FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

just came back from work and noticed some mold growing on top of one of my seedling containers. the media itself (peat perlite) is just a little moist and the containers is standing in an open area. so i have no idea how it got there, but i do know that i want to get rid of it asap.

previously i had some white fluffy mold which i removed with tweezers and it never came back, but this is a low spreading kind of mold and is also growing between the seedlings, so i wont be albe to tweezer it out of there.

so is there any way to remove it?

Do you have a picture of the mold? I've had a similar problem where mold was overtaking one of my seedlings. I used a q-tip very slightly dipped in 70% isopropyl alcohol and just tried to swab most of the mold only. Needless to say mold gone, seedling survived. Problem solved.

If it's white fluffy type of mold, you can get rid of it easily with a fungicide (anything but copper based)

thanks for the help, have been a little busy the last few days so i couldnt reply. i had placed the container in a slightly colder room with a little less light and sprayed the soil from the top, around 80% of the mold gone in 2 days. for the other mold thats still in there i'll try to look for a plant friendly fungicide.

so its been a week now and i gave up on that batch of seeds, i finally got rid of the mold but then aglue started to kick in and the seeds havent germinated in like a month so i dont think they will.

i have really no idea what im doing wrong, they are being kept at room temperature (+/-20C) are getting 6500K 75W Led light at 2-3 inches above the soil, and get fresh rainwater. i have used the tray method for this batch because i heard it was supposed to be better then the spray method.

but i wanted to give growing seeds inside one more shot, so i got some dried sphagnum moss which i was storing outside in freezing temperatures to makes sure it would kill any bacteria that would still be in there, i cut it up and put it on a plate, added some rainwater and let it soak in. took a few minutes before it was all good and moist before sprinkling the seeds on top. it was looking really well, untill i checked it again this morning (i set it up this friday). so its only been 2 days since i had set it up and there is already mold forming on top of the sphagnum, this really suprised me, i have no idea at all what im doing wrong and im |---| <--- that close to giving up on growing seeds indoor during winter.

so im hoping that someone here could explain to me whats happening, what im doing wrong and what i can do to save my seeds.


the setup


the first mold after 2 days (this morning)

Increase air flow and fungus can not grow. It's better to leave them completly uncovered than to have any fungus. Move them somewhere more open for better air flow.

What seeds are you trying to germinate? A month is not enough for many CP seeds. Algae is more of an eyesore than a problem for seeds unless it gets extremely bad.

I sometimes use similar CFLs to germinate seeds. With a reflector, 12" would be fine.

I have come across new LFSM with a TDS of 100. It might be helpful to give yours a soak and rinse before using it to discourage early algae growth.

the seeds are drosera capensis, capensis red and capensis alba.

im keeping them completely uncoverd, but i gues that there is not enough airflow. will try to get my hands on a small fan and see if it helps.

and if aglue is no problem i'll keep those other pots and see if they will still germinate.

Many bacterial species and fungal spores can survive freezing temperatures.

You are better off boiling or microwaving your LFSM to prevent this.

Well im done, came back today only to find out the sphagnum was completely coverd mold. No idea how or why but i suppose there is nothing more i can do.

Will cover up the plate and place it in the fridge, hopefully the seeds will survive in there till spring.

erikHIplants wrote:Many bacterial species and fungal spores can survive freezing temperatures.

You are better off boiling or microwaving your LFSM to prevent this.

Right here is probably going to be the most helpful tip.

I also treat my LFSM to a soak in diluted hydrogen peroxide before I sow seeds. Sometimes I'll even mist the surface after I sow the seeds before they germinate.

Prepping materials that are going to be stored is key to success. This goes for stratification, germination, and winter dormancy in some cases.

Also make sure you're clearing the air out of the cover at least once a day.

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I do sometimes mist them with a diltue Hydrogen peroxide but I don't like microwaving it. It seems to break it down more quickly, and with peat? Microwaved peat smells BAD

HeliamphoraWalnut wrote:I do sometimes mist them with a diltue Hydrogen peroxide but I don't like microwaving it. It seems to break it down more quickly, and with peat? Microwaved peat smells BAD

I never microwave peat for that reason. I primarily boil my LFSM, algae and mold have yet to be seen for months in sealed containers.

I've tried to get away from germinating with peat, so as far as prepping it I'm not the person to ask. I've always had nothing but problems with it, usually mold that wipes the whole batch out. I have far better success with germinating in LFSM.



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I wish i could get my hands on some LFSM here in the netherlands, all i have is peat moss and some self grown live sphagnum moss.

Aozora wrote:I wish i could get my hands on some LFSM here in the netherlands, all i have is peat moss and some self grown live sphagnum moss.

How well do you wash your peat?