white mold aerogarden at base of stem

plants are doing well, just discovered that at the base of the stem there is white mold everwhere, under the circle label thing, people who have a aero should check under there, comes right off with a q tip, luckily the plant wasn't affected

Fungi are a serious plant problem, producing diseases like mildew and rust, but they also have a beneficial side. In the roots of plants, they form mycorrhizal, or symbiotic, relationships, helping plants take up nutrients from the soil and defending against other, harmful fungi and insects. This makes them useful as biological (rather than chemical) weapons in large-scale gardening, like greenhouses, forestry and food production, because chemical fungicides wipe out both bad and good fungi.