Mouldy CHC?

[Lars Kurth]

Hi,

last weekend I potted up a number of plants and as usually I used CHC for it. As the CHC came in a compressed bale, I hydrated and flushed it a few times. I had overestimated how much I needed and had quite a bit left over. I left the CHC in a box in full sun (lid open) to dry out and would stir it up every dat, such that the CHC at the bottom of the box would also dry. Due to the large amount this was a bit of a slow process.

This morning I noticed that some of the CHC in the batch got mouldy. Have any of you experienced such problems before? Obviously I need to dispose of the remaining CHC, but I am now rather worried about the freshly potted up plants.

[RosieC]

No, I often do the same when I have some left over, in fact I have some in a bucket in the greenhouse just now which has pretty much dried out again. I so the same as you, turning it each day.

I've not had any problem with it going moldy, it usually just dries, even if that takes a couple of weeks. As long as I keep mixing/turning it it seems fine.

Afterall, it can often take a week to dry inside the orchid pot so I would not expect it to mold that quickly.

[Cym Ladye]

Lars,

Not only have I never had the problem, but I mix up several batches of CHC, coir, #3 perlite and sand and keep it in a covered garbage can for use. I also have stored it presoaked but unmixed over the winter in 4 gallon pots without stirring it and have had no problem.

If you are warm and humid, this might lead to an answer but I cannot say for certain. I live in Northern Ca and the summer humidity is around 50%, but this winter, with all our rain, it definitely was considerable higher but cool.

If it were fir bark, I might understand the problem but you have me on the CHC.

CL

[Tropicgirl]

I wonder if something else got mixed in since the box is open.

[WhiteRabbit]

Seems odd to me as well that the chc would get moldy. You could use some H2O2, or physan solution, or other product for fungus, in the pots you are worried about. If you are using clear pots, you might be able to see if you are getting mold in the media.
If your chc was in the sun, is it possible it's algae rather than mold?

[orchids3]

The mold probably didnt dome came from the CHC but rather from the air somewhere. I often soak all the CHC in half a bale at one time. If I am not going to use it right away I put it in shallow plastic boxes and dry it in the sun before I re-store it. I had a case of snow mold in a few of my cybidiums but believe it came on the plants from one vendor. It only came in the pots his plants were planted in. I repotted the plants in clean media after I soaked them in fungicide. Be careful breathing the air from moldy media - it can be dangerous. I researched the use of tricoderma fungus to fight other funguses - cultivating the stuff is where I found the warnings about the dangers of fungus poisons.. After spending some time on it I decides to try to avoid funguses and mold all I can. By the way - Stalite gravel doesnt get moldy at all. One of the reasons I use it in wet old Florida.

[Lars Kurth]

Maybe a bad batch or the mould coming from elsewhere: will just have to treat with H2O2 when I soak the next batch, just in case. Thanks for the advice!