Potted plant mold issues.

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I live in central TN and have an enclosed patio garden as well as some indoor plants. I moved to my current apartment almost 2 years ago from another complex 2 blocks away because they raised they're rent. We moved at the end of spring and my grandma went to the hospital and died over the course of the summer, so I didn't have time for a garden the first year. I had absolutely none of the soon-to-be-mentioned problems in my previous apartment's patio garden or any other garden over the past 7 years. Expose over.

Last spring I started my garden here. My plants have been having mold issues all year. Within the first few weeks I started seeing a dark brown fungus in my pots and if even lightly disturbed it would spew thick clouds of spores. I immediately covered it to dampen the spores, dug it out,and cut my watering regimen in half; it was time anyway because my sprouts were big enough. My soil dried thoroughly between each water. A couple weeks later it was back. I dug it out again, buried the surface with fresh clean dry soil, and added large stones on top. A few weeks later it was back in every small crevice it could find and on the stem bases of my plants. I emptied an economy sized container of ground cinnamon on top of all of my soil; it didn't seem to care and came back again. I trashed all the plants and soil in the effected pots(most of my plants.) This repeated even with completely different brands and types of soil in new pots, including stuff meant for cactuses(I started succulents thinking I'd at least be able to enjoy something.) Now it's dead winter, I haven't watered any of the dormant/cold tolerant plants out there since October, and it's back again. If it can be an issue even when I'm not watering at all(to the point of my plants half-dying and me still not watering) then I'm at a loss for what to do.

Is there anything at all I can do here, short of not having a garden? I don't want to use any chemicals because I have children who enjoy playing on the patio. Taking care of plants really helps with my depression in a way nothing else has prior. I really don't want to give it up but this mold issue is making it so incredibly stressful.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
4 years ago
Can you post pictures?
0
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
what pot media did you use ... i see you tried various types ....

did you sterilize it and all the pots first???

https://tipnut.com/sterilize-soil/

i would also recommend using 10% bleach to clean all the pots before use.. plus all tools .. etc ...

other than your reaction.. did it have any noticeable effect on the plants themselves??? .. and if not.. i would not have throw out the plants ...

you might want to take a baggie of the stuff to your local AG/extension office.. and ask them to ID it ... and see what they suggest ...

ken
0
Related Discussions
Mold on Clay Pot?
Q
Comments (10)
Josh - If bleach didn't kill it - would hydrogen peroxide even come close to harming it? I really need to get some just to keep around in case I need it. I was reading on one of these forums that spraying a diluted version onto plants/soil wasn't harmful. Thanks! Al - This was the same rubber plant I had emailed you about, if you recall. Incidentally, all those basal stems? I cut 'em off per your advice and now am rooting them, or attempting to root them. :-) One week post-planting, they're doing nicely so far. Nothing's dead, and all seem to hold back a little when I tug lightly. I am curious if those stems will root the same way as cuttings. Not all of them had leaf nodes low enough to actually plant into the soil.... no bueno? Going back to the mold.... I was envisioning the same fate for it with the pot killing the plant, even though it didn't seem affected at all at this moment, but anything that will grow back from bleach scares me just a little. Hearing your story, Al, and knowing the plants died despite repotting....I'm worried. :-( So yesterday morning, she got pulled from that pot, and repotted into 5-1-1 in a new pot. I didn't feel like making more gritty mix and I absolutely wasn't going to reuse that mix in the molding pot. Most interesting was that in the last few weeks, it had grown longer roots. I could tell because they were so gloriously white/clean compared to the washed off roots I had planted originally! BTW, I love, love, LOVE 5-1-1. I'm going to say I usually throw in about a half part more soil than actual "1 part" but something about watering and hearing the soil absorb liquid is very satisfying. The gritty mix DOES actually remain quite moist for a surprisingly long time -- but it doesn't "slurp up" water like the soil. :-) But wow, those clean roots were impressive.
...See More
Any issues planting in copper pots?
Q
Comments (20)
"So I should line it with plastic (are bin bags okay to use?" Copper (Cu) itself is very toxic at levels above the minuscule levels plants need for normal growth, to the poison is in the dose. You should use your copper vessel as a cache pot, and nest the pot the plant will actually be growing in inside the copper vessel. The pot you grow in needs to have a drain hole, and since the salts that will be flushed out of the grow medium when you water should never have a pathway by which they can make way back into the grow medium, you should water over the sink, and wait for the pot to stop draining before you return it to its home in the copper vessel. If you like, put a collection saucer in the bottom of the copper pot to protect it, but don't allow the actual pot the plant grows in to sit in the effluent that exits the drain hole. "Should I put drainage in?" Your pot needs a drain hole, and, if you're talking about creating some sort of drainage layer with gravel, packing peanuts, or other coarse material(s), you'll soon discover it's counterproductive. The idea is sterling, but the reality is something altogether different. The pots below are full of grow medium. The shaded area labeled PWT (perched water table) represents excess water that comes as an inherent part of all commercially prepared grow media based on large fractions of fine particles (peat, coir, compost, composted forest products, sand, various meals (like cottonseed meal, feather meal, etc), sand, topsoil. Use the middle image below as an aid to visualize what happens when you use a drainage layer - it simply moves the excess water to a position immediately above the drainage layer. "I've read polystyrene is good; then topsoil, then plant, cover with more soil and press down soil, then water. Is that correct?" No. Topsoil might have a place in some grow media where weight to prevent blow-over is essential, but by and large all topsoil does is destroy drainage and aeration. What works in the garden (insofar as the soil is concerned) is extremely difficult to grow in when put into service for container culture. It holds much too much water, much too little air, and after a fer waterings will be extremely compacted. When I plant in an organic-based medium like this, I make sure the medium is moist but still fluffy, then fill the pot until it's appropriately full. I always correct root problems, especially root congestion, even if the plants are in cell packs. Often, I simply rip the bottom half of the roots off, then work my fingers up into the center of the root mass before I set the plant on top of the soil with the roots spreading away from the stem. Then, I add a bit of grow medium and make sure all the roots are covered and there are no air pockets in the root zone. Finally, I WATER the plant in and avoid compressing the medium. If the plant seems to want to flop over, I figure out a way to secure it just long enough to ensure it's stable. Al
...See More
White mold in pots, whyyyyy
Q
Comments (5)
I've never tried this myself and I'm hopeless at pots, but I've heard that other folks sprinkle a light coat of cornmeal on the surface of pots to discourage whiteflies. I presume it's because it absorbs some moisture so it might be worth trying here. Again, I can't speak from experience and there might be a reason not to do this, but it's a simple strategy if it helps. Cynthia
...See More
Mold in mulch, is it an issue?
Q
Comments (4)
I've had an unusually good year for tomatoes and other plants with respect to wilts and blights. I suspect it's something to do with temperature + humidity + soil moisture because everything else is pretty much the same. Weather is on the dry side and I think when it's very wet the clay soil doesn't drain and when it gets hot the blight just takes off. This year has been quite different than the past several. A long way of saying my results agree with what gardengal is saying.
...See More
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
im also wondering if its a mold as compared to a fungus ... and thats why i suggest an ID ...

