HELP!! Mold growing on my soil or..? I'm at a loss, need help!

FrankBarone

FrankBarone

Member
i'm having some weird cotton looking substance growing on the soil of my plants. The plants, as you can see from the example in the picture, are doing fine as of right now but i don't know if this is something that is going to end up ruining them entirely. Can anyone identify and help me take care of the problem? Thanks a ton in advance :lol:

oh, and a little more information. The strain is a 60s/40i white widow, even though it probably doesn't matter lol. The soil is promix BX, the nutrients i'm using are espoma plant tone, and they're under 8 26w 1600L CFLs. Earlier, like probably 3 or 4 weeks ago, I used something called grotone from espoma that was basically fish oil I believe. Could that be coming back to haunt be now? Or any other ideas?
 

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MaryJaneAdvocate

MaryJaneAdvocate

Active Member
I get this shit on a houseplant I have that I am trying to bring back to life... poor thing was almost dead when I got ahold of it. So the answer to your question would answer mine too, even though my plant isn't MJ related.
 
FrankBarone

FrankBarone

Member
MaryJaneAdvocate said:
I get this shit on a houseplant I have that I am trying to bring back to life... poor thing was almost dead when I got ahold of it. So the answer to your question would answer mine too, even though my plant isn't MJ related.
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i'm sorry you're feeling the struggle too :( i've seen it on houseplants too, and on outdoor plants I take care of. 99% of the time, at least for me, outdoor the reason is because of armyworms. But it being winter and myself being indoor, I can't imagine that being the problem.
 
AimAim

AimAim

Well-Known Member
If you are sure it's not some type of insect webbing then it is probably mold. Make sure you have some air moving around in there and let the surface of the soil dry out real well and it should go away.
 
FrankBarone

FrankBarone

Member
AimAim said:
If you are sure it's not some type of insect webbing then it is probably mold. Make sure you have some air moving around in there and let the surface of the soil dry out real well and it should go away.
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I'm pretty sure it isn't insect webbing, I would of definitely notices the little bastard(s) in there by now. Should I scoop the bit of molded soil and let the room air out?
 
DCobeen

DCobeen

Well-Known Member
with a magnifying glass look for tiny bugs moving. if you dont see any go buy a mold test kit and take some of it with soil and test. it could be a house spider trying to catch diner, if that is the case don't worry just remove the webbing if it bothers you but spiders will kill and eat all bugs for you. i dont kill my house spiders for that reason. you can kill all bugs easy and natural. take 5 super hot peppers like habanero peppers super chop them use gloves and eye protection. simmer them in 4 cups water for 30 min dotn boil very low heat, let cool strain and fill spray bottle. then spray plants and soil with it. will kill anything that tries to live or grow their except your plant will be safe, repeat daily for 3 days then 7 days after then all should be good.
 
Ace Yonder

Ace Yonder

Well-Known Member
Yeah that looks like a massive spider mite infestation to me, mainly because of the little white dots. This is a pic from wikipedia of spider mite webbing, idk if you see the same similarities. If it is mold then I would suggest an emergency transplant to clean soil, some sunlight and lower humidity until the problem clears up. Even if you can't see it you don't want to be smoking stuff grown in/near that, whatever it is.
 

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FrankBarone

FrankBarone

Member
Thanks for the tips everyone, i'll be doing trying that spray bottle technique for sure just in case. And spidermites lol, thats something i definitely didn't even wanna consider. I'm 99% sure it isn't spidermites, the plants are semi-cramped, and air filtration has been slack the past 5 or 6 days due to higher temps. I'm regulating that now, but I'm gonna remove the problem first and see if it persists. I have literally NO plant damage though. I think i'm sure its mold now that i've looked it up a bit more, but i'll be taking all precautions I can. Thanks again for all the help!
 
DCobeen

DCobeen

Well-Known Member
Research mold on weed plants on google ive never had to deal with mold i use fans and ventilate a room. check out modularhydro.com they will show you air injection and will solve all mold and bug problems.
 
DCobeen

DCobeen

Well-Known Member
im seeting up my air injection for soil tonight first 2 seedlings go into it then tomorrow 4 more then following day 3 more then my seedlings are done. cant wait im excited about the system and lights im using.
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
Are there webs on the plant?

Surely if he had a spider mite infection that badly there would be webs on his plants as well, after all that is where they feed. Are there spots on the leaves?

I never had a spider mite infestation before so I couldn't tell you. I hear they are a PITA to remove permanently. And if it is spider mites i'd reckon it came from your soil.

Looks like mold to me.
 
