Why is the ground in the greenhouse covered with white mold? Why does the soil in the pot become covered with a white coating? What to do if peat pots with seedlings become moldy

A greenhouse is a closed space in which the earth is in special conditions. Greenhouse soil is deprived of the ability to self-heal, negative fauna and flora accumulate in it more intensively, and bioprocesses occur faster. High temperatures and changes in humidity can provoke the growth of mold fungi that destroy wooden frames, affect living plants and negatively affect human health.

When systematizing plants in living nature, fungi are separated into a separate kingdom. There are more than 250 types of fungal organisms, which are grouped into orders and groups according to biological characteristics. In the international modern classification, mold fungi occupy the sixth order and are mainly represented by unicellular organisms, and in rare cases - multicellular. Due to the microscopic size of individual groups of fungi, they are called micromycetes.

Scope of distribution

Molds can live and spread on soil and in water. Extensive colonies spread everywhere in moist, warm places with a suitable nutrient medium. The soil in a greenhouse is just such an environment. The health of plants directly depends on the quality of the substrate in which they were grown. If the quality of the greenhouse soil has changed, this will not have a very good effect on the growth and development of seedlings. The very first sign that there was white mold, there will be a whitish coating on the surface of the soil, which is a harmful fungus.

How to deal with onion fly folk remedies

The reasons why white mold may appear in a greenhouse are:

Violation of agrotechnical rules when growing seedlings and crops in protected soil conditions. This can lead to the predominant development of pathogenic microflora.
Dirtiness of the room. Mold mainly grows in dirty conditions. It is because of this that the greenhouse must be systematically treated with antifungal drugs (painted, whitened, washed) and cleaned.

Conditions for development

Microscopic spores are easily transported by air currents and can remain dormant for several decades. When suitable conditions arise, they begin to grow and reproduce rapidly. In this case, living plants are captured from soft tissues(cucumbers, tomatoes, seedlings vegetable crops and others like them).

Conditions most suitable for mold growth:

Insufficient lighting (a small amount of ultraviolet rays that enter dense plantings, as well as cloudy weather without additional lighting);
Increased soil moisture and stagnation of water after watering at the root system. This may be due to water leakage in damaged areas of the hose or due to improper watering;
Poor or no ventilation;
The temperature in the greenhouse is 20–22 degrees above zero;
Indoors humidity is 95%.

Preventive actions

The appearance of mold is associated with the processes of decomposition of vegetation and biocorrosion. It is because of this that mold grows most strongly in the autumn. But with one-time use of anti-mold preparations, the desired result will not be achieved. For creating optimal conditions For the growth and development of plants on protected soil, it is necessary to carry out a number of measures.

Downy mildew of cucumbers: causes, symptoms of the disease and treatment

After harvesting in the autumn, it is imperative to disinfect the greenhouse before the next season of growing vegetable crops without seedlings. To get rid of mold on the soil in a greenhouse, you can act in several ways:

Treat the FAS premises;
In the spring, it is necessary to repeat the procedure for treating the premises with a solution of potassium permanganate and adhesives (soap and the like), if mold was detected in the greenhouse in the previous year;
Constantly monitor soil and air moisture levels during the growing of crops and seedlings;
The irrigation system must be kept in good working order. Overmoistening should not be allowed. One of the indicators of waterlogging is the appearance of black legs on seedlings. In this case, the soil must be sprinkled with dry sand under the plants. It is necessary to check the greenhouse well, but avoid drafts;
Mold does not like alkaline environments. It is because of this that the greenhouse soil, with an interval of 3-4 weeks, needs to be powdered 3 times a season under all plants with a mixture of charcoal and ash, ground into powder (the proportion of the mixture is 1:1).

If mold appears on the soil (especially on compacted soil), you can treat it with peat, represented by dry briquettes of high-moor peat. Peat contains a synthetic polymer that serves as a soil loosening agent. When it soaks, it increases several times in volume. In order to neutralize acidity in the soil, it is necessary to treat with a peat copper solution. Mineral water-soluble fertilizers are also added there.

Many summer residents wonder why the soil in the greenhouse turns white, because they take such careful care of it, fertilize it, water it and weed it. So what is the cause of green soil, mold and white residue?

The most common causes are excessive soil moisture, pests and improper care.

