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How to get rid of white fuzz mold?

IAmFCon

IAmFCon

Hi All,

I just set up my new Hydrofarm greenhouse, with a 7" dome, heating mat, the works. I was using the Burpee eco friendly (coir) seed starting pellets to fill the cells, but they didn't come up too high, so most of the cells I added some coffee/espresso grinds in it, plus I figure the added grinds tend to do well with most of the plants I have given them to. Silly me forgot that when damp, they tend to cause this white fuzzy mold to appear, so I'm taking the dome off for now to reduce the humidity inside.

I was just curious if anyone has ever put a top layer over it to get rid of the risk of this mold, or if anyone has any sort of fungicide they normally spray, either made from around-the-house products or otherwise. I was thinking of just putting a fine layer of sand on the top just to cover up the grinds and make sure they didn't have a chance to grow the fuzz, either that or having a watered down rubbing alcohol spray to mist the soil, but I'm open to any other ideas. Thanks ahead of time.

Frank
 
+1 on the H2O2
Some dilute the already diluted 3% solution available in any store.
As a topical, I have used it right out of the bottle, judicially applied with an eye dropper, and haven't lost a plant that was already sprouted.
 
Honestly I'm not entirely sure it will hurt the plants. It probably better to kill it just in case.

I just recently had a similar experience. I sprinkled some meal worm frass on to my jiffy pellets with that have seedlings in them. A few days later, fuzzy white mold on the base of the seedlings :rolleyes:

The plants didn't seem unhappy in any way. So I left the mold, and the plants are doing just as good or better than any other seedlings I have ever started.

The mold you want to watch out for is White Powdery Mildew. It's easy to spot as it grows in circular spots. It can kill young plants almost over night!!!
 
Thanks guys, yeah I know the white fuzz probably doesn't do much but it is rather unsightly, I don't have any sprouts yet, as they're just seeds still, and I figured they would probably be fine, I just wouldn't want to see any of it, no less in 72 cells in a mini greenhouse, lol. I may try to top it off with a small bit of sand as well, my thinking is if the sand keeps the top dry, the mold that would form at the surface where water, air and light meet (kinda like algae) wouldn't form on sand since sand is rather well draining. I'll keep you guys posted.
 
I get white fuzz mold from the coffee stir sticks I use to label my peat pellets when they are in the hot house. All I did was gently wipe it away with my finger. When I transplanted out of the hot house all the mold died off. I prefer not to use hydrogen peroxide on seedlings because I am a terrible chemist.
 
With white fuzz mold, i've heard it's harmless and you can combat it 2 ways. 
 
Scrape it off gently
 
or
 
spray with a weak chamomile tea brew. This is my go to method, coupled with letting the mold get some air. This has only happened on germinating seedlings and I just blow on it for about a minute then spray it with a chamomile tea and it's good to go. 
 
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