What's this mold from???

I recently bought some new potting soil at Walmart. I forget the brand, but it had miracle grow or some kind of fertilizer in it to feed the plants. I thought this would be really good for my plants, so I re-potted my houseplants, some of which are herbs. Within a week later I've noticed that the top of the soil of each plant is covered in mold! It's a white mold, and very thin. Easily disappears when I rub my finger across it. But I don't understand what caused this. And will it hurt my plants? Do I need to re-pot everything again???

Hi ya AuntyB

This is only my personal opinion and experience but...if you are using the soil by miracle grow with miracle food in it...you'd better go back out and buy new soil. I have found that it is very, very heavy and keeps the plants very wet. I repotted the plants I had in it and threw the rest out. I would never use it again.

Thanks for that info on Miracle Grow potting soil, Jody! :)

Terri

Some solid form fertilizers will promote mold growth on it, when it is on the surface of the soil.

Hmmmmm. I didn't know that, Frank. :)

Terri

Frank...okay, but does it hurt anything???

I have never had any problems from this mold. I have also had it form on the new slug control product named 'sluggo'. This is supposed to be a child and pet friendly product that is made of iron phosphate, which is a nutrient for the plant. If I see the mold, I usually just stir the surface up a bit. I remember I used a ferilizer pellet on my bonsai, years ago, that grew mold within a couple days. No problem resulted from that either.

AuntyB I also bought potting soil at Walmart and had the same thing happen to my plants - must be the same brand as yours in the USA. I ended up buying a better grade of soil at Canadian Tire and have not had that trouble since.

It did not hurt my plants - I don't think - but I thought it looked ugly to have moldy soil.

Frank
Is this Slug-go from GardensAlive? Is it the same as Escar-go?? I have my orderform set to go and wondering if I should get excited that this product will kill those discusting little critters-so I dont have to do the slug-skating over the deck this summer (EWWWWWW!!)
Thanks
Janice

I think I bought it directly from the company at http://www.montereylawngarden.com/ . It seems to work well. Last winter I had a terrible time with slugs in the greenhouse. I would put out beer trays, spiked with a little slug killer. I bagged a bunch of them, but it was a disgusting process to clean the trays. With this stuff, I can sprinkle a little right on the plant that I fear is a target. It has not hurt any plants, including the orchids.

Why do so many gardeners have a problem with slugs? What exactly are slugs attracted to? I've never had that problem. I've seen a few real tiny slimy things that I assume are slugs, but they never hurt anything that I could tell. Then when I visited Ohio last summer, I got to see what REAL slugs looked like. ICK! My grandma had HUGE ones sliding across her deck! Do slugs not like my zone 3 in Minnesota? Or have I just been lucky not to experience this slimy little bugger???

I don't have too much trouble with them in the garden, I might see a few on lettuce. But, boy when I got them in the greenhouse they were a real pain. They would eat leaves, and the buds and flowers off of the orchids. I've never seen those giant ones around here either.