Ok, here's the deal. Last weekend I mixed up my organic soil mix so as to "cook" it a few weeks before I get my plants down. The make up is something like this:

Black Gold Organic Potting Mix
Worm castings (with kelp meal and "rock minerals")
Perlite
Garden lime (of the dolomitic variety)
Bone meal
Blood meal
filtered water

So I mixed it all up, put it in my Rubbermaid tub, put the top on, and stuck it in my utility closet.

When I took it out this afternoon to check on it, there was quite a bit of condensation on the top. (Pic #1)

Then I look at the soil, and there are moldy hairs growing all over the place. My soild has become "fuzzy", and it doesn't look healthy at all. :(

Does anyone know what this stuff is? Can I kill it now before the plants are supposed to start? Will this cause any problems down the road?

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looks like your average mold. had the same problem on plants with no fan. wet soil with no air movement=mold..could also be something else but only time i've ever seen that was poor circulation..hope it helps

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Ok, so average mold. I know how I can prevent it in the future, but what can I do about it now? I currently have the whole container sitting out in the sun. Is it safe to skim the top layer off and toss it? Is there a treatment to kill off the mold? Or is my entire soil stock doomed now?

Any advice or insructions would be greatly appreciated.

where ever you store your soil, make sure it gets some fresh circulating air. also make sure it is in a dry place with low humidity and low light.

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I would skim off the top..and add a lil h2o2 when it comes time to using it. and also keep it dry until its about to be used. I had it on soil with plants and just skimmed off the tops and watered with h2o2 and all was well..now i always have good air movement. mold doesnt grown on dry soil to my knowdlege

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may I please ask why you wet it? This makes a perfect breeding ground for mold, fungus and bugs. I have heard of people wetting thier soil, but just before use, not a week or so. If you want to save it all, I would re-sterilize it by putting it in the oven to dry out. It will stink like hell, but it will save the soil. Only let it go to about 250 though as any higher you will burn off the good nutes in the soil. Let it cook for a bit, maybe half hr. Hope that helps you. I have had this happen on wet soil under a dome,and the plants where fine.

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You may ask anything you like. Just doesn't mean you'll always get an answer.

The reason I wet it down in the first place is because I read that this was a good way to promote growth of beneficial bacteria in the soil, after adding the suppliments. Most reports recommended doing this a week or two before adding plants, so as to start breaking down the ferts, in effect, making sure the soil isn't too "hot" and has a balanced pH before the plants go in. I also read that letting the soil mixture dry out was a good way of letting the beneficial microorganisms die out, and essentially nullifying the benefits of organics. Maybe I was misinformed, or just didn't understand exactly what I was doing. Yeah, probably that second one.

I will probably just scrape the top layer off and throw it out. I'll definitely be aerating and mixing the soil daily from now until planting day.

As for the utility closet, it's fairly cool, dark, and definitely not humid.

How about wetting down with a hydrogen peroxide and water solution,that would inhibit mold right...

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LOL! I know that point. Been asking for gold bricks for years and so far, not a one!

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My Little Grow LST'ing w/Hardware

My Outdoor Odyssey 2008 BONSAI MUMS

My Little Grow Indoor To Outdoor 2009

Will it? I'm not very familiar with the properties of hydrogen peroxide...

How strong of a solution are we talking about? Like 5mL/L of 3%? Does that sound too weak? Too strong?

I use sphagnum moss for a grow medium and I got a mold like this last year.
I just turned off the feeder and let the top dry out. I also think johnny has an idea. You can use diluted hydrogen peroxide for a HUGE amount of things. Once I got an email from a friend that had 1000 uses for hydrogen peroxide.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a gallon of water
That's what I use in my PEAT POD soak solution,along with root stimulators and superthrive...

I don't wet my soil mix either,I keep it dry until I use it...

Peace

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Aging is GODs way of telling us there's no time to waste...

WAS MOSE'S REALLY SPEAKING TO A BURNING BUSH???
OR WAS IT ONLY SMOKING???

yo Digital- I was just using some peroxide today so you're lucky i looked up some info on it all earlier haha so here....

you should use 6 tablespoon to one gallon if you use a 3% solution.
(90 ml to one gallon)(3 oz to one gallon)

The 10% hydrogen peroxide solution is sometimes used at rates as low as one ounce per 10 gallons water; however, enrichment using an ounce per gallon is more effective for disease control. When 35% hydrogen peroxide solution is used, it can be added at the rate of three ounces per 10 gallons of water. If a 3% solution is used, use three ounces per gallon of water.

When used properly, hydrogen peroxide can keep infections in the garden to a minimum and stimulate root growth by increasing the oxygen content of the water. Hydrogen peroxide degrades into free oxygen and water over a three-day period. Some of the oxygen dissolves in the reservoir water and is used by the roots.

There are many ways to add hydrogen peroxide to the water. A measured amount every three days is the crudest method, but still effectively enriches the water. A smaller measured amount daily would even out the peaks and valleys of oxygen in the water. Another method is to use a drip similar to an IV bag, which continuously adds a regulated amount

I use a 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide,which means it has no other additives and is ok for consumption aka not for cleaning blood off the highway ;) jk , if you use something like I do or above 10% make sure you're REALLLY careful as anything above 10% will burn human skin on contact and destroy clothes.

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When I got home from work today, the first thing I did was go out back to check on my soil.

I had left it uncovered all day in the sun and was pleased to see the top layer had dried out completely. There was no trace of any mold or mildew in the soil. So I mixed everything up well to even out the moisture content, and put the tub back in my utility closet with the lid on loosely this time, enough where air and moisture can still be exchanged.

Also, I posted basically the same request for help over at Marijuana Seeds - Highest Quality Marijuana Seeds Online, and some of the users concluded that the mold wasn't even that bad, since worm castings have a much of microorganisms and I actually WANT stuff to be growing throughout the soil. That was a relief to hear. What wasn't however, was when the same user told me that bugs also like to lay eggs in soil like mine, and I should be wary. Great, now I'm totally paranoid that I have an insect invasion waiting to hatch out of my soil because I left it out overnight. So I picked up some Earth Juice (I think that was the brand) insecticide, and I'm waiting to see if any nasty buggers emerge from the soil.

Anyway, thanks for all your help guys (and girls!).