Moldy soil -- Can my plants be saved?? - Ask Extension
I planted tomatoes in containers and now the soil is moldy. What should I do?
Here's the larger story. I ordered plants and they came to me looking gr...
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Moldy soil -- Can my plants be saved?? #557706
Asked May 02, 2019, 1:05 PM EDT
I planted tomatoes in containers and now the soil is moldy. What should I do?
Here's the larger story. I ordered plants and they came to me looking great. It took me a little over a week to plant them. I repurposed cloth bins to plant them, with a lot of holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. I potted them last Friday and then heard the forecast of heavy damaging winds, so decided to keep them in the basement. I also found that there wasn't quite as much potting soil as I had thought in each container and topped them off with some that was left over from last year and had been stored outside. Today is the first day I haven't worked since planting them and I finally got around to taking them outside. There is mold on the soil of every plant. I also used this potting mix to transplant seedlings I had started....They are also moldy. So, are the plants redeemable? Or have I lost everything? Should I go buy more potting soil and replant? Will the sun kill off the mold?
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
Hi- love the cloth bins! Fabric grow bags are getting quite popular.
The mold you observe will not affect your tomato plants. Fungal spores are flying around in large numbers this time of year and some found just the right conditions to grow in. The mold will disappear in time or you can gently rake it out if it's bothering you.
Jon
The mold you observe will not affect your tomato plants. Fungal spores are flying around in large numbers this time of year and some found just the right conditions to grow in. The mold will disappear in time or you can gently rake it out if it's bothering you.
Jon