Germinating palm seeds - Unwanted mold & pests?

[ShizZy]

Hi All,

First time poster here :-) I decided to start a new hobby and try to grow some different types of palms indoors. I purchased and planted seeds for several different palms, among them Trachycarpus Fortunei, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, and Washingtonia Filifera. I planted my seeds in covered square plastic containers, marking the seeds with toothpicks, loosely following the instructions in this youtube video. I used roughly 50% potting soil, 50% perlite - both Miracle Grow (it's the only thing you can get locally this time of year in my area). I watered thoroughly, but all the containers have lots of holes at the bottom to drain. I did this on 12/26/16.

Now, exactly two weeks later, I've noticed that some of my containers have a few long thin mushrooms growing in them (and a little mold), and at the surface if I wiggle a toothpick, I see several tiny little gray bugs scurrying around (pretty much impossible to pick up on my camera, unfortunately). The toothpicks themselves are almost completed rotted out. These have been kept in a room I use to grow other plants indoors, which has supplemental lighting, high humidity (40-50%), and warm temperatures (80F during the day, probably around 70F at night).

Should I be concerned with the unexpected things growing in there? I dug up one of the seeds - no sign of germination but no sign of rot either, it's still hard as a rock. I know this can take several months, but I'm worried what other nasty things might grow in there during this time at the rate things are going...

For now, I've taken all the lids off these and put them in a sunny area, hoping they'll dry out a bit and the light/dryness might kill some of the unwanted pests/growths.

Does anyone have any guidance? Thanks for the help!

[atlantisrising]

I'm far from expert at germinating seeds but my best successes have been with open trays of potting soil and laying the seeds on top then keeping them wet daily. I think you are on the right track by taking the lids off, you'll just have to moisten them more frequently to keep them from drying out completely. The bag method that a lot of people use has resulted in lower germination rates and more rot for me but seems to work well for others. Good luck!

[palmad Merc]

Yes, taking lid off was a good idea and medium needs to be light for good root development try to keep the medium at around 28 to 30 degrees Celsius for good germination, eg bottom heat mats, top of fridge... Moist but not wet soil. 

You may have fungus knats. 

Sprinkle cinnamon on top of soil.

Mushrooms may be from potting mix.

If you can get your hands on Coco coir, I use 50/50 coir,perlite on these .

 

[ShizZy]

@palmad Merc Thanks for the advice - I think you are right with them being fungus knats. Doing some googling, it seems that spraying with some diluted hydrogen peroxide should also kill the pests. Does this seem like a good idea, or is there a risk that this could harm germination? I'm right about 28-30C, so I'm guessing my conditions should be pretty optimal for germination.

@atlantisrising Thanks for the advice - I think that I will go ahead and keep the lids off and keep them moist for the time being. I also started some seeds via the baggie method, as this is my first time germinating, and I wasn't sure what would work best for me.

[palmad Merc]

Place a small saucer filled with vinegar next to the seeds, the knats will drown in it.I haven't tried, peroxide.