aphids don't run around in soil. They live on growing leaves and stems and generally move quite slowly.

Please post pictures of the critters.

Also, gravel in the bottom of the container is not a good idea.

Thanks ill try to get a photo of them up soon. they are very small and this morning when I disrupted one of them it flew. I wonder if they are small flies? Hatched larvae?

The rocks in the bottom were recommended by the nursery for drainage but I have also read online that some are against it. I did lay down a mesh netting over the rocks before putting down 20 inches of soil.

Did you drill holes in the bottom of the tub? You'll need that for drainage even more than the gravel.

Best guess on the bugs is 'fungus gnats'. You can find pics and info on them on the web for comparison. The eggs were probably already in your "organic"??? potting soil and they hatch and reproduce in overly wet soil. Buy some Mosquito Bits or Mosquito Dunks, dissolve them in water and use it on the container for a bit to kill them. They contain a natural pesticide (Bt).

But from the info provided they aren't your primary problem. You are going to need to research how to properly set up a container (soil-less potting mixes rather than soil, drain holes, no stones, no mesh netting) so that it drains well, how to properly use fertilizers - especially organic fertilizers and when they work and when they don't work - and how to apply, and what plants need to be direct seeded vs. using transplants.

Growing in containers is very different from growing in the ground. Lots of good reading and great info over on the Container Gardening forum here.

Welcome to the world of gardening! :)

Dave

Many thanks for your informative tips Dave. Yes the tub has holes drilled on the bottom already in the bottom and it is set up on large bricks for proper drainage. As per nurserys rec I used a g&b organic blue ribbon potting soil and only sprinkled fertilizer once I transplanted the seedlings. I was thinking about making a homemade neem oil spray to spray on the plants but I think you're right about the bugs being fungus gnats. I'll try the mosquito dunks. Have you had any experience with neem pesticide?

Neem can be an effective pest control but its effects on fungus gnats is minimal. Bt is much more effective and if you type 'fungus gnats' in the search bar you'll find many discussions about them and how to eliminate the problem.

For future reference please keep in mind that many nursery recommendations are based on their desire to sell you things they have for sale, not on what is actually best to use. Filler for containers is a prime example. The consensus from experienced container gardeners to NOT using any soil mix in containers runs about 95%. You'll find much info about this on the forum mentioned above.

Can you get away with it? Possibly with a great deal more work and care and less success. As for organic dry granular fertilizers, they must be mixed into the soil down at the root level and in the proper amounts per label directions. And to work, to provide nutrients, there must be an active soil food web of bacteria to convert them to a form usable by plants. That soil food web rarely exists in containers. For that reason most experienced container growers will use either synthetic liquids OR liquid pre-digested organic fertilizers, nutrients already in a form usable by the plants. Numerous brands are available and there are lots of dicussions available about recommended ones.

As to your rocks and mesh netting - both are going to create problems for you sooner rather than later primarily in the form of what is called "ponding" - water build-up in the base of the container, inconsistent soil moisture levels, porr drainage, root rot, etc. So give some thought as to how to get them out of there even if it is only in stages.

Hope this is of help.

Dave

I get fungus gnats all the time indoors on seedling pots. Not entirely sure how they get there, because I use a mix that I oven-sterilize. But I don't think they do anything to the plants. Not at all clear that they would do the damage that you saw on your radish seedlings. They live on the organic material and fungi in the soil. So before you spend a lot of effort on insecticides, you might decide if they're really doing any harm. Of course, if they're fluttering around indoors, they sure can be annoying.

Dan, in containers the fungus gnat larvae are happy to nibble on tender plant roots.

That your plants have them so often is an indication that you are either keeping the potting mix too moist for too long, or that your choice of medium is overly dense and slow to drain. Or both!

To support that with an example, I never, ever bake or nuke my potting medium but because it is so coarse textured and drains rapidly, fungus gnats are never a problem.

