Help! Mold in purchased compost material?

DirtFarmer 4/12/2013, 9:07 pm

I am *this close* to being able to plant! Tonight I was mixing my first ever batch of Mel's Mix, and when I opened the first bag of "Organic Soil Enriching Compost", it appeared very dry and had a lot of white "stuff" in it. The white stuff has the appearance of mold (to me). Shocked

Is this okay? Is it normal? Should I use it?

I opened the other bags of compost I had purchased, and they were all nice and moist, dark, odor free and basically beautiful. I only need 1.5 more cubic feet to mix in and I'll be on my way! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm a little anxious to get planting. bounce

**sfg4uKim** 4/12/2013, 9:09 pm

Can you post a picture?

**camprn** 4/12/2013, 9:13 pm

Dirt, who was the manufacturer? It is probably fine, just dried out. Photo if you can please.

DirtFarmer 4/12/2013, 9:17 pm

Okay, just tried to post my first picture (hopefully it worked!). Manufacturer was Kellogg?

Here's another attempt with the bag in the picture:
Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Img_5712

Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Img_5712

DirtFarmer 4/12/2013, 9:19 pm

Okay, I only see my second attempt at the picture. Here's a close of up the actual soil with the white stuff:
Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Img_5713

Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Img_5713

**camprn** 4/12/2013, 9:20 pm

DirtFarmer wrote:Okay, I only see my second attempt at the picture. Here's a close of up the actual soil with the white stuff:

that looks ok to me.

DirtFarmer 4/12/2013, 9:23 pm

Oh yay!

Thank you all so much for the quick replies, even if just to request a picture. It makes a newbie like me have so much more confidence. I'll go ahead and mix it in and water it a little since it looks sadly dried out.

Thanks again!

**sfg4uKim** 4/12/2013, 9:47 pm

By any chance are any microbes listed on the bag? Does it look like it has a root system? Would anyone know if this might be mychorrhizal fungi which is a beneficial fungi?

Here are a couple examples:

Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Mynet10

Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Mynet10

Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Mycord10

If so, then this is actually a GOOD thing.

DirtFarmer 4/12/2013, 11:22 pm

Well, there was quite a bit of white growth, but not enough to determine if it had a root system (or it just didn't). I was kind of hoping it might be a good bacteria, but I've no experience with this sort of thing. I'm just happy to be able to move forward!

Gardening success!
Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Img_5714

Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Img_5714

Maybe someday I'll master turning pictures. Razz

Just a grid and a few plants away from my first SFG box. Help! Mold in purchased compost material? 3170584802

Gunny 4/13/2013, 12:15 am

Try holding the phone sideways. Works for me.

brainchasm 4/13/2013, 4:16 am

Ugh, Kellogg brand N'Rich.

I got some of that for my first year too. Never again.

Lots of wood chips, kept finding pieces of plastic, and even a few pieces of metal (looked like soda can material).

There's a reason it's cheap...

Gunny 4/13/2013, 8:52 am

Ahh yep. Both brands of Kellogg that I had were like that. But N-Rich was the worst. Using a quarter inch sifter I got over six cu. ft of wood chips etc. out of about as many bags. It is marketed as an amendment for heavy clay soil so I shouldn't complain about the wood chips in it. Just wouldn't use it for a seed bed if I were growing in ground. At least I have a lot of chips to use as mulch and BtE type experimental beds. So there is a bright side to this too.

plantoid 4/13/2013, 11:48 am

[quote="sfg4uKim"]By any chance are any microbes listed on the bag? Does it look like it has a root system? Would anyone know if this might be mychorrhizal fungi which is a beneficial fungi?

Here are a couple examples:

Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Mynet10

If I lived in an old house that showed that fungal growth it would be condemmed as unfit for human habitation for it looks like common wood wet rot . To get to that stage you need lots of wood that's been kept wet . The spores are not good for your lungs .
I would not use such a form of bqagged compost and I deffo would not store it in any building I owned .

CapeCoddess 4/13/2013, 12:10 pm

[quote="DirtFarmer"]
Help! Mold in purchased compost material? Img_5714

I think your MM will fall out like that...just sayin...

CC

**camprn** 4/13/2013, 12:25 pm

[quote="CapeCoddess"]

DirtFarmer wrote:

I think your MM will fall out like that...just sayin...

CC

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