When coconut soil becomes moldy, the pot for plants becomes a mined area. Various causes cause the damage. Read this guide for useful tips & tricks for fighting mold on coconut hum.

Coconut tends to mold

Moisture causes coconut soil to go moldy

Mold resistance of coco soil only lasts until air and water are added. Room air and wind always bring invisible mold spores with them, which settle on sterile, slowly rotting coconut fibre. Here the pathogens lie in wait for dead plant material as food. In combination with high humidity and water, the mold becomes visible as a white coating on the ground.

Optimize repotting and maintenance

Once coconut soil becomes moldy, seedlings and potted plants growing in it are at serious risk. The smallest injuries use bold mold spores as entry points into the pathways of shoots and leaves. It doesn't have to come to that if you implement these countermeasures:

  • Pot up affected plants, lift seedlings out of the coconut soil with a spoon
  • Completely remove moldy coconut hum
  • Clean pots meticulously and disinfect with alcohol or spirit
  • Put plants or seedlings in fresh coconut fiber substrate
  • Water more moderately from now on

By the way, you can confidently dispose of moldy coconut soil on the compost heap. At this point, the fungal spores are welcome to participate in the decomposition process. Only with the cooperation of the hard-working microorganisms does dead plant material turn into valuable compost soil.

Sterilize additives in the oven

The use of coconut soil is not limited to growing plants. Mixed with conventional potting soil or garden soil, coconut fibers transform into wonderfully airy, permeable potting soil. The connection with humus harbors the risk of mold growth within a short time.

You can prevent this problem by decontaminating humic additives in the oven beforehand. You can do this in a fireproof bowl with the lid on. Spray the soil beforehand with a fine spray. After 30 minutes at 80 to 100 degrees Celsius, all pathogens are destroyed.

tips

A white coating on coconut hum does not necessarily mean mold. In fact, the damage is mostly due to harmless causes. First and foremost, hard irrigation water settles on the substrate in the form of whitish limestone edges. If you fertilize lean coconut soil, fertilizer efflorescence appears, which looks confusingly similar to mold growth.

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Care tips