56 starter pots grew grey mold overnight. Why and what to do now?

I use Miracle-Gro as well, but the moisture control 0.10-0.10-0.18 with great success.

It is impossible to over water unless you let it physically sit in water or completely soak and have no air movement.

Looking at your pics, regardless you just misted, it appears to be over watered, and in a dome with no air, perfect for bacteria to thrive.

bernie344 said:

No

Click to expand...

Fucking ridiculous. How do you explain mud?

TrippleDip said:

Ok, good to know. I put the lids back on after punching some holes in the top and sides.


I thought the yeast in sourdough, cider, and wine comes from the flour or apple/grape skins though?




Both pics were immediately after misting. The pots even have holes in them. Usually I bottom feed so there is standing water in the trays but this time even the trays were dry.


Green mold, Yikes! Also not comforting : (

Click to expand...

The yeast in sourdough starter comes from the air in your kitchen. It feeds on the stuff you mentioned.

Ewwww this is gross throw everything you currently have growing away and start over.
your soil looks like crap bro i can tell you straight away that you should have mixed more perlite into that soil it looks like a wet soggy mess.(your media is crap bro)
I dont grow in soil because it is a low performing media when compared too other medias like rockwool for example.
And may i ask why you are using those crappy bags instead of plastic pots? Trying too save money? I have never used grow bags because fear of mold.
I am also currently drunk so my messages are aggressive.

Topshelfruns said:

i can tell you straight away that you should have mixed more perlite into that soil

Click to expand...

I mixed an extra 10% by volume perlite+lava rock into the soil in containers.

your media is crap

Click to expand...

It's miracle grow, what do you expect.

I don't grow in soil because it is a low performing media

Click to expand...

Even when they are going in the ground eventually? I had qn experience recently where I grew the same plant side by side in hydro (gh+promix) and in soil and the plants were very different. Now I am trying all organic to see if I like it.

And may i ask why you are using those crappy bags instead of plastic pots?

Click to expand...

When you are putting 300 plants in the ground it seems easier than getting each one out of the pot later.

First off - thanks to everyone for their input.

Looks like many seeds germinated despite the mold but rates were lower than expected. Gonna watch my soil wetness, guess it is too wet.

To anyone that reads this: DO NOT USE WHITE PAPER FOR PAPER POTS. Newspaper is great, but white paper.. See below.

bernie344 said:

You could try a couple of heat mats under them

Click to expand...

Wanted to reply to this specifically because instead of a heat mat I grabbed an instant read thermometer and it looks like soil temp is only fluctuating between 22 and 24*C despite air temps going from 18 to 22*C in the windowsill. I think that's not too bad for seed starting.

I've also had issues with mold, usually resolved by having a fan going, and better ventilation.

Just curious - what do other people do with it? Sometimes it's easy to scoop out a patch of it, but sometime's it is super light and covers a large patch of the soil. Do you scrape away that whole top layer and replace it? Do you cover it with another layer of dirt?

steeltown420 said:

what do other people do with it?

Click to expand...

Remove it and cover it with bacteria rich soil like compost or ewc if you want to get rid of it. Or you can go the ecosystem route, not all molds are harmful. My yellow mold came bac and there's a whole family of pill bugs keeping it in check!


Leaf (left), two baby pillbugs (top center), yellow mold and bits of perlite on soil.