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PLEASE HELP! possible moldy/mite infested dirt

R.I.P. Overgrow

R.I.P. Overgrow

Member
Hello,

I mixed a batch of moonshine mix organic soil about 8 days ago. I used 1/2 and put the other half in storage. I know that after a week beneficial bacteria are activated in the soil, but are they visible?

I just opened the container today, and it appears to have a sort of cob web like moldy structure forming on the top of the soil. I checked, and it appears to only be on the surface. they look like patches of white cob webbing. Could that be spider mites or mold? or is that (hopefully) the beneficial bacteria?


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guest2012y

guest2012y

Living with the soil
Veteran
I personally wouldn't enclose any soil to "cook". leave the top off and get it some air. Don't worry about soil mites unless they are crawling up out of the pots by the hundreds.
No,you can't see bacteria unless you have a microscope.
 
CannaExists

CannaExists

Paint Your DreamStrain
Veteran
Being that you "opened" the soil, that must mean you had it closed. Not only do you want the lid off at all times but drilling holes in the container is ideal. My soil had a terribly stagnant smell because it was damp and my tote had no airholes, what I did was lay the soil out on a tarp for a few days to dry/ air out, and the odor was neautralized. And of course I drilled some air holes into the container before I put the soil back in.

As mad lib said in a post, mold in your soil isn't harmful, it's just a messenger that your soil is too wet/not aerated well enough.
 
mad librettist

mad librettist

Active member
Veteran
well hang on you can see bacteria without a scope if enough of them are in the same place. Like the slime in air ducts.
 
guest2012y

guest2012y

Living with the soil
Veteran
mad librettist said:
well hang on you can see bacteria without a scope if enough of them are in the same place. Like the slime in air ducts.
Click to expand...
Come on now Mad.....I know I can see blobs of bacteria...but not like on a gawd damned Sea Monkey's kit. They aren't individually visible little guys you can squint real hard at and have them wave back at you......,but as a mass of whatever...yes.
 
Clackamas Coot

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
Capt.Cheeze1 said:
...but not like on a gawd damned Sea Monkey's kit
Click to expand...
I always saw the ads for those kits in the back of comic books but I never ordered it.

I did order the x-ray glasses in the next ad on the same page. They didn't work as advertised much to my disappointment.

CC
 
guest2012y

guest2012y

Living with the soil
Veteran
Clackamas Coot said:
I always saw the ads for those kits in the back of comic books but I never ordered it.

I did order the x-ray glasses in the next ad on the same page. They didn't work as advertised much to my disappointment.

CC
Click to expand...
We bought the Sea Monkey's kit. They were Brine Shrimp and didn't drive cars or wave at you......kind of let us down at 10 years old. Bastards......the same guys that sell you "Thunderbudz" or whatever that crap is.
 
InPotiTrust

InPotiTrust

Member
R.I.P. Overgrow U can have the container covered just make sure u keep turning it every few days....thats why your seeing that web means it's past time to turn it....I keep a lid on mine so i can know how fast every things breaking down as water collects on the lid....
 
mad librettist

mad librettist

Active member
Veteran
Capt.Cheeze1 said:
Come on now Mad.....I know I can see blobs of bacteria...but not like on a gawd damned Sea Monkey's kit. They aren't individually visible little guys you can squint real hard at and have them wave back at you......,but as a mass of whatever...yes.
Click to expand...


yes that's true. I was being facetious. We would not want to see bacteria so dominant they leave visible patches. I don't think so anyway.

that mold is not bacteria. but take heart! it's not all kinds of crazy colors. good sign.

There is a protozoan that can be seen with naked eye...


OP, please take the advice to let that soil breathe. Even better if you can - keep something alive in it, like rye, clover, radishes, etc...
 
Zendo

Zendo

Member
Clackamas Coot said:
I always saw the ads for those kits in the back of comic books but I never ordered it.

I did order the x-ray glasses in the next ad on the same page. They didn't work as advertised much to my disappointment.

CC
Click to expand...

Man, I always wanted those glasses!! Good to hear I didn't miss out on anything..
 
redneck shogun

redneck shogun

Member
mad librettist said:
OP, please take the advice to let that soil breathe. Even better if you can - keep something alive in it, like rye, clover, radishes, etc...
Click to expand...

This is a great idea that I just started recently doing. There are plants in the legume family that contribute to nitrogen fixation from the atmosphere. I bet there are a multitude of benefits to this practice other than fixing nitrogen in the soil. Personally I've been using alfalfa on all my recycled mix while I am out of the game until the summer is over. I don't know if it is essential because I just started doing it, but I made sure there was plenty of greensand in the mix because alfalfa is a potassium hog.
 
fishwater

fishwater

Member
Isnt that mold just the benificial mychorzia growing? I bought some myco/bacteria stuff and mixed in my soil, used half and left the rest covered in a tub. I open it once a week and give it a little liquid karma and it has a lot of myco growing. I have used some of the soil for a few things and it works great.

I wouldnt get excited about it, it is probably a good thing.....
 
HeD333

HeD333

Active member
fishwater said:
Isnt that mold just the benificial mychorzia growing? I bought some myco/bacteria stuff and mixed in my soil, used half and left the rest covered in a tub. I open it once a week and give it a little liquid karma and it has a lot of myco growing. I have used some of the soil for a few things and it works great.

I wouldnt get excited about it, it is probably a good thing.....
Click to expand...

This. I've used (organic) soil with that same sort of inoculation stuff on the top with great results. Don't worry too much, imo.
 
CannaExists

CannaExists

Paint Your DreamStrain
Veteran
fishwater said:
Isnt that mold just the benificial mychorzia growing? I bought some myco/bacteria stuff and mixed in my soil, used half and left the rest covered in a tub. I open it once a week and give it a little liquid karma and it has a lot of myco growing. I have used some of the soil for a few things and it works great.

I wouldnt get excited about it, it is probably a good thing.....
Click to expand...

As far as I know, Myco spores only germinate in the presence of plant roots. So while what you're seeing could be beneficial fungi, it isn't myco. Of course if I'm wrong I'm up for someone like MicrobeMan squashing me like a fucking bug.

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