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My indoor herb garden got hit by a weird mold and I almost gave up | Botany Lovers - Thought Shares

My indoor herb garden got hit by a weird mold and I almost gave up

So about three weeks ago, I saw this white fuzzy stuff on the soil of my basil and thyme pots. I thought it was just harmless fungus at first, but then the leaves started wilting and turning yellow. I panicked and almost threw the whole setup out, thinking I just couldn't keep plants alive. My friend Sarah, who works at the Denver Botanic Gardens, told me to stop watering for a week and mix a teaspoon of cinnamon into the top layer of soil. She said it's a natural anti-fungal. I was super skeptical, but I tried it. The mold was gone in five days and the plants perked right back up. I always thought plant problems needed fancy chemical fixes from a store. Has anyone else had a simple home trick save their plants like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_diana7mo ago

Wow, that cinnamon trick is GENIUS. I had a similar mold scare but my issue was the pots themselves. I was using those cute ceramic ones with no drainage hole. The mold wasn't just on top, it was a soggy mess underneath. I finally switched to basic plastic nursery pots with holes and set them inside the pretty pots. Letting the soil actually dry out between waterings fixed like 90% of my problems. Sometimes the fix isn't what you add, it's the container you never thought to question.

sandra_bennett597mo ago

My friend had the same exact problem, @the_diana. She was killing her snake plant with love in a solid brass container she found at a flea market (it was so cute). The roots were basically swimming. We finally drilled a hole in the bottom, which felt like a crime against vintage decor, but it saved the plant. Now she just uses it as a cover pot.

knight.felix5mo ago

Crusty soil is the absolute worst, it basically suffocates the plant. Rosemary is especially picky about drainage, so letting it dry out that hard probably sealed the deal. I've seen people do that with succulents too and it never ends well (they just shrivel up instead of rotting). You really have to feel the soil not just look at it, you know? Fresh mix was definitely the play there, sometimes you just gotta hit reset on the whole situation.

david_jones387mo ago

That cinnamon trick is wild, glad it worked. My experience was totally different though. I tried the "let it dry out" method and it just made things worse for my rosemary. The soil got this hard crust and the plant got super stressed. Sometimes you need to act fast, not wait. I had to repot the whole thing with fresh soil and a better mix. @sandra_bennett59 drilling that hole was the right call, sometimes you just can't mess around with moisture.