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Growing from Seed

Help!!! Mold

17 years ago

This is my first year starting from seed and I have been reading this site for several months before joining and posting. I read somewhere that some one has used the small dixie cups from sams club.

I purchased these and filled with pro-mix

planted my seeds and now they are sprouting

I noticed that some of the cups have mold growing on the bottom and some have fuzzy hairy stuff (like the stuff that grows on left overs if left in the fridge for too long) growing on the side on the cups.

Is this going to kill my seedlings?

What can I do about it?

I bought 100 4 inch peat pots from a local feed store today should I transplant my seedlings into new pots.

Thank you in advance for all of your help.

Jennifer

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Comments (6)

thestupidgardenguy
17 years ago
Hello Jennifer,

I also started seeds for my first time this year and had mold issues. My first batch died. My second batch started to mold, I removed my cover, and put a fan on them and it went away and has not returned for over a week. The issue I had was to much water and not watering from the bottom. I used small plugs, and now switch them to 18 oz dixie cups. I drilled lots of hole in the bottom for drainage.

So far things are working out for me.

Dean
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
17 years ago
Mold spores are everywhere. Nothing exposed to air is free of mold spores. To eliminate the problem increase the amount of light, decrease the amount of moisture and increase the air movement. Al
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This seems to be a common experience with those peat pots. You might want to try small plastic containers next year. It's probably algae rather than mold, but it doesn't make much difference. Whatever the stuff is, it's hindering the evaporation from the peat, exacerbating the whole situation. Green algae commonly grows on surfaces that remain moist, like your peat pots, clay pots and such. Green algae won't harm your plants, but also won't respond to anti-fungal remedies, either. If it begins growing on the top of the medium surface, keep it broken up with a toothpick (or something) so that moisture can evaporate from the pot like it's supposed to.
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puzzlefan
17 years ago
My pots get a slow but even breeze from a small fan before there are any sprouts. Then I time it thirty minutes every two to three hours. The timing is very inexact, just so they get a nice breeze (low) to keep air moving over the pots and seedlings. I haven't lost any seedlings or plants yet.
gardenz
17 years ago
Mold or soil fungus will grow on seedling's soil surface if (a) there's poor air circulation; (b) soil is waterlogged or (c) if the plastic dome or plastic bag was left on too long after germination and/or not left slightly ajar during germination.

There's a couple of organic methods you could try to halt the spread of the mold:
(1) A spritz of slight foliar-type feed of chamomile tea or
(2) A sprinkling of cinnamon on the surface.

I've heard kudos for the chamomile tea from other organic gardeners, and I can personally vouch for the cinammon.

First try gently scraping off what ever fuzzy white mold you can before either application. Good luck w/them!
busylizzy
17 years ago
Hi Jenny,
I use the plastic dixie cups not the paper ones. I used the paper ones once and they started to mold on the bottom and the mold traveled up the cup.
Never an issue with the plastic bathroom cups I use.
jas_il
17 years ago
I read somewhere that watering seedlings every other day with hydrogen peroxide also helps. h2o2 + water in 1 to 10 ratio would work.

Sprinking a thin layer of sand also works.
Jasmine

Here is a link that might be useful: Search the web

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