My first guess on the white powdery stuff is it's organic matter decomposed in a de-oxygenated state (like you'll sometime see in an unturned compost pile). Could also be mold spores. Are you sure those aren't a different allium bulb, Cabrita? See the current discussion on A. triquetrum (wild onion) in the CA forum. Pretty invasive, so it could be them, but they (and all alliums) are edible. I'm not a big fan of roses, so I'd never spend my time on that many. Just think of all the citrus you could be growing instead! Or borage, which is a great edible flower and pollinator attractor. Same for the CA wild radish, fennel, and wild celery (Apium graveolens). You might also try some cilantro too around the alliums and roses and let if flower, that's a nice mix I've seen before. Instead of alliums, nasturtiums can also grow at the bottom of a rosebed for edible companion planting. Here is a link that might be useful: Allium triquetrum

Hi there, Im no expert, but honestly I think your being too protective of them. A lot of bulbs love the cold, and in fact in most species it is what keeps them dormant. From what I have read in your post it sounds like what you have done by keeping them indoors is you have actually forced them. What I would do at this point is take them back outside and sit them next to your building. It will give off a little radiant heat if you are worried about them freezing, and at the same time it should knock them back into dormancy. 8b temps though really wont give them much of a challenge. Water them a couple times over the winter and then come spring watch them sprout back up. Dont worry it the foliage gets frosted back, it may not. A lot of bulbs grow foliage all winter for spring blooms. Your other option is to keep them inside and watch them grow then when temps are equal to inside you can sit them out. Good luck, dont worry most spring bulbs are pretty hard to kill. Jason

Hey Ryan, When I grow trees from seed I don't usually have problems like these. Long ago when I started seeds in regular garden soil I had all kinds of damping off problems. Once I realized that seeds germinate better in soil-less mixes and have less chance of soil pathogens I gave up on garden soil. Since then I've had very few problems germinating seed. OK, we KNOW that contamination is not coming from the plastic seed trays since you washed and disinfected them between planting cycles. Your trays should be fine. Occasionally some seeds might have some tiny, invisible fungi on them that can quickly grow in a wet environment. As a precaution, you might want to consider a brief (5 or 10 minute) soaking in 50/50 mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide just before planting. This should kill fungi on the outside of the seed coats, just in case there is any. That would eliminate the possibility that the seed coats are infected. I guess at this point Id be tempted to toss away the MG soil you have and try something else. I usually start my seeds in a loose mix of fine pine bark and perlite with good results but there are many different seed starting soils on the market, including one by Schultz that I've heard good things about. I'll add a link. Hope this helps. TYG Here is a link that might be useful: Seedling soil

I have been trying to come up with something that by late April would be tall enough to cover that ugliness, but here is zone 5 I haven't found anything that will beat the allium's early emergence and rapid growth. Behind the allium is a clump of grass and some daylilies around the area but they have a long way to go to be of any help. I do cut back the browned leaves often, but really that doesn't make it look much better. Any suggestions of what to plant that would mask that frost bitten foliage in late April would be appreciated. Echinaceamaniac.. I am looking forward to your spring and summer pics of your new alliums. Your garden pictures are always inspiring.