Saturday 29 March 2008

Fluffy pots...

Quick question for a Saturday morning, does anyone know why this happens? A lot of my seedlings have developed a distinctly fluffy covering to the compost. It doesn't seem to be harming the plants themselves but I'd like to know why it happens none the less... Any ideas?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Probably mould. If the compost's very wet and cool, you get fluffy white moulds sometimes. Be careful: this can kill seedlings!

Anonymous said...

I think soilman is right. I used to have this problem occasionally when I overwatered a bit. Now that I keep the air moving in the growing area of my basement (with a small fan or two), I haven't had any problems.

Wonderful site by the way. Happy to have discovered you!

Deborah

Paul and Melanie said...

Cheers guys, I'll try to keep things a bit dryer and warmer from now on (I do tend to enthuiasitcly water at times...)

And thanks Deborah, glad you like the blog :)

Paul

vegmonkey said...

it's called 'damping off.' If the seedlings look weak, might be worth repotting the to ensure they survive

I might be getting an allotment soon :)

chey said...

Great site! I agree...sounds like mold. I get it on my daylily seedling pots if I water too much. I rake up the top layer of soil with a fork and let it dry out. Works well. Cheers!

Nome said...

Having that problem with my tomato seedlings in toilet rolls too, but careful watering and plenty of ventilation seems to keep it in check. Might be worth putting a fan in the room to increase the airflow, or just putting them outside whenever you can :)

Anonymous said...

I have to say, I'm really glad that you asked about this. My houseplants have this same problem, and I had never encountered it before anywhere else I lived. I've repotted my plants and moved them to a sunny windowsill, which seems to be doing the trick.