Sweet peas in cardboard root runners

[Judith Ayers]

For the first time I have planted sweet peas in card root runners. The pots are horrendously mouldy. Does this

matter?

 

[Chuck]

The white mold/fungi could be but is unlikely to be harmful to plants. All it is doing is slowly decomposing the cardboard. If you want to rid yourself of it just spray with hydrogen peroxide. This should rid the containers of any mold/mildew.

 

[alp]

What strength do you recommend please, Chuck?

 

[Chuck]

What strength do you recommend please, Chuck?

Just the basic out of the bottle 3% sprayed full strength. Most times this will make the fungi disappear. It depends on the type of fungi but 99% of the time it will kill the fungi/mold.

 

[Judith Ayers]

Thank you

 

[alp]

Instead of buying hydrogen peroxide, another cheap way of killing mould is use 1 part bleach 10 parts water. As they are pea seeds, they will be OK. Save you buying up hydrogen peroxide. Now which fool has bought one tub! Ah, me! LOL!

 

[Judith Ayers]

Good advice thanks

 

[alp]

Good advice thanks

Don't try it with very small or refined seeds though. You can get away with it with alstroemeria, peas, beans seeds. Bleach is a household product. Hydrogen peroxide is a bit pricy to buy!

 

[HarryS]

Hi Judith , I used cardboard tubes once for my Sweet Peas . Never again ! Ended up with a damp mould mess.
I now use clear plastic pint beakers with a few holes drilled in the bottom A pack of 20 from Asda , pretty cheap .
These are just ready to go in the greenhouse for planting out late March .

 

[Judith Ayers]

Thank you, that’s a good idea. I will do that next year.

 

[DeborahJane]

I was about to use the empty toilet rolls to do just this on advice from a friend. Maybe i should think again