H

HrilL

Active Member
Looks like mold to me. You can simply spray it with a h2o2 and water mix and it will die. I would start with 7 parts water and 1 part h2o2(Hydrogen Peroxide) and that should take care of it pretty easy. You can get it at the local drug store or you might already have some at home. Once you kill it you will want to stop it from coming back so you'll need more ventilation and lower humidity.
 
FrankBarone

FrankBarone

Member
I'm certain it's mold now, there is absolutely no way it could be spidermites. I have a little nute burn on some plants, but no spidermite damage at all. I removed all the moldy soil and am gonna air out the room and let the soil dry out completely, and switch them all to 5 gallon buckets and then switch them to flower. I've done the hydrogen spray for the mold problem instead of trying to address the possibility of bugs. I think the mold is also in part from me pruning the plants and leaving the clippings on the soil, just me being negligent :( but all should be well now and i have learned from my mistake, thanks everyone for you input and help!
 
AimAim

AimAim

Well-Known Member
Any chance you are adding doses of molasses or additives with sugar? That could lead to mold. Leaving clippings on the soil would not do that. Just make sure the top couple inches dry out and it will go away.

The mold (if that's what it even is) is itself probably not a problem, but could be an indication off too much soil moisture / humidity, which can lead to big problems.
 
ThorGanjason

ThorGanjason

Well-Known Member
Hey, fwiw I had this before, its definitely a mold problem caused by too much moisture in the air/soil and probably also low tempatures for an extended period of time. But yeah, mine had it and it didn't cause any problems. I went to Lowe's and bought a spray bottle fungicide that was organic, and it seemed to clear the problem up.

Also, try watering less if possible, or letting them dry out more before you water, and also if your humidity is high see if you can help take care of that too.

Good luck bro, hope it doesn't wind up hurting them. It didn't hurt mine, even tho soneone was like "if its on your soil it's in your roots, your yield will be affected if they even survive". It was myfirst grow and i still pulled a pound and a quap off of six plants, so I dunno if that guy knew what he was talking about. Someone else told me that it wouldn't hurt it that much tho, and it definitely didn't seem to. Not sure if you might have fungus gnats too, but good luck.
 
jays

jays

New Member
I found the same stuff on a bag of promix bx too. I had opened the bag and scooped out enough to fill a one gallon pot. I closed the bag after and ten days later I opened it and saw the same stuff. My veg room humidity is always 50 percent, 75º and good air circulation. I scrapped it off and continued using it and have not seen it since.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Rollitup mobile app
 
FrankBarone

FrankBarone

Member
AimAim said:
Any chance you are adding doses of molasses or additives with sugar? That could lead to mold. Leaving clippings on the soil would not do that. Just make sure the top couple inches dry out and it will go away.

The mold (if that's what it even is) is itself probably not a problem, but could be an indication off too much soil moisture / humidity, which can lead to big problems.
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since the leaves contain moisture, couldn't they have left a bit of condensation on the top layer of soil? Which in turn with poor circulation/humidity could lead to the mold situation? And nope, no molasses or additives!
 
FrankBarone

FrankBarone

Member
ThorGanjason said:
Hey, fwiw I had this before, its definitely a mold problem caused by too much moisture in the air/soil and probably also low tempatures for an extended period of time. But yeah, mine had it and it didn't cause any problems. I went to Lowe's and bought a spray bottle fungicide that was organic, and it seemed to clear the problem up.

Also, try watering less if possible, or letting them dry out more before you water, and also if your humidity is high see if you can help take care of that too.

Good luck bro, hope it doesn't wind up hurting them. It didn't hurt mine, even tho soneone was like "if its on your soil it's in your roots, your yield will be affected if they even survive". It was myfirst grow and i still pulled a pound and a quap off of six plants, so I dunno if that guy knew what he was talking about. Someone else told me that it wouldn't hurt it that much tho, and it definitely didn't seem to. Not sure if you might have fungus gnats too, but good luck.
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my temps are always 65-70 degrees but this past week i've been able to keep the humidity down and it's gone up 20% from its regular 35% humidity. I don't think that would make a huge difference normally, but ventilation has also suffered this past week and i know i've definitely overwatered a bit. I'm hoping to dry these out, and get back on track now. I was able to scoop the mold out easily off the top layer, there's no way there could be any root damage yet from it I couldn't imagine. I'm going to be switching to flower in 2 days so I hope things finish out strong! I'm glad yours survived man and you pulled a killer yield, with my cfl setup i'll probably be lucky if I get a zip a plant but i don't need anymore than that.
 
AimAim

AimAim

Well-Known Member
FrankBarone said:
since the leaves contain moisture, couldn't they have left a bit of condensation on the top layer of soil? Which in turn with poor circulation/humidity
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I guess if you let them pile up deep that could happen. Usually they just get crispy and dry up.
 
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