The soil is sick for several reasons:

If you water the soil endlessly.
At increased acidity soil.
When the greenhouse is poorly ventilated or absent at all, resulting in increased humidity in the room.
If you add a lot of fertilizers to the soil.

These reasons can be combined with each other.

Pests, insects and diseases

Very often, pests lay their larvae in the soil, where they remain for a long time. If this problem is not dealt with, the number of harmful larvae in the soil will only increase. And some conditions can contribute to this, for example, heating the soil in the cold season, etc.

The most common pests include:

wireworms,
cabbage flies,
mole cricket,
spider mite and others.

Other types of soil diseases include infections of vegetable crops - these are various mold spores and fungal diseases that can also penetrate the soil and cause its contamination. Many microorganisms are able to penetrate not only into the soil, but also constantly remain on the frame of the greenhouse itself (especially if it is made of wood). Therefore, if you carry out measures to disinfect the soil, it is necessary to touch all parts of the greenhouse in order to completely prevent the re-production of harmful microorganisms.

Common soil diseases:

clubroot;
late blight;
spots on leaves;
macrosporiosis;
peronosporosis.

Return to contents

Soil waterlogging

If the soil is waterlogged, then in the near future you may find algae, fungus and mosses in your beds. This is also facilitated warm air in the greenhouse. Particular insidiousness may come from groundwater, which may be located in the area of the greenhouse. Often, the owner of a greenhouse may not be aware of this and water his plants as usual; as a result, excessive moisture occurs, which in turn leads to soreness and greening of the soil.

How to distinguish moss from algae? These two species can often be confused, but they have distinctive features:

At poor lighting In greenhouses, moss appears on plants and soil.
But if there is enough light in the greenhouse, then we can talk about the formation of algae.

Return to contents

Causes of white plaque and measures to get rid of it

White coating is a yellowish crust consisting of salt. It can form for the following reasons:

If the soil composition is considered mechanically heavy.
Difficult soil drainage.
With poor or scanty watering.
Too much fertilizer in the soil.
A large amount of fertilizing in the soil.
The composition of irrigation water may contain large amounts of chlorine, calcium or magnesium.
Dry air.
Fungus or mold.

Ways to combat plaque.

The appearance of green and white deposits in the soil is associated with excessive waterlogging of the soil.

You can get rid of white deposits on the soil in different ways:

For example, you can sprinkle the surface of the soil with expanded clay. It is on it that a white dried sediment will appear; from time to time the expanded clay needs to be washed and returned to its place again.
Cover the top layer of soil river sand and loosen it more often. This is very beneficial for the root system of plants.
You can remove the top layer of soil and add leaf humus.
Remove the top layer of soil and fill in a new one.
Purchase a soil deoxidizer from a specialty store. Remove the top layer of soil and pour the deoxidizer deeper.
Water the soil with softened water. To do this, use a special filter. You can put a bag of peat in a bucket of water. If possible, water should be passed through a layer of peat, then the salts will be adsorbed.

Return to contents

Increased soil acidity

To reduce the acidity of the soil, which causes moss and mold to spread throughout the area (and this is detrimental to plants), you need to take the following actions:

Add tree resin to the soil; this should be done from time to time. But not too often.
Add lime to the soil.
Dolomite flour added to the soil effectively eliminates soil diseases.

It is advisable to add these fertilizers to the soil at the time of digging up the earth, before planting and after harvesting. In this case, the soil in the greenhouse will not deoxidize, causing mosses to stop appearing.

To ensure that plants grow well in the soil and produce a harvest, do the following:

Sprinkle lime on the soil and do not dig up the soil.
After this, sow green manure - this is a fast-growing grass.
After the grass sprouts, plant seedlings of other vegetable crops in the soil.
After the seedlings have taken root, the grass is mowed and subsequently used as mulching material.

A microscopic fungus - mold - can bring a lot of trouble to a gardener. Mold in a greenhouse almost certainly means the death of crops and seedlings, long-term illness of adult plants and the need for serious costs to combat the fungus. Growers know that it is easier to prevent infection than to destroy mold in a greenhouse.

