WTF!? Soil mold?

Anyone ever have mold growing on top of your soil medium? After battling spider mites; first, with a water and alcohol solution then, with Neem oil [successfully], I was experiencing some deficiencies with all 4 of my plants [White Widow, Space Bomb, Blue Dream, Hawaiian Big Bud] and used blood meal and bone meal to regulate them. I first flushed the plants, using these supplements mixed with the final gallon. Then, as a final measure, I spoon fed [sprinkle on top of soil] them supplements and added water. After 3 days; temps. at 75 to 80 degrees and humidity at 60% I noticed mold forming on top of the soil and the whole room no longer smells like MMJ but like mold! I tried to flush with water again but to no avail. I know cfl's don't give off much heat but I've had success with cfl's in the past. Air flow isn't exactly optimal however. Point in fact, I haven't changed my regiment from the beginning and have had a couple successful harvests. IDK what's wrong and am about to commit a mercy killing but want to be sure first. Any hope for these girls? There's also, necrotizing leaves and shoots! This is pre-problem=, this is now Any advice or help is greatly appreciated. [Any hater comments, just stay home and catch the short bus to school 'cause I ain't got time for fools!]

kinda thought so. Thx.

yeah good soil will grow mold pretty quick if its warm and damp for a while.

Lowered temps; 80 degrees down to 70-75 degrees, lowered humidity; 65-70% down to 53%, re-directed and increased air flow from floor to approx. 12" off the floor, removed 2" of bone meal infused soil from top of plants and removed all dead/dying plant matter from the plants. Seems to have done the trick! Plants are much happier and healthier and mold smell is almost gone and that sweet smell is coming back! Thx.

Humidity is to high and you might need better ventilation

How did you lower the humidity?

dlftmyers said:

Lower temp plus air circulation = lower humidity

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yes, i know i asked if he used a dehumidifier or something else...

Actually, My grow box is 2'x4'x7' with an open top and is in a small, unventilated room [entry way] that is closed off to the rest of the house by a big blanket. I simply opened the blanket while the lights are on; effectively lowering temps and creating better air flow. Temps stay at 75 degrees and humidity is a constant 51%. Don't know how else to lower the hum. any more than that w/o spending more $.

A dehumidifier would defiently work. I hear of people using rice and cat litter as well but I am still a newbie at this so I not sure if those would work or not?

If you are not growing organic, and want to kill the mold/mildew you can spray it with H2O2....Hydrogen peroxide -safe to your plants-It’s water with an extra oxygen molecule, in a 3% mix with sterile water at 97%
Spritz your issue areas if it starts to come back...
Keep soil aerated…
Good Luck in future!

Rice and cat litter? I don't see it pulling that much moisture out of the air to be effective. These are the pics of the entry way; as you can see, the thick blanket held in heat and moisture. By simply moving the blanket aside a few inches, the heat and humidity can escape while maintaining a 75 degree and 50% humidity. Aside from rice or a dehumidifier, this seems to have corrected the probs

Not necessarily organic. Why would it matter when using Hydrogen peroxide? I used a 1 to 1 solution of H2O and Isopropyl Alcohol 99% to fight spider mites (ineffective).

dont worry my soil had mould on it i just left the fan on pointing directly at my soil it cleared it up in a couple of days. just dont water it any more until dry. the plants wont be affected in anyway cus the soil holds alot of water anyway so your crop have still got something to drink

cinandme03 said:

Not necessarily organic. Why would it matter when using Hydrogen peroxide? I used a 1 to 1 solution of H2O and Isopropyl Alcohol 99% to fight spider mites (ineffective).

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H2O2 will kill living soil, thus, I would not use with an organic grow...
H2O2 is usually only 3 or 6 %....
So 97% water...
Mixing 1 to 1 with Rub Alcohol would give you a solution of 1.5% H2O2, 48.5% water, and 50% Rub Alcohol...
I use rub alcohol on my hands to clean daily before 'playing' with plants...
I've never sprayed it on my plants...and would never think of doing it...
Anyway, good luck...

could be mycellium which is a good thing for soil

Thought about mycelium, researched it and decided that it's NOT mycelium. Mycelium is stringy and this mold was more like fuzzy mold. It's gone now and plants are doing much better. I now know I over fed them and a lot of damage was caused by that.