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I was reading a little also about “damping off” disease. That’s what killed the lettuce I sowed outdoors last spring, I think.

I found myself wondering why there is no effective fungicide treatment, or at least a pre-treatment?

Caramel Popcorn
The secret to evenly coated popcorn w/ thin, crispy caramel coating
is 1. b/soda and 2. oven-baking to dry it out. Stays crispy 2+ weeks.

Ing Popcorn 1/4 c veg oil (not required w/ air popping maker) 1/3 c corn kernels (makes 10 c popcorn) Caramel 7 tbl unsalted butter 1 c br/sugar, 1/2 c light corn syrup 1/2 tsp ea salt/b/soda 1 tsp vanilla

Steps Popcorn Heat oil over med. Add a few kernels; wait til it pops, then quickly add rest kernels, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover. Once popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake pot gently once. Remove offheat when popping stops; transfer to lge bowl.

Caramel: Preheat oven to 110°C/230°F. Melt butter over med. Add sugar, corn syrup, salt. Stir/combine. When it starts to bubble, simmer 4 min - DO NOT STIR! Remove offheat; quickly whisk in vanilla, b/soda. When you stop whisking, caramel will foam and increase in volume. Quickly pour over popcorn, toss til caramel cools and starts to harden.

To crisp up: Spread popcorn on 2 b/sheets. Bake 45 min, tossing every 10 min or so. Caramel will remelt first 2-3 tosses - tossing coats popcorn more evenly with caramel. Remove from oven, cool. Gently break into pieces and serve.

Notes: 1/3 c kernels gets full caramel coverage. Corn Syrup stabilizes to avoid crystallization. Stays crisp and fresh stored airtight.

Make sure that containers you’re using are very clean - even a bleach and water wash is recommended to kill all the ‘germs.’

What causes damping off

All of the pathogens (fungi and molds) responsible for damping off survive well in soil and plant debris.

The pathogens can be introduced into the seedling tray in several ways.

Pots, tools, and potting media that have been used in previous seasons and are not properly cleaned can harbor the pathogens.

Spores of Fusarium spp. can be blown in and carried by insects like fungus gnats, or move in splashing irrigation water.

Pythium spp. is often introduced on dirty hands, contaminated tools or by hose ends that have been in contact with dirt and debris.

It happens to the best of us!

https://extension.umn.edu/solve-problem/how-prevent-seedling-damping