Like any fungus, mold develops from spores when they enter a growing medium. Excessive humidity, insufficient inflow fresh air– favorable conditions for any type of mold. Therefore, in a greenhouse, the fungus grows quickly: the spores are already contained in the soil, constant watering and heating accelerate the growth of the mycelium. A “fluffy” coating or gray-yellow spots appear on the surface of the earth, and musty smell dampness and mushrooms. This is an alarming signal: if the mold in the greenhouse is not removed in time, the plants will begin to get sick.

Mold in a greenhouse is a danger

Fungal diseases are difficult to tolerate in both fruit and ornamental crops. White mold in a greenhouse covers the soil in an even layer, disrupting natural gas exchange: plant roots suffocate and rot. Urgent aeration of the soil and improvement of the root system are required. But that’s not the only thing that’s dangerous about mold.

Black mold in a greenhouse indicates the development of a plant disease. It could be a shutte powdery mildew, gray mold or other disease. Depending on the type of fungus, it affects leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits. Plants stop developing, shed their leaves, and, if treatment is not started, die. Mold in a greenhouse at home is especially dangerous for seedlings and seedlings - they practically cannot resist the fungus and quickly die. If mold affects the seeds, they lose their viability.

But mold is harmful not only to flora: black mold in a greenhouse gradually poisons the human body, disrupting the functioning of the central nervous system and respiratory system. Fungal spores can cause severe allergic reactions and asthma attacks. This is why it is so important to remove mold from the greenhouse and prevent its development.
The main harm from mold:

plant death;
loss of crops and seedlings;
creating conditions that threaten human health.

Mold control measures

Conventional methods of killing mold in a greenhouse do not work: it is impossible to use most disinfectants, since they will kill not only the fungus, but also the plants themselves. The top layer of soil is removed and replaced with fresh one; it is recommended to add special additives to it (for example, charcoal). But this should be done carefully so as not to disturb the acid-base balance of the earth.
If some of the plants are already affected by mold, they need to be cured or dug up and burned. Removing mold takes time and effort, requires financial costs and can lead to partial loss of the harvest. Therefore, it is recommended to think in advance about how to prevent mold from appearing in the greenhouse at home.

Creating local ventilation is one of the ways to prevent the development of fungal colonies. Timely removal of moisture-saturated and stagnant air protects the greenhouse from uncontrolled mold growth. Solar energy devices have proven themselves well - they do not require connection to an electrical network (and greenhouses are often not electrified), and do not harm the environment: they do not emit waste gases into the air that would harm plants.

To create local ventilation in a greenhouse using solar equipment, one or more collectors are purchased. The number of devices depends on the area of the greenhouse. They are installed on sunny side buildings or on the roof. Every time the sun hits the collector, it automatically turns on and begins its work: heats the air, removes excess moisture, and then fed into the greenhouse. An additional plus: the greenhouse maintains a positive temperature even in the cold season.
But the main advantage is solar collectors create conditions in the greenhouse that are not suitable for the development of mold and related fungal diseases.

Solar energy for crop protection

Solar energy equipment is actively used for the development of agriculture and home gardening in America, Canada and European countries. It is also becoming popular in Russia and the CIS due to the advantages it provides:

independence from electricity, liquid fuel, coal;
efficiency - no expensive energy resources are consumed, that is, the devices work for free;
environmental friendliness.

Equally important, solar equipment does not create drafts or excessive air activity that would harm plants. And mold will no longer appear in the greenhouse.

When growing indoor flowers, various difficulties arise. Plants get sick and are attacked by pests. Often mold or mildew is visible on the surface of the soil in the pot. white coating. You can cope with plaque if you know the reason for its appearance.

Green organisms of indoor plants are sensitive to the living conditions offered to them. Any changes in care are stressful for flowers. You can notice improper cultivation by the condition of the soil in the flower pot. If a white coating appears on top of the soil, then you need to check whether all the rules for caring for the plant are followed.

