new white powder on top of soil?

Today I noticed a white, powdery, possibly "web-like" substance on the top of my soil... Looking at the pics I took last night, it seems it was in one of the pots to a lesser degree. No plant damage (yet...)

Anybody know what this is?

In addition to the 800x600 attachments, 2 sets of 7 megapixel shots at Megashares - Drag. Drop. Yup. and Megashares - Drag. Drop. Yup.

That's aspergillus mold my friend. Your room has too much humidity or you're watering way too often.

How did you come to that conclusion and is it harmful? Quick search shows 200+ subspecies, I will research it more after lunch. Any pointers would be helpful.

I am running 82f/40 humidity with 500 cfm in 128 ft^3 - although I will buy another temp/hum gauge now for more than one readout.

Take some pics of the plant itself. I had some mold on the soil before, looks very similar.

these are from last night, not much has changed except a little bigger
...
the yellowing in the last pic is from what I believe was a ph issue that I have since corrected - other than that you can see the 17 day old garden in the first three

the ones with the most soil issues are, starting from the back left, row2,col4 and 4,3 - although there are trace amounts in about half of the pots now. I didn't notice then but you can see the beginnings in 4,3, in picture 2 from last night.

are these soil surface molds inherently bad, or is it just the conditions leading to them that are bad for the plant?

What is your watering schedule? They look overwatered to me.

I don't think your plants have been over watered...

When you noticed the problem what would help is to know a few details

What was your EC when you noticed the problem?
Humidity and Room Temperature?
Water and feeding schedule?

Aspergillus is a type of fungus that grows on decaying plants and soil including marijuana. The mold spores can also be found in soil surrounding the plant. The problem is compounded if high humidity is maintained

Water may be a problem (not over watering) - make sure your plants are not sitting in "run off" after you watered them. Also test the ec and ph of our "run off" to check for salt build up.

Temperature is a problem if your humidity is too high - maintain a temperature of 72-78 degrees don't allow your temps to drop at night lower than 65 degrees.

Hope that helps.

csharper said:

are these soil surface molds inherently bad, or is it just the conditions leading to them that are bad for the plant?

Click to expand...

If it's that extensive on the surface, chances are that the rhizomorphic network extends below the surface as well.

It appears to be "green" aspergillus from what I can tell in the photos. The white parts just haven't matured yet. It's not absolute poison, but try not to breathe it in, as the spores can affect your lungs.

~Ethno

Ethnobotanist said:

It appears to be "green" aspergillus from what I can tell in the photos. The white parts just haven't matured yet. It's not absolute poison, but try not to breathe it in, as the spores can affect your lungs.

Click to expand...

aspergillus flavus? maybe not absolute poison, but I can't imagine it is good to smoke, never mind in a tent in my bedroom.

kittysecrets4u said:

What was your EC when you noticed the problem?
Humidity and Room Temperature?
Water and feeding schedule?

Click to expand...

Don't have an EC meter, is there a relation between salts and mold?

82f/40-44rh - never, ever higher than 50rh

Watering "when they need it", i.e. once a week in 1G pots - my last watering was a little early as I had to correct a ph lockup
Last watering was on monday - the majority of the time since I have had the windows closed to my 800 sq ft home + two human occupants = 40-50rh (and a lot of co2 . I opened a window near the center of the house yesterday, and now 33 humidity in and out of the grow tent. The tent is ventilated enough to run 800 watts.

Good news, I just checked them, and they are not much worse if at all. Top of the soil is pretty much dried out since yesterday. Current tent reading was 78f/33rh...

Is there some way I can identify what it is specifically or is there a generic fungicide I can apply?
Or can I just keep it at bay with low humidities?
If the growth remains in the soil and does not visibly effect the plant, would it be safe to smoke the plants?

Same thing is happening to me; all I know is bordo CSO3 does not work (Copper(I) sulphate)

P.S. My plants are flowering, I wanted to use this distiller water I have and clean out the salts (will it perhaps remove the bacterium?) or will I have to use a stronger solution of my fungicide?