The soil that I have my leaves in is green on top. Is that some sort of bacteria or something like that? If so, what should I do?
JesseK
Top of my soil is green
Don't worry. it means you have nutrients in your soil. I'll let Jill (also a "sufferer" of this) fill you in more properly than I can.
(What are you doing up so late, silly!)
Kenton
Kenton,
I am always up late. I do not sleep very much.
JesseK
The top of my soil gets somewhat green too. Have noticed the same in pictures others have sent. I really don't think it's indigative of a problem, like Kenton says you have nutrients in your soil and enough moisture to sustain plant life.
jesse if i knew you were up...i would have emailed...i woke up at 2a.m...lol....than snoozed till 6.....couldn't sleep..and i started listing the different dreams i wanted to fall asleep to...he he
There are different kinds of green coverings, but if it's the mold type thing, it's not all that harmful, but it's better to get rid of it - or at least not let it take over completely. Scrape it off the surface and spray with plain powder-spray Tintactin (the stuff for athlete's foot). Wrap the leaf with plastic or something first as a precaution.
Jill probably has other tips.
This green stuff is the main reason why I sterilize my potting mix before planting cuttings or seeds. Seeds especially will suffocate if the stuff takes over.
This message was edited Mar 5, 2006 11:14 AM
I like to say the green stuff may not be harmful but the reasons it's there can be. It's not a good idea to keep it there. Like Keyring said scrap it off. I use hot water and Lysol to get rid of it. It can mean over watering, poor air circulation , soil mix too heavy, too cold and more.
I Don't like it and got Potted plants from D&P where wickes and pots were all green. yuk. 99 percent of their plants I paid $53.00 for :((
But take hot water and lysol and flush the plants with it. Let the plant dry out between watering and increase air circulation.
Sorry, I was reading everyones great advise and was simply going to say dito and hit send instead
Edited to leave a message on a blank page
This message was edited Mar 5, 2006 1:15 PM
Algae and Moss are simple plant organisms By themselves, neither is dangerous to African Violets. However, both should be considered as a warning that the soil is too wet. Also, if allowed to dry out, Algae can actually create a seal on the surface of the soil which may reduce the availability of oxygen and inhibit the soil's ability to absorb water.
Distinguishing Symptoms
Green slime or mossy growth on the surface of the soil.
If you see this symptom, it is probably Algae or Moss. This will only occur when the soil consistently has too much water in it. This may simply be due to overwatering, or it may be due to a potting soil which is too heavy or a pot that is either too large or does not provide adequate drainage.
Also see:
Algae (on the Pot or Watering Device)
Pot - Inadequate Drainage
Pot Size - Too Large
Potting Soil - Too Heavy
Water - Too Much
I don't know about you but I don't care to have it .
To learn more about treatments and preventions check here on Doctor Optimara !
http://www.optimara.com/doctoroptimara/diagnosis/algaeormoss.html
PS Keyring is so right This green stuff is the main reason why I sterilize my potting mix before planting cuttings or seeds. Seeds especially will suffocate if the stuff takes over.
And so can your babies and so on they won't be able to breath.
There are reason you get it and reason and way you need and can get rid of it.
Thanks for all of your advice. I think that the reason it is there is because it is too wet. I have it in one of those 72 type potting trays. And I have watered from below but I keep it wet most of the time. So what I'm going to do is repot each leaf in the new 3 oz solo cups that I finally found. And I'm going to wick them this time. I think that is the best way for me.
When using the liquid lysol, how much do you put in with the water. I'm going out to the store in a few minutes and will buy what you all recommend. I will put some of it in my water when I water them, this time using the wick system.
Thank you all so much.
BTW, I am usually up most of the time. I do not sleep very much so feel free to contact me at any time.
JesseK
Jesse I use a capful in a gallon of water. But have used more before with no problem to the babies or plants !
Thanks Allison. I am going out to run errands later today. So I will definitely buy some and make it up and keep it on hand. When I make things like VF-11, Bayer formula for killing bugs, DE, or anything else that might be dangerous to our health, I make sure to properly label them. I would not want my husband to drink it or give it to the dog. So I will mix up a bottle of it and label it to have when I need it.
Thanks,
JesseK
Hey Jesse, I wanted to pipe up if I could. For me, when I wicked all of my plants at first, I lost several due to my soil mix being too heavy on the soil side. Once I increased the perlite I did much better (like at least 60% perlite)
Correct me if I'm wrong gang but but I believe wicked AV's want a MUCH lighter soild so they don't stay too wet.
sure don't want you to lose any of your babies. But just because I did, doesn't mean you will.
just wanted to share my failure in order to help others. (I had a big learning curve ! LOL)
I get algae on the top of my seedling pots all the time, because I purposely keep them fairly moist. As long as it's just a little bit, I don't worry much about it. I do sterilize the soil, which helps for a while (long enough for seeds to germinate etc), but some amount of algae is pretty inevitable on my veggie & flower flats in the basement. Watering with hydrogen peroxide (2 Tbsp per gallon) helps a little, and I haven't tried adding lysol to the water yet (can't stand the smell).
I get a little algae on my violet pots sometimes too, especially the leaf pots which have more extra soil around the roots (and thus stay wet longer after watering) but since I let them go dry pretty frequently (especially on the surface), it never seems to get too thick or to threaten to choke the plants or roots in any way. Admittedly, it doesn't look pretty!
If the green algae is just on part of the soil surface, I just ignore it. If it starts forming a thin mat, as in the pots in the front left of this photo, I scrape it off the surface, and if I let the pots go a little more dry afterwards, that generally knocks it back down.