There are two types of white coating on top of the soil flower pot. The first is associated with salt deposition. It feels harsh and chalky to the touch. Its appearance is associated with poor plant care:

Excessive watering leads to the fact that moisture evaporates more actively from the surface of the earth, leaving salts on it.
Rare and poor soil moisture leads to the fact that only the top layer of the earth mixture is saturated. Hence the white coating after the liquid evaporates.
IN winter time dry air in the room stimulates the drying process of the soil in the container. The salts in the irrigation water are not removed outside, remaining on the surface. Hence the salinity of the soil. Houseplants This causes them to wither and develop poorly.
Overfeeding of a flower with mineral fertilizers leads to the formation of a white coating.
Selecting the volume of a flower pot plays an important role for plants at home. A large container will prevent the roots from absorbing moisture and nutritional elements. Their excess will appear in the form of salt deposits.
If the composition of the soil is heavy, it contains a lot of acids, and there is no drainage layer in the pot, then a white coating will definitely appear in the pot.
In city apartments, hard water flows from the tap. If you water indoor flowers with it, the appearance of a white coating is inevitable.

A fluffy and wet coating on the soil in a pot indicates that the soil is infected with pathogenic fungi. Ideal condition for the development and spread of fungal spores is high humidity in the room over 85-90 percent and the temperature is 20-25 degrees Celsius. For the fungus to spread, it needs stagnant air, a lack of sun rays. White mold is harmful to plants. If measures are not taken, the plant will die. WITH limescale easier to deal with than mold.

What to do: ways to get rid of white plaque

White plaque must be removed as soon as it appears on the ground in the pot:

You can improve the health of the soil in a pot by loosening the top layer. After this, it is recommended to add fresh soil, into which a little river sand is added.
Refresh the soil in the pot by removing the top layer and filling it with disinfected soil containing humus.
If the temperature in the pot is high, then, after removing the top part of the substrate, add a deoxidizing agent. It could be chalk, dolomite flour,...
After replacing the top layer with a white coating with a new one, it is necessary to carry out proper watering and apply fertilizers in accordance with the instructions for their use. To soften hard tap water, pour it into containers and let it sit for a day or two.
You can get rid of mold by spraying the plants three times with a break of 10-14 days. Drying the soil will temporarily stop the spread of mold spores. You can sprinkle the soil in the pot and crush it activated carbon. The powder will help stop the growth of fungus.
If mold is highly developed, it is better to transplant the flower into another container. During the procedure, the rotting parts of the roots must be cut off and treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Only competent care of the plant and caring for it will help avoid the formation of a lime layer on the soil:

Water indoor flowers depending on the period of life of the plant. During the growing season, moisten from two to three times a week, thoroughly soaking the soil in the pot. If the top layer is still wet, it is better to postpone watering. Water for irrigation is prepared in advance. It should be at room temperature, settled. You can run it through a layer of peat to soften it.
Plants need a constant supply of fresh air. When ventilating the room, make sure that flower pots are not in a draft. Sunbathing necessary for all “green residents” at home. But their duration is determined for each plant individually.
A plant is transplanted when it gets sick or the pot becomes too small for it. The procedure will help improve the growing conditions of indoor flowers.
Disinfection of the new container and soil prepared for the plant is mandatory. After all, this will lead to stopping the development of pathogenic flora inside the container. The drainage layer will help remove excess moisture from the pot.

In addition, in the room where your favorite plants “live”, you must observe temperature regime, ventilate them as needed.

More information can be found in the video:

It is worth noting that a lot depends on what kind of soil is in the garden bed and what substrate is used for its formation, and not only appearance, but also how healthy the plants are and the quantity and quality of the harvest. With the slightest changes, both in the composition of the soil and in the parameters of temperature or humidity, a number of problems may arise with the soil in a polycarbonate greenhouse or greenhouse. Among the most common problems is mold, which appears as a white coating.

The reasons why the soil in a greenhouse becomes covered with plaque can be different, but before you start taking certain actions, you need to determine what led to such consequences.

As a rule, this happens:

Too much humidity;
Increased acidity;
Poor ventilation in the greenhouse;
Oversaturation of the soil with fertilizer.

If the ground turns green and does not turn white, or moss and algae begin to appear, then this is the first sign of an excess of moisture. In this case, you need to pay attention to the level of illumination and the presence of ventilation.

It is important to remember that moss develops in the dark, and in too much bright atmosphere seaweed.

Acidic soil is an excellent and favorable environment for the formation of moss, as a result of which the ground becomes covered with a green coating. Moss is a plant that consumes carbon dioxide, mineral salts and water from the soil, completely depriving the plants of power.