Yes, I admit to keeping the mix too moist. That's the reason for having them. I keep the mix moist until all the seedlings sprout, and then let the surface dry out. That could be several weeks. But I've never seen any damage caused by the gnats. As far as I can tell, they are only on the surface. And one has to wonder. If the soil is sterile and the pots are inside, how do the fungus gnats get there in the first place?

"tiny soil colored bugs" doesn't describe fungus gnats or their larvae.

We need pictures, please.

Also, it could be helpful to see a picture of the damaged radishes, tops and bottoms.

i decided to wait a little bit before doing anything, thinking maybe its just first gardener jitters, being jumpy at anything happening in the garden like some bugs running around. theres been a bit of a cold snap here in my region and i havent seen many bugs since to be honest. im attaching some pictures here of the plants. they seem good so far, no sign of nibbling or rot, yet. dave, i see your point with nurseries. i also felt like they were being partially dismissive as well but now i know better and next time will come to houzz to talk to gardeners instead. i wonder, since the seedlings look so nice if i should wait until spring planting season to take out rocks and mesh netting etc. also, does anybody have thoughts on fertilizer at this stage with the seedlings? i sprinkled a tiny bit when i transplanted the seedlings but wonder if i need to be feeding them more (have dr earth)? only the kyoto red carrot (CORRECTION: DAIKON LEAVES) leaves seem wilted at the ends and some of their smaller leaves are dying.(photo attached)

Everything looks okay to me, just some minor damage (onions look like they might have gotten stuck in the seed coat).

Main thing I see wrong is that your Kyoto red carrots aren't carrots. The seedlings in those pics are something in the cabbage family. Not sure what's going on with their leaves either (fungus or disease) but I'd pull and replant since the seedlings aren't what you wanted anyway.

Rodney

oops sorry guys thanks rodney for catching my mistake! those are my daikon radish leaves. here is a snap of my healthy carrot leaves!

I don't see much wrong either. I certainly don't see anything that looks like it got munched. One thing I don't see is any bugs. If bugs are hurting the plants, they're doing it without touching them, it would seem.

The parts that you'd circled look like scorched leaves.

bunnydefluff, do you think the scorch could be due to bugs or just weather related? unfortunately a few days ago i noticed tiny sand sized white things all over my radish leaves. i assumed they were eggs of some kind? whiteflies? i quickly made a neem oil pesticide as i have cold pressed food grade neem oil at home and castile soap and thoroughly sprayed the leaves (making sure not to do it during the day when beneficial insects may be harmed). i noticed when i sprayed the leaves the white things did not budge. i even tried to scrape them off but wasnt sure if i should let the neem oil do the work first. also the leaves next to the infested one had tiny little holes through it. tonight i peeked underneath the leaves and loe and behold they were all over the undersides of all the daikon radish leaves. i wiped them all of as best i could, and made a new batch and made sure to spray the underside properly. any other tips on how to handle these things? all my other plants seem unaffected (for now!). here is a photo.

newnew - bugs don't scorch. Weather does that. I personally wouldn't spray anything on those babies. They are young and tender and you could do more harm than good. There is minimal damage and they will almost certainly grow away just fine. I really think you are in danger of the common newbie propensity for loving your plants to death. First line of defence against insects or bugs is a simple jet of water. That's if they are bugs.

Can you show us close ups of these tiny holes and possible eggs?

New gardeners 'worry' more plants to death then are ever killed by any bug and it is the first lesson to learn.

Gardens have bugs. Leaves get holes. Leaves get scorched. All are a natural part of gardening. So relax, put the spray away, quit hovering over the seedlings and just watch them grow. Will some die and have to be replaced? Probably as that too is a normal part of gardening. That's the second lesson.

:-)

Dave

yes i know. its hard to not get excited and overprotective, then devastated when a seedling doesnt make it. its a bit ridiculous i know! ok, hands off the plants for a while...newbie lesson learned.