<\/span><\/h2>\nPotting soil can become moldy when fungal spores find optimal conditions for germination on its surface. Fungal spores are actually present everywhere in our air, so in principle, mold can always occur.<\/p>\n
But some factors favor or inhibit the development of mold<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n- High humidity<\/strong>: This is promoted by wet, poorly ventilated potting soils. Cheaper soils of fine black peat or soils with too high a compost content are therefore more often affected. High-quality, structurally stable, and loose soils such as Plantura organic soils are far less susceptible to mold.<\/li>\n
- Warm temperatures<\/strong>: Most molds feel particularly comfortable in damp heat and multiply more quickly.
\nIncorrect storage: Sometimes potting soil molds already in the package. This does not necessarily have anything to do with poor quality, but with the condensation that forms on the film. Then small, harmless mycelium nests can appear at the air holes of the foil.<\/li>\n- Organic substance<\/strong>: Any largely organic substrate can sooner or later be decomposed, collapse, and thus create optimal conditions for mold. This applies to compost as well as to bark humus, wood fiber, or peat.<\/li>\n
- By the way<\/strong>: The age or the storage period of the potting soil does not really have anything to do with the formation of mold. Also, the mold spores do not necessarily have to come from the soil, since they are found everywhere in the air.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"mold](\"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/mold-on-potting-soil.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Tip: However, if a large part of an unopened bag is infused with fungal mycelium, this is definitely a reason for the complaint. Because in this case the earth was obviously produced by the manufacturer under bad conditions or stored wrongly by the dealer.<\/div><\/div>\n
<\/span>How can you prevent mold on potting soil?<\/span><\/h2>\nMold on potting soil can be prevented by storing open and closed bags of soil properly and by regularly repotting, especially indoor plants. It is also important to use high-quality, structurally stable, and loose substrates.<\/p>\n
\n- Store your soils protected from the weather, dark and cool.<\/li>\n
- Repot plants in tubs and pots regularly, at the latest when the old soil appears to have collapsed and is no longer loose.<\/li>\n
- Use high-quality potting soils, which, thanks to wood fiber, perlite, and expanded clay, sink less quickly and remain loose.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Tip: Heavily molded potting soil should only be used in the garden and not in the house.<\/div><\/div>\n
![\"potting](\"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/potting-soil-mold-medium.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>How to get rid of mold on potting soil?<\/span><\/h2>\nThis can be done to get rid of mold on potting soil<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n- Sufficient ventilation of living spaces – this helps against any kind of mold in the house.<\/li>\n
- Allow your plants a bright place – this is where mold feels less comfortable.<\/li>\n
- Let the surface of the soil dry out regularly. Drying can be accelerated by roughening it with a fork. Water more often from below over the coaster.<\/li>\n
- Remove the moldy layer of soil and spread a layer of sand on the pot surface. This dries particularly quickly. This will stop further spreading.
\nIf the infestation is already very strong, the entire soil must be replaced. Rinse the old substrate with lukewarm water from the roots and pot the plant in a new container with fresh, high-quality potting soil.<\/li>\n - For some plants, sand, perlite, or coconut fiber can also be mixed in. These include, for example, carnivores, cacti, and succulents.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Tip: Household remedies against mold in potting soil: Vinegar water, dishwashing detergent, salts, mold fighting cleaning products, or similar are not an option if potting soil is moldy. They could change the soil chemistry and thus damage the plant. Possible household remedies, however, are watering with chamomile tea or sprinkling the pot surface with cinnamon powder. Both have a certain effect, but will only bring short-term relief if nothing else is done to combat the mold in the flower pot.<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If potting soil is moldy, the soil was not necessarily contaminated. Much more often, storage conditions, watering behavior, or the composition of the potting soil are the causes of mold in the flower pot. Whether peat or peat substitute, fresh or old potting soil, long open or freshly opened sacks – every potting soil molds…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[552],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardender.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}