ken
0
Heaven Kincaid
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
It rained last night and the stuff was already the same color as the soil. Now it's impossible to tell what's what. And after going through all my old photos, the only ones I have close enough to the soil are ones with it covered in cinnamon. I'm not finding a whole lot online to compare it too either. I'd say Chocolate-Tube Slime is the closest thing I've seen so far but it never bothered attaching to any of my orchid wood-chip mix or the pallet wood I made some planters out of. it's also not particularly tall and grows in fuzzy moss-like patches.

The best I can do is wait for the soil to re-dry and hope it even shows up in a photo.
0
Heaven Kincaid
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
To add:

The drainage had no baring on if it would show up or not. I have some pots that had admittedly horrid draining(because I was growing tomatoes in them and they suck up all the water in less than a day anyway), and a Sarracenia straight up in a constantly sopping wet moss ball of peet, perilite, and sphagnum. The fungus/mold never touches those. Other planters, one of which is made of pallet wood with wide separations between each board, and carbon mesh to hold in the dirt, dries out completely within a couple hours of being watered and I watered it whenever the vining plants in it started to wilt(every 2-3 days) still saw this stuff showing up in the dirt but not on the wood. My various pots are made of wood, terra cota, clay, plastic, carbon mesh, plastic seed starter trays, and green solo cup.

I did bleach the pots before I used them, and the ones I emptied and refilled.

I did not sterilize the soil, but I used different brands and even got it from different dealers. It didn't seem to matter.

The original soil was MiracleGro potting mix and the cactus mix was MiracleGro grow as well.

Star-Green perlite.

Better Grow Orchid Mix.

I think the other potting soil I tried was Jobe's but I don't remember exactly.

Also Jiffy Seed Start Mix

I store the soil inside my house in a tupper-ware bucket and some of it is even still damp, but nothing inside the bags seems to have this growing on or in it and smells clean.

While I can't be entirely sure that it is directly the culprit, because I had frustrating pest problems as well (that I could trace to the environment outside my patio) and my watering regimen being torturous, many of my plants did struggle and die. I eventually wasn't watering until they still were wilted at night. None of my herbs except for a couple of the nearly 2 dozen basil plants I tried to grow would take, even when I wasn't starving them of water. None of the lettuce survived. The tomatoes grew like crazy but the fruit rotted, and many of my flowers either died or constantly had sickly looking leaves. When I'd give up on ones that weren't completely dead I found the stems rotting or weak root growth even when they had been extremely strong as seedlings before I potted them.

I'm at the point of thinking it's environmental for my apartment complex and just hoping there's something I can do to keep it out of my garden. Also a bit worried if it could be affecting our health.
0
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
4 years ago
It is really not possible to offer any useful help without pictures. You seem to have a lot of different problems affecting a lot of different plants in a lot of different conditions and we have no idea what this mould/fungus looks like.
0
MYAL plantLOVER
4 years ago
Have you ever added grit or even pebbles or shingles on the top of the soil? Adding a bit of perlite / grit / sharp sand to the compost might help. What are the air circulation and humidity of your rooms like please? Photos might help.
0
Jerry Edens
4 years ago
I believe you have some kind of spores that are breeding in your soil! My suggestion would be remove all soil and plants and start a bleach solution and wipe down everything! Let set for a week or so and start over with top quality soil with good drainage and aeration!
0

Potted plant mold issues.

Comments (8)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Heaven Kincaid
Original Author

Heaven Kincaid
Original Author

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

MYAL plantLOVER

Jerry Edens

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Potted plant mold issues.

Comments (8)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Heaven KincaidOriginal Author

Heaven KincaidOriginal Author

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

MYAL plantLOVER

Jerry Edens

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Heaven Kincaid
Original Author

Heaven Kincaid
Original Author