[sclarke624]

Hi

I bought a polythene cloche or poly tunnel if you like poly sheet hoops folds up.  I put it on the high rise bed which I had got ready with chicken pellets, I now find after two weeks there is a white furry mould growing under it.  Have I got it to far in ground i.e. no air circulating?  Its gets very condensated under there.  What do I do.

[Trillium]

You definitely need a bit of air in there and go easy on the watering. To get rid of the mold, spray with cool chamomile tea or damping off spray and leave the lid off for a day to dry out. If necessary replace the lid on a small prop like a pencil for a day or 2 to dry out a bit more. Then check daily for future problems and be light handed with watering.

[sclarke624]

Thanks Trill, its out in the garden The bed before I put the tunnel on was saturated with rain.  Haven't watered at all.  Will try the chamomille tea.  Meanwhile I have lifted the sides up a bit so air can get in, thought the whole idea was to warm the soil so I made sure it was well enclosed.  Luckily nothing except onion sets in there right now, doesn't seem to be too near them mostly on the outside of the inside.

[Trillium]

I figured that somehow there was too much moisture inside. By closing it in tightly, the sun draws up water by evaporation, hence the problem you've got right now. Let the soil dry out a bit more before closing it up again. Sunny days will quickly warm up the soil afterwards. And do keep an eye on that mold; I suspect your soil is very wet.