White mold(?) on indoor potted dirt

[inac]

Hi, my ~3 month old indoor tiny herb garden has been experiencing an ever gathering infusion of white stuff. In the beginning, I would weekly remove them but now there's so much of them.

Also the basil and thyme and even the new parsley are turning brown though not for lack of water?

Does anyone know what the white stuff is - any advice?

 

[Beth_B]

Probably powdery mildew, or maybe mealybugs. Can't tell from your photo but you say it's not from "lack of water."

Which leads me to think too much water - overwatering is the number one cause of plant demise and fungus and bugs. (you can google this.) How often do you water? Unless you are in an incredibly dry desert climate, once a week or less is probably appropriate. It is Ok for most plants to get really crispy between waterings.

Most plants do best when allowed to dry out completely between watering. You say your herb garden is "tiny" are your plants still in the little starter pots? This is not a natural environment for any plant.

I would bet that if you uprooted your plants, the roots would be waterlogged and rotted from too much water.

Look up where your herbs originated. Mostly dry and Mediterranean climates, right? Not wet and tropical.

 

[Becky]

Yup, I agree that overwatering is the most likely culprit here. Check out this post: https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/common-plant-issue-read-before-posting.8886/

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Chuck]

It doesn't matter what it is. You are watering way too much. The soil around the roots has even been washed away. You might save your plants if you would wash away the soil from the remaining roots and re-pot with fresh potting soil