www.growwheatgrass.com/citricide.htm that I picked up for under $40.00 and I've had no mold whatsoever. They carry seeds too and for that matter, some pretty cool juicers -the one I got: http://877myjuicer.com/product/LEXENHEALTHYJUICER
which is totally easy to use and clean. Hope this info helps you! let me know if you have any other problems after you try this out.

Sounds like botrytis, those spidery webs. More frequent in the winter. Try growing your wheatberries without the vermiculite, which can stay really damp and contribute to botrytis. Then try to get some air moving around your baby plants, which can help too. Try watering from the bottom too and only as much as needed. Keeping your foliage as dry as possible and soil just lightly damp. hope thsi helps.

I am having a similar kind of problem growing sprouts in a germinator. I have tried different kinds of seeds but am getting a similar fungus on all of them. Is this just a case of ensuring they get more direct sunlight?