Mould in cold frame

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Blackcats

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Mould in cold frame
« on: January 02, 2025, 12:35 »
Happy New Year, everyone!

I didn't ventilate my cold frame when it was empty - so it has grown a good crop of mould.

Since taking the photo I have cleaned the cold frame with a bleach wipe. I can still see where the mould was but hopefully the mould itself is dead.

I'm concerned that there may now be higher-than-normal levels of mould spores in the soil, which might affect the lettuces that I am going to plant. Is this a likely issue, or am I worrying too much?

Presumably the soil contains mould spores anyway - but I suspect that they will have multiplied. Should I do anything to treat the soil? (I aim to garden organically). I'm considering scraping off the top layer of soil, microwaving it, then sprinkling it with cinnamon. Would this work, do you think?

Is there anything else I should do to treat the mould, please?

As a new cold frame owner, I'd be grateful for any  advice on cold frames, mould and controlling humidity.

P.S. Cold frame recently painted, hence the masking tape!
Mould.jpg

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New shoot

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Re: Mould in cold frame
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2025, 17:17 »
I would just try and ventilate the cold frame as much as you can for a few days.  The frosts forecast should help clean things up a bit.

Things don’t really germinate or grow in January due to low light levels.  I would hold fire on the lettuce until the end of the month anyway  :)

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Blackcats

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Re: Mould in cold frame
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2025, 11:33 »
I would just try and ventilate the cold frame as much as you can for a few days.  The frosts forecast should help clean things up a bit.

Things don’t really germinate or grow in January due to low light levels.  I would hold fire on the lettuce until the end of the month anyway  :)

Thanks, that's really helpful - and it's lower-effort than the options I was considering  :D

The lettuces are Winter Density. I'm itching to get started so I think I'll sow 10 just for fun, to see what happens (probably nothing!), then sow another batch in a month.

Is it worth sowing "normal" lettuces at the end of January, please? (i.e. non-winter ones?). I have sown some on a windowsill and I'm wondering when they would germinate outside.

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Re: Mould in cold frame
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2025, 15:53 »
Lettuce will be affected by frost.  Winter density is hardier than most so might be OK, but I think sowing outside may be a stretch until around Feb/March depending on how the rest of the winter goes.

Itchy seed sowing fingers are well known to us all here  :lol: There is not much to lose if it is just a few lettuce seeds, so you could have a go if it makes you happy.  If they fail, just shrug, tell yourself it is character building as a gardener to face adversity with a smile and then try again  :)


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