Soil growing seeing mold on soil

I am just growing basil and strawberry plants right now while I build my room.

The space these are growing in right now is a bay window sill that doesn't open.


Is this cheap soil, over watering? No air movement? Something else?

It is white surface mold on the top of the soil and outside of jetty pots.

Is it normal? Don't want to ruin my first grow so if this is the soil or my watering it would be good to know now.

could you post some pics please?

till it in,, consider using some Azamax

Tim Fox said:

till it in,, consider using some Azamax

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You thinking it may be mites? You could be right.
take a close look see what you can..
Tim may be right, that never crossed my thoughts. Mite webs are white.

Bear420 said:

You thinking it may be mites? You could be right.
take a close look see what you can..
Tim may be right, that never crossed my thoughts. Mite webs are white.

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wasnt really thinking mites,, if you had those you would see white specs on leaves,,, but what mold usually starts is a system in the soil where therps and other bugs can thrive,, azamaz is safe, and would knock what ever bad eco is going on,, its a preventative measure more so

cheap soil, too much water, fungus growing on topsoil will attract fungus gnats.
water only when pots are dry, about 1/4 the pot volume in water each time

Bear420 said:

You thinking it may be mites? You could be right.
take a close look see what you can..
Tim may be right, that never crossed my thoughts. Mite webs are white.

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mites make webs around the outside of wet pots and on the surface of wet soil ?

Tim Fox said:

wasnt really thinking mites,, if you had those you would see white specs on leaves,,, but what mold usually starts is a system in the soil where therps and other bugs can thrive,, azamaz is safe, and would knock what ever bad eco is going on,, its a preventative measure more so

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Well we are all just guessing at this time until we see some pics, it is just grasping at straws.

Powdery mildew fungus infects the living tissue of wild or cultivated strawberry plants. Development of infection is favored by dry conditions, moderate to high humidity and temperatures ranging between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. However, moisture from rain, irrigation or dew may inhibit the fungus. Spores may be carried by wind to infect neighboring plants, so even if you plant disease-free seeds or transplants, it is possible for infection to occur after planting.

Powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) infects strawberry plant leaves, flowers and fruit. Early signs of infection include small white patches of powdery fungus growing on the undersides of the leaves. When conditions are favorable, the white patches expand and merge until the entire underside of the leaves is covered. The edges of heavily infected leaves may curl upward and dark round structures may appear. These are called cleistothecia and are white initially, but turn black as they mature. Powdery mildew also infects flowers, which may produce deformed fruit as a result. If the fungus infects older fruit, you may see fuzzy growth on the seeds.

Bear420 said:

Well we are all just guessing at this time until we see some pics, it is just grasping at straws.

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not really guessing, more like eliminating possibilities. Like we know those are not mite webs on the outside of the pot and on the top soil because mites dont do that.

Facts
No air flow
shitty soil
mold on pots and soil
little experience
problem is solved when he corrects these issues.

I actually grabbed one of the pots and walked into one of our nurseries and asked.

It is fungus due to humidity/air flow/over watering.

As someone stated earlier I will be watering less and adding some air circulation to lower the humidity.

Thanks everyone

Well you sure don't want that around. those spores will go everywhere. and infect other plants,

MJCanada said:

I actually grabbed one of the pots and walked into one of our nurseries and asked.

It is fungus due to humidity/air flow/over watering.

As someone stated earlier I will be watering less and adding some air circulation to lower the humidity.

Thanks everyone

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chemphlegm said:

cheap soil, too much water, fungus growing on topsoil will attract fungus gnats.
water only when pots are dry, about 1/4 the pot volume in water each time

Click to expand...

chemphlegm said:

mites make webs around the outside of wet pots and on the surface of wet soil ?

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I've seen a hole pot covered with webs before, most likely a small infestation will grow around the bud and in the stem area, not the pot area unless they are really bad, but that seems not to be the problem.
btw I was just replying to what Tim said, that could be a possibility.
I am not here to argue with anyone. I seen nobody posted so I thought I would. Then everyone chimes in.

Get some 3% peroxide, dilute 50% and spray it on. Those jetty pots are the compressed peat ones are they? Total crap and always get mold growing on them, dry out way too fast so you have to water too much.

OldMedUser said:

Get some 3% peroxide, dilute 50% and spray it on. Those jetty pots are the compressed peat ones are they? Total crap and always get mold growing on them, dry out way too fast so you have to water too much.

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Ya it is compressed peat.

This was just for basil and strawberries. I am almost set up for my grow but I figured I would learn on something less important

Good plan! Get plastic pots for the good stuff. Got to be careful with those fabric bags too as cheap ones are crap and you end up with fibers from them all over your buds. Plastic smart pots would be a better choice IMO. I just use plastic pots and drill extra holes in the bottom. I also go thru 4 or 5 pot changes for regular plants and cut the bottom inch off the rootball each time to promote lots of fine roots all thru the pots.

Fungus on top the soil in open air is usually not a bad sign in soil grow. Anaerobic type bad shit likes to grow in no air movement stale wet nasty conditions and they most likely will not expose themselves to the open air up top. It wouldn't be bad stuff up above exposed to air, it would be air loving good guys, and the reason usually is, it's too wet down there and gross so the good guys have migrated to where it's rich in o2 where they thrive. It's when you notice some slimy mold shit has taken hold on the bottom of the stem or some powdery mildew mold type shit on the leaves I'd worry. So too wet is my conclusion as well as others have already stated but not necessarily a harmful fungi. just opinoin. Good luck.

I just found some mold on the top of my soil…mainly stemming from 4-4-4 top dressing nutrients. It’s a grow I’ve had some perplexing issues with so I’m treating it experimentally and just drenched them with straight 3% H2O2. Thoughts on what I’ve just done?

It's most likely mycelium, If you got an organic soil. If that's the case, it's a good thing. Would be more helpful with pics though.