Hey all
Apologies in advance if this is not in the correct category - If needed I can move this to a different section, please let me know!
I’m facing a problem with what I believe to be mold. Yesterday, I noticed mold beginning to form on my fabric pots. I spent 12 hours tearing apart the entire tent, wiping and sanatizing all of the surfaces, and creating brand new stands for my plants to sit on to provide drainage.
After that, I used 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed with RO water (at about 1:9 ratio). I sprayed the pots down with the solution and made sure to get every nook and cranny possible, while leaving the plants in the pots. I (very lightly) sprayed the surface of the coco coir with the solution mix as well. I provided the plants with extra airflow overnight and gave them a VERY light watering this morning - almost no runoff present. I had added hydrogen peroxide to my water/nutrient mix, as I understand this is a method used to kill mold in the rootzone, and in the pot/within the actual medium (coco). I again used the same ratio - 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 9 parts RO water.
The plants continued to receive excellent ventilation. I came back about 6 hours later to check in on them, and noticed that some of the mold has reappeared. It doesn’t look awful, but it’s significantly worse than I was expecting. I was expecting to see a little bit of mold reappear.
I’m wondering if my best course of action is to completely remove the plants from the pots and transplant to separate pots. If so, I should get some coco coir buffering. It looks like most people recommend to just keep watering the plants with hydrogen peroxide in the mix, as well as verifying temperature, humidity and airflow are all within parameter. I’d hate to allow this problem to kill my plants, at the same time I know it would be a massive pain in the ass to have to remove these plants from their existing pots to transplant to new pots.
Thanks in advance!!
Kenny
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going to always get mold just a matter of how much and type and how if it affects your plants. would recommend using ZeroTol® HC or something of the like. I would look at lowering the humidity of the space they live in, mold and fungus like cool temperature and humidity match or the humidity is higher than the temperature, if you have good/fresh reputable genetics and its not actively gowning on the plants should be fine. just my opinion. best of luck.
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Thank you for your advice!! My main concern was that it may go on for long enough to the point where I’d have to completely scrap my existing plants and start over again. I’m happy to hear that you don’t believe this is a detrimental issue.
Just to make sure I understand - are you saying that, with each grow, small amounts of mold is just to be expected?
I was able to wipe away the mold once again, using a damp wash cloth with the water/hydrogen peroxide mix. I now have a few additional fans pushing lots of air around - particularly at the bottom of the tent, where the plant pots live.
Thanks again, happy growing!
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It really depend on a lot of things, it looks like PLM, but with out a microscope you cant really be sure , could also be nutrients ( synthetic salts crystals) witch can form on the outside of fabric pots, again cant really be sure from a picture, a microscope would be your friend here, if you don’t already have one you might want to invest in a jewelers loop can be had for <$10USD on amazon. If it is some kind of mildew or fungi it could be on your plant but if your plant is growing correctly and the genetics and all other things are with in parameters it may not be able to propagate on your plant. with are your lights on/off temps and RH?
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Also, noticed you dont have a grow journal, you should make one and post all about your personal journey! and everyone on here can also enjoy it and learn together!
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I dont like those fabric pots. I have like 150 of those. Now i only use the plastic grow bags. They hold moisture longer if forget to water. And i have tried every type of pot, media you can think. I use promix-hp when i grow like soil. I have used soil, coco coir, tupur media. I also grow in auto pots and Rwdc hydroponics.
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Hey man!
I have a jewelers loop! Is it pretty obvious when looking at it with 60x magnification? I’d love to check it to verify that it is mold, maybe it’s nutrient salts!
I just got a new light two days ago - when I noticed the potential mold. With the new light, I am currently running at about 79 degrees Fahrenheit during lights on. My controller keeps humidity in the appropriate range to keep me between .90 and 1.10 VPD. During lights off, it sits around 71 degrees Fahrenheit. The old light ran a couple degrees cooler - 77 degrees Fahrenheit during lights on, around 70 degrees lights off. If it’s helpful to know, I can check the logs on my controller to get you better estimates on what the humidity has been running at so you have actual numbers.
My controller alerts me if humidity goes above 78% and it rarely has so far. It also alerts me for temps above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which has happened once or twice but it’s been sitting pretty steadily at 74-78 degrees Fahrenheit.
Today, I’m running the tent with the door open and a box fan blowing air around the actual fabric pots themselves, so temps have been closer to 71 degrees with around 60% rh.
Anyways - I will wait to hear back from you about viewing the spots with the jewelers loop, right now I am not overly concerned as the white spots have not yet reappeared (then again, I have not watered since my last update here), and I feel I’m doing everything I can except moving the plants to brand new pots.
I will start a grow journal!! That’s a great idea, I did not originally notice this feature!
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Do you dislike the fabric pots primarily because they are less forgiving with watering? Or is there something about these pots that allows mold and fungus to more easily grow?
It seems like my fabric pots are holding water almost too well - then again, I am very inexperienced with growing cannabis - I currently have the door open with a box fan circulating air around the fabric pots in a way that is preventing wind from crashing into the plants themselves. That is a “today only” thing. My coco coir is drying a little quicker than normal - I’m okay with that because my goal is to remove mold if there is any. 
I will check the pots and the promix-hp - thanks for the recommendations!
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I find the pots have a few issues. If they dry out there hard to rewet. And it air prunes the plants roots. There easier for fungus gnats to breed in. If there holding water too well you could be over watering. Or watering to soon in between waterings. Learn the feel the weight of the plant when its dryer and when it been watered. Looking at the soil visually is a bad idea and Feeling the weight every time you water will help you develop better watering habits. And knowing when the plants ready for more water. Some people like the fabric pots. Some dont. I have been growing since 98’ and have had a chance to try just about everything you can get for growing plants. And I like i can store like 500 grow bags in a drawer. Buy them on amazon days for low cost buys to stockbup the inventory.
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Couldn’t agree more, though not. fan of plastic, I like the FloraFlex Quickfill pots.
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sounds like your VPD is dialed in. personally I’m not a fan of thouse fancy systems as a lot can go wrong and you potentially have little/limited control. I’ve never used one so my option is bias as I’m not a fan of AI/Automation. I tend to run my humidity low as I’ve seen first had how fast and devastating things can get if mold/fungus takes hold, it happens so fast you can go to bed and the next light on cycle it can be everywhere. If your really concerned I would recommend stating a well documented/strict IPM regiment. a good place to start would be to read a book about it I’ve read this one its great (but I already knew all this from experience unfortunaty). Two products I like are Zerotol HC and Lost coast plant therapy.
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This is exactly why i dont use humidity domes when i clone. The acclimation process for the plants under the dome is a pia! You have to slowly let them get used to the natural humidty or they can dry up in an instant. Now i clone to the enviroment the plants came from and already live in that environment. And i have zero issues now and the plants are stronger.
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Ez-Clone(er) all the way, to me its worth the investment. I get 100% success rate with them.
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I don’t dislike them, not all are created equal. I will say the the quality of the coco coir (my preferred grow medium) can vary greatly IE buffered/unbuffered how many times its washed particle size, all can affect water and feed schedule.
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My two cents is this. It might be harmful and it might not. Do you use an innoculant in your soil or when you are watering? It very well may just be beneficial fungus growing on the damp sides of the fabric. My pots when it is nutrient salts don’t look like that at all, it is a crusty whitesh/cream colored blotches.
And a little story, just started some new plants for the outside season about a month ago. Put billions in the starter cowpots. I set them on a autopot matt watering system and it wicks from the bottom. the pots were damp about halfway up and they were just covered in mycellium from the beneficial fungus I put in on purpose.
Show us a picture of the plants, can’t tell anything from just the pot.
Marty
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Indeed bro needs a detailed journal 
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Hello
Thanks for your insight into this! That makes sense, I can’t believe I overlooked actually including a picture of the plants. The plants themselves seem to be doing wonderfully!
I am not currently using an inoculant product, however I just purchased some
Mycorrhizal Fungi online and was wondering if I can retroactively add this. I’m sure it’s likely too late, if this is in fact bad bacteria, but I just learned about it and wanted to get it right away.
I am planning to research to see if it is possible to add after the fact, I assume I can incorporate it into the water that I feed the plants.
I checked the plants today to see how they’re doing and the pots look significantly worse. The runoff water is looking very cloudy. This happened last Friday, when I initially found the problem. I have not used any hydrogen peroxide over the past two days but I was cleaning the outside of the pots with it, as well as incorporating it into the water itself.
I have reduced watering significantly and confirmed airflow is good.
At this point, if these were your plants, what would be the steps you’d take to rectify the situation? I am concerned that this growth will become worse throughout the flowering stage, and I am still planning at least 1 more week in veg.
Thanks in advance!
Kenny
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I meant to add that the growth on the bottom of the pots do not have any smell to them that I am able to detect, I understand if this was mold it would likely smell very musky or earthy.
Just wanted to throw that out there!
I have three fresh 5 gallon pots that I am able to transplant these plants into if needed. I see that I cannot use my inoculant effectively if it’s not placed at the root zone, this may give me a good excuse to do so. I do not want to disturb the plants if you do not think this is beneficial.
Thanks in advance, I am looking forward to learning and growing!
Kenny
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My take is you are just fine. No PM on your plants. I see you have one of your fans blowing on the bottom of the pots. They are drooping slightly which our girls will do if they are a little too wet. Personally I would just water a little less and more often, let the girls drink up the water in the bottom of the pots.
Marty
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