Bone Meal And White Mold Top Of The Soil

[charlesweedmore]

Hello,

I added meat/bone meal to potting soil (2 tablespoon/gallon).

after 1 week, i began seeing white cottony molds top of the soil.It smells like mildew.

Is it normal ?

What is the wrong ?

Thanks

 

[ixnay007]

Lots of humidity..

I have some white mold on the soil of my seedlings, as I use a hemp "cotton" germinating medium.. it doesn't seem to bother the plants in the slightest, and since I'm growing bio, I can't see it being particularly harmful (that's what the rest of the microherd should be keeping in check).

 

[mad librettist]

White mold is harmless, but it's an early warning that you need more airflow. Try a gentle fan.

 

[VerdantGreen]

is there a big gap between the top of the soil and the top of the pot? - this can reduce airflow at the soil surface and allow mold to develop.

try watering from below for a while - stand the pot in a tray of water for a few minutes and let the surface dry out.

V.

 

[mad librettist]

Great advice vg! That's a lot easier than rigging up a fan.

 

[VerdantGreen]

might be worth making sure that there is better airflow down at that level anyway though

 

[big ballin 88]

might be worth making sure that there is better airflow down at that level anyway though

Air flow is the biggest contributior to keeping them away. Right now all my pots have cobweb mold and on some Trichoderma. With enough air flow these things have a hard time continuing on the surface. It hasn't hurt anything but i do think its attracted fungus gnats, its prime location for them. i just keep my cab open and let them vent during the day.

Yes i know i need a fan but i'm still in a moving stage and trying to be quiet as possible and my computer fans just died.

 

[OrganicMonkey]

I've seen this a little at bit at the bottoms, not at all sure which strain of fungus it is. Mycorrhizal fungus is brown, I didn't know that for a long time and never noticed it on roots but I see it growing on other things.

 

[CT Guy]

Just FYI, I wouldn't be smelling it next time. Better to take a photo and post it than get your nose down by it.

I sometimes get a white cottony growth on my compost when I add new food sources for the microbes (increases microbial activity), when this happens I just mix it back into the pile.

 

[guest2012y]

Definitely a must on good airflow. Fresh air in hot humid air out. Plants transpire and need to breath. Stagnate air creates conditions for molds to develop. They love stagnate,warm,and humid little places to conduct their existence. I look at the garden room as a living thing. The room is ALIVE and it needs to breath.

 

[Massproducer]

Did you top dress the bone meal or mix it into the soil. If you top dressed then it is just the microbes breaking it down to make it available to plants.

 

[The Bling]

Did you top dress the bone meal or mix it into the soil. If you top dressed then it is just the microbes breaking it down to make it available to plants.

and to the man with the least posts

this is the mycelium in your soil jumping up to break down thee bone meal and make it available to your plants is the "mold" rhizomorphic or root formed if so this is mycorrhizae YAY healthy soil don't feed it a bunch of molasses like a dummy and kill it feed it OAT BRAN that will make it happy

 

[mad librettist]

Holy jumping to conclusions batman!

 

[CT Guy]

and to the man with the least posts

this is the mycelium in your soil jumping up to break down thee bone meal and make it available to your plants is the "mold" rhizomorphic or root formed if so this is mycorrhizae YAY healthy soil don't feed it a bunch of molasses like a dummy and kill it feed it OAT BRAN that will make it happy

I disagree.

 

[mad librettist]

You probably disagree because mycorrhizae live below ground and are allergic to bonemeal.

 

[ixnay007]

What was it that fungi liked, excess P and/or K?