MOLD ON TOP LAYER of SOIL NEAR HARVEST!!!!1

oneandonly420

Well-Known Member
AHHHHH!!!! Mold!!!!!!! today i came home and one of my ladies has what looks like beginning signs of mold. my soil is still mosit. hasnt been watered in 2 days. the soil has white covering the top. its not on the plant or lower branches. i have dug the top layer of soil off and repositioned my fans for better air flow. after soil drys out a bit more i will replace soil i have removed with new soil. any other advice/input im within a couple weeks from completion dont want to screw up now. HELP!!!
 

potorlando

Well-Known Member
Dude, not sure. Someone will help, I'd change as much soil as you can, if you don't see any more mold, just cover with vermiculite or perlite and hopefully you'll be aright till flowering, but I just had mold problems during seeding stage.... I remember I changed the top layer of dirt, watered with a little Hydrogen peroxide, then covered with vermiculite and everything was ok..... air flow should help alot.
 

highwayman

Well-Known Member
i alwas have that top layer of white stuff on the top.. i don't really mind it because it come back every time i plant.. i don't think letting it dry out helps.. i haven't really had a problem with it so i haven't really tried to fix it.. if you are worried i'd just put a top layer of sand or really small gravel over the top of the soil.. that should choke out anything major..
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
Sounds like you have drainage issues too after reading that your dirt is still pretty wet after 2 days. To improve drainage you can still take the steps you mentioned but if possible transplant into a bigger pot with fast draining soil mix combined with perlite, sand, vermiculite, whatever underneath and along the sides of the existing soil withing the new pot. This way you won't disturbing the existing root mass too much causing stress to your baby/babies.

Next when watering, concentrate on the original root ball then wait a while and if needed water along the sides. The new soil should help to wick away moisture from the original root ball, improving drainage in the process and helping with drying out your soil faster.

Watch closely for a repeat situation and if that's still happening then lighten up on the amount of water your give your plants. Wait for the soil to dry out good between waterings.

A little h2o2 mixed in to kill crap may help with the mold problem? You can search in the forums for such measure and see where/how this might be beneficial. Also cleaning your grow area/box/room may help to slow down or stop the repeat of mold growth. The last thing you want is mold on your bud. Watch the humidity levels too which mold just loves.

Good luck with your grow !!! :mrgreen:
 

1ht1der

Well-Known Member
Had same problem at seedling stages.. transplanted and changed out all new soil, fixed problem.
 

NL#5inmycloset

Active Member
is the peroxide bad for anything inb the plant i would almost assume it better for roots seeins as extra oxygen? maybe kinda high?
 

Silky Shagsalot

Well-Known Member
h2o2 will clear it up but it will also kill any bennies in your medium so you'll have to re-apply any you've been using.
 

nunof

Well-Known Member
H2O2 is just H2O with an extra Oxygen molecule attached. Its slightly unstable and the extra Oxygen molecules break off to create O2, this is forcing oxygenation in your water. H2o2 should be added to a seperate volume of water and allowed to sit for 20 minutes before adding to the plant. The majority of the O2 will be chemically released by the H2o2 by that point. (In high enough concentration, h2o2 will burn off the epeidermis of the roots, exposing it to attack by pathogens and damging fine root hairs). 100ppm is required to kill pythium in solution. This level also adversely affects small plants. Of course, organics and beneficial bacteria in additives will also be destroyed.
 

Quickset

Well-Known Member
If you go the h2o2 route and your into organic growing then use the food grade (aka industrial grade) versus pharmacy brands which contain other chemicals. The food grade is also generally of stronger potency and will have to be diluted before using. A 3% h2ho / 97% h2o mixture is what your after. Do your homework before proceeding here as a mix stonger than 3% is NG!

You're almost ready to harvest so do as you said and get rid of the top layer with mold and add some new soil in. The mold may have come with your soil and you may get the same thing when using that soil in future grows as well as re-intoducing mold spores into your current grow.
 
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