It may happen that there are white mold and green algae growing along with your plants. No need to worry, because mold and algae are not actually harmful to your plants, though it is not a pretty sight.
The reasons why mold and algae colonize soil surface:
There are no fungicides or any other harmful chemicals added to Click and Grow plant pods. Our aim is to keep the plant pods as clean and healthy as possible. No kidding, but having some mold or algae on the soil is a sort of indicator of clean soil.
Plant pods are packed with rich plant food, water and has just the right pH level. It is perfect for your plants, but also- it offers perfect growing conditions for mold and algae to grow too.
You may have overwatered your garden. So it’s very important that when you add water, the float shouldn’t rise above the surface of the garden lid. We would recommend that the float should stay in the middle of the tank. If your plant pods still seem too wet, just click the pods out of the garden for 1-2 days to let them solidify.
How to prevent mold and algae from thriving:
Make sure that the temperature inside your home is okay for the plants. The best average temperature to grow your plants is 18 to 24C (64 to 75F). At that temperature range plants have most favourable conditions to achieve full growth and they will outrun mold and algae.
Use (don’t remove) white U-shaped lids. These white lids cover the soil surface leaving no room between the lid and soil for the mold to thrive. Also, it covers most of the soil surface from the light so algae would not develop.
If the mold or algae is very aggressive you may scrape them off, but gently as not to damage the plants or seeds. The plants (seeds) will be okay to grow and use after the mold has been removed.
Hi, I am new to Click and Grow. I planted my first pods (wild strawberries) on 12/25. By week 1, I had two sprouts in two pods, and none in the third pod. I have noticed fuzzy white mold growing on the soil. I have tried wiping the soil with a wet paper towel to remove the mold and adding cinnamon powder, yet the mold has grown back. I have removed the pods from the container and dusted the entire pod with cinnamon, and now the mold is growing in the hole where the sprouts are growing. The spouts do not even have true leaves yet and are now starting to wilt. I have read that mold can be caused by overwatering, but the floater is in the middle of the tank. How can you prevent overwatering in a garden that waters itself?? I don’t know what else to do. Any advice on how I can save my sprouts??
I have now taken the plant pods out of the water to attempt the 1-2 days off water and 1-2 days in water. The mold grew exponentially overnight even though I had just scraped it off the night before. I’m losing hope for my little sprouts.
I understand your concern about your plants. Mold spores are in the air and attaching on the substrate as it is favorable environment for growing. Could you attach the picture so we could see if there is possible to save those strawberries.
Overwatering happens when float is higher than garden lid surface but as you described, your garden water level is normal.
This is post-mold clean up. The first pod (picture one) still has two sprouts, second pod with none (picture two), and third pod that had two sprouts now has only one (picture three)
I can’t see any mold on your picture (mold should look white and fuzzy).
But it’s still looking that your plants are not performing as they should. Please write to support, they will replace faulty pods for free. Make sure to add the same pictures and date when you started so they could manage this situation as soon as possible.
Yes, as I previously mentioned this was taken post-mold clean up. I didn’t want to leave it to continue to grow overnight. I will contact support. Thank you.
I was under the impression the pods need to stay in the pod garden, I do not have an equivalent grow light location for them to grow if I remove them from the pods to “dry out” for a day or so…but there is white mold growing on the top of the pods. I usually use my finger to just disturb it but I’m worried about future growth. What should I do?
Hi @Tesdaydreamer , there is no need to remove to pods from the garden. Just keep the u-shaped lids on. It does not just prevent mold, but it also keeps the soil nicely intact to the wick. If mold bothers you, try to remove it and cover that part with cinnamon powder.
What are you growing and how are the plants doing?
I am 21 days in and today I was shocked to see mold both the green and white kind and I am concerned!
Please let me know what I can do! I just followed the instructions, put water in and let the light go… so I don’t know how this happened… !! It is basil, cilantro and thyme.
Your plants look great at this age. Green algae and some mold are quite harmless to the plants. If you like, you can remove it with a tissue and sprinkle some cinnamon powder on the soil surface.
You can read more about mold at the top of this discussion and in this thorough blog post.
