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Help, Mold advice

Pepp3rFreak

Pepp3rFreak

Hello Pepper friends, I need your help. Almost all my peppers have developed mold since my last feeding of Fish emulsion. I have all the plants in a peatpot type of product and the mold has accumulated all around these. It's a white mold, and I know many people will associate this with the soil borne fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, but I don't think it's that as it wasn't there until I used the fish emulsion/seaweed fertilizer.

I'm freaking out there as I just have a week before planting these outside!! I have fans on all the pots now as they are all very moist and I know mold thrives on moister. But what can I / Should I do?

Should I spray a coating of hydrogen peroxide around the pots? Should I just relax and pray that it goes away? Should I count my losses and throw my entire pepper collection in the garbage and give up gardening forever because I suck? Help!!

mold1.jpg

mold2.jpg




Thank you
 
It looks as if the mould is on the pots only. It will be a load of effort, but if I were you, I'd remove the pots, flush the roots and transplant them to plastic pots. Be sure to keep the moisture down. Put some sand (the kind you are using for birdcages) on top of the soil after transplanting. This'll 99.9% make it all go away, depending on the number of plants you have it will be a load of work, though. Don't try to fight the mould, it has to be removed completely.
 
That is why I don't like peat pots or clay pot for that matter....they tend to beoome moldy when growing indoors....I would replant into plastic (plastic cups with some holes in the bottom work nicely) containers...when you do mix some garden charcoal (available at the garden center) into the soil...it is a natural mold and fungus deterrent.
 
it's the peat pots fault! this looks like what i saw last year with my eggplant in peat pots, the fertilizer probably just gave the mold lots of yummy food to thrive on but the peat pots just stay too moist by nature.
i agree with chiliac, i tried to fight the mold last year and lost half my eggplant in the battle. peel off the peat and stick with plastic, i only see one tiny root peaking through the peat so they'll bounce back. best of luck!
 
I had that problem last year with peat pots. By the time I noticed it, it was transplanting time anyway, into the ground. All the plants did great.
 
Thank you'll for your kind advice! Perhaps if I just ignored this there wouldn't have been a problem as it's almost transplanting time, much like Poisonette's experience, but I tend to freak out and I had to do something.

I've now taken the 72 plants that had the mold on the outside of their containers and put them in plastic trays. I'm now done with peat and even peat-free tree huger type of stuff, which is what this these things were, and I'm sicking to plain old plastic trays from now on.


Thank you!!
 
Yep! I'm done with peat too! The plants that I'd thinned into plastic are far healthier! I just hate plastic and washing pots!
 
I have my plants in plastic pots and when I use a fish emulsion, one or two pots start getting mold. I scrape it off and try to keep the plants in the sun as much as I can until the mold stops growing. (If the outside temp is warm enough)
 
your seedlings look healthy enough. don't worry about it. maybe you have been overwatering a tad but if you've only got a week before you transplant I don't think you should be overly concerned. if you think the fish emulsion is to blame then stop using it for the time being or dilute it even further next season.
 
corn meal works well on the mold...Pam gave me that bit of information when I had mold/fungus problems about 2 months ago...totally took care of it...
 
Fish emulsion like any organic water soluble fertilizer should be mixed up(half strength) and used right away. Don't let it sit around between waterings.
Cornmeal or baking soda should help correct your problem
 
Thank you for the tips all! I know it was the fish emulsion mixture doing it happened before to some plants, I think it was my fault though as I mixed it a little too strong :(

But in the future this happens again I'll definitely try the cornmeal or baking soda tips, Thanks!!
 
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