moss on dirt

[kycountryboy]

i have 12 trays under lights.. i have had them in a box because of cold temps outside 15 -30 ..... box is 70-80* . i am starting to have green color looks like moss, starting to grow on dirt, the plants look fine. is this something to worry about. my building not heated we had very cold days

[Doug9345]

Are you sure it's moss and not algae. Outside I take moss to mean damp and acid and lower levels of light sometimes.

[gssgarden]

Get them some air flow.

Greg

[zipcode]

I saw that people add a layer of vermiculite on top of the mix to prevent that from happening.
Now that it happened, probably too late, but it's not too big of a deal. It will use some of the nutrients, but I don't think it will harm the plants.

[Doug9345]

I think the moss itself is fairly harmless. The problem is that the conditions that moss like are also the conditions that fungus and bacteria like. As Greg suggested, get the air moving around them.

[kycountryboy]

thanks, the temps have risen up here so i can take the sides off of the box. i might actually get to take out side 1 day this weeknd. i did last weekend.
thanks for info

[bower]

Common problem here in the cold and wet. Just take a little dolomite lime and sprinkle the surface. Moss, algae, can't take any raise of pH, they will vanish.

[b54red]

I started all my tomatoes and peppers in an unheated greenhouse this winter and it stayed much colder than normal and remained cold so long I was wondering if anything would sprout. I used DE as a starting medium and the surface of all of the cells now has a nice dark green layer of algae and the plants have not suffered at all. The only problem it causes is not being able to tell by looking at the surface if it is too dry so I just nudge it with my fingertip. When I do this if it is dry the white DE will show and be very crumbly letting me know to water it immediately.

Bill

[bower]

True I don't know of any harms from the algae, but I don't let them get out of hand. The algae in my greenhouse has a very strong smell which I find offensive. I can detect even a small patch of it when I open the greenhouse door, by the strong odor. It also spreads rapidly if it is not kept in check.

In other greenhouses, I have seen algae take over on plastic glazings, which is not a good thing since it reduces light transmission. Bleach will remove it from plastic, but this can also reduce the service life of the material. I frequently have to scrub algae out of plastic buckets, and it's not easy to remove with hot water and soap. Bleach is pretty much required.