If there is a combination of excess moisture and high acidity, then the moss will spread at an incredible speed, and therefore you need to rush to do the treatment in order to get rid of this problem as soon as possible. At first glance, moss seems completely harmless, but it deprives everyone of their culture. nutrients, and the consequence will be their death, the occurrence of diseases and poor-quality harvest. Moss can spread throughout the greenhouse if you overfeed the soil with phosphorus fertilizer. Also, a green coating occurs due to blocking the access of oxygen to plants. Any crop needs fresh and constant ventilation. This is what makes it possible to eliminate bacteria that form on the soil and infect plants.

What to do when the soil in the greenhouse turns green

Initially, in order to remove green deposits, you need not only to treat the surface of the earth, but also to carry out the so-called cleaning. If the cause of green plaque is groundwater and round-the-clock watering, you need to stop it until the soil dries out.

It is imperative to establish ventilation.

If the soil in the greenhouse begins to become covered with moss, then it must be eliminated using sunlight. If algae has formed, then you need to, on the contrary, block any access to light, which is done by sprinkling with sawdust or sand. More effective way The fight against greenery on the ground involves removing the top layer of soil.

Ventilation in a greenhouse and greenhouse is the most important stage when growing crops, which will eliminate not only the covering of the ground with a green coating in the form of moss, but also the formation of pathogenic bacteria.

If the soil is too acidic, then you need to:

Spread a classic deoxidizer, such as ash, dolomite flour or lime;
Sow green manure, the type does not matter at all;
A month after the green manure germinates, you can safely plant seedlings of crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants or peppers;
After the seedlings begin to grow stronger, cut off the green manure, which can be used in the future for mulching.

Gardening experts categorically do not recommend using copper sulfate to combat moss or algae, as this radical method will remove not only pests, but also some crops, including those inhabitants of the soil that benefit plants. As soon as the soil is saturated with fine vitriol, you can safely remove the soil and throw it away. This is a tough method that allows you to overcome greenery in greenhouse soil, but it is better to push these options to the farthest drawer, otherwise you may lose the harvest for several years to come.

Mold has appeared on the ground in the greenhouse: what to do?

It is not always possible to get the desired result as quickly, simply and without special effort, since many problems often arise, in particular such as mold. Why do you need a polycarbonate greenhouse?

To grow crops:

Qualitative;
Big;
Delicious.

In order to overcome such formation, you can use special means, purchased in stores. They contain a sorbent, which increases the amount of alkali in the soil, thereby deactivating mold.

For its formation and spread, mold chooses a neutral and acidic environment.

Experienced gardeners prefer to use charcoal and ash in a 1:2 ratio. You need to wake up with this composition land plot, and loosen it. Thanks to a large number minerals and calcium, the fungus is destroyed.

Causes of mold in a polycarbonate greenhouse

When carrying out timely preventive measures, you can completely eliminate the formation of mold. When transplanting seedlings into pots, you need to treat them with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. If the seedlings gradually begin to become moldy, then you need to additional processing potassium permanganate and fungicides before transplanting into open ground.

Mold will appear on the surface of the soil in a greenhouse, even with proper care of the plants, if:

It will be too much heat and rare ventilation;
Too high air and soil humidity;
There is a lack of lighting, natural rather than artificial;
Too poor ventilation in the greenhouse and greenhouse;
There are problems with sealing in the irrigation system, and hoses are leaking, because these are the places that are most suitable for the formation and development of fungus.

The reasons for the appearance of mold have been described previously and, accordingly, in order to avoid such consequences, you simply need to prevent them. In particular, regularly ventilate the greenhouse, especially if the weather is hot and completely windless. This needs to be done daily. In addition, you need to ensure that perspiration does not appear on the walls of the room, and if such wet areas form, they are removed with a dry cloth.

It is these parts that will become the source of fungus.

Watering the plants is carried out so that there are no stagnant puddles on the surface of the ground. In order to support optimal humidity, it is advisable to install water containers on the floor, which will ensure that the plants take in the water and air that they require, and an optimal microclimate will be maintained without sudden changes.

Gardener's answer: why does the soil in the greenhouse turn green (video)

Experienced gardeners prefer to install greenhouses that have vents on the roof. By opening them, the soil is dried and ventilated, which eliminates all the problems described above and reduces the likelihood of plant death several times.