What to do about mold in the garden
by
Wanda B
+15
I have raised garden beds and this past year almost every bed ended up with some type of mold or mildew. My strawberries actually rotted in the ground and had to be removed. My question is, if I cleaned all plant material out is the mold still going to continue to effect this years plants and if so what can I do short of removing the actual dirt from the beds.
14 answers
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Sorry to hear you've been having this problem. Our incessant, heavy rainfalls last year caused a lot of these mold and mildew problems. I suggest you remove all the spent plant material and discard it. You can either use one of those commercial soil testing kits or get a free kit from your local extension office(your state lab will do the testing for a nominal fee) that way you'll know exactly what additional amendments you may need to add to your soil. Adding additional amendments will help "refresh" and revitalize your soil and help prevent any mold spores or fungi from reappearing. I would move the strawberry bed to another area and plant something else there, preferably and nitrogen fixer, like legumes, that will both help the soil and also kill out pathogens. Next fall, consider planting some cover crops in your beds. Your extension office can provide you with a list of cover crops that do best in your area. Cover crops will help both protect and revitalize your soil as well as smother out weed seed. Hope this helps.
Catherine Smith
on Dec 20, 2013
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cover crops for sure !
LInda
on Dec 20, 2013
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Thanks Linda I didn't know that cover cropsl could actually help with disease. Makes sense. Thanks for your response. Have a lovely holiday!
Wanda B
on Dec 20, 2013
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What type of mold is it? There are a few different kinds and each can be treated so the problem goes away hopefully I also agree with Catherine, get rid of all plant material and as much mold or fungus as possible, aerate the soil and amend with dry dirt. Sounds weird but dry dirt and some peat should help soak up any excess waters
Connie
on Dec 20, 2013
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Thanks Connie, not sure what kind of molds I have. Powdery Mildew for sure and whatever caused the roots to rot on strawberry plants. I feel like a lot of plants just withered and died randomly all throughout the beds.
Wanda B
on Dec 20, 2013
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@Catherine Smith 's advice is excellent. Powdery mildew is often caused by poor air circulation, so anything you can do to improve that—planting farther apart, appropriate pruning—will help. If you do have mold problems again next season, you might want to consider Serenade, which contains a soil-dwelling bacterium that controls many types of mold and mildew. It is approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI).
Douglas Hunt
on Dec 21, 2013
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Douglas, thanks so much for your input. I always appreciate what you have to say. I am going to look into the Serenade. This past year was the first year that I have struggled with this on such a huge scale. Would you recommend that I treat the soil just in case this Spring or is this a product to apply once you determine you have a currant or ongoing issue?
Wanda B
on Dec 21, 2013
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time of day you water if you water at night is more prone to mold and mildews
Jack Franssen
on Dec 22, 2013
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Good tip. Thanks
Wanda B
on Dec 22, 2013
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There are plenty of fungicides on the market. I used to work for a company that developed and sold fungicides, pesticides and herbicides. If you know what moulds you have that might help with soil treatment. I would be testing a soil sample or if the moulds are highly visible, pop some of the raised bed soil into a zip lock bag and take to your local garden centre to see if they can identify what is going on. Of course you cannot control the weather but anything at all you can do to improve the drainage and aeration in those garden beds would be helpful. We had torrential rains last year and again this year and our garden was full of every type of toadstool you could possibly imagine - yeeeeuk!! Good luck!
Carole
on Dec 22, 2013
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Thanks so much Carole. I am so hoping that we have a bit less water this year. Can't believe I am hoping for less natural irrigation but this has been fun dealing with. Thanks for the advice. Have a nice holiday!
Wanda B
on Dec 23, 2013
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go to grow organic.com then their cover crop section then call them and they can help you select cover crops that might help
Jack Franssen
on Dec 24, 2013
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Thanks for the resource Jack
Wanda B
on Dec 25, 2013
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I water the soil not the leaves; of course we can't control rain.
Linda
on Jan 03, 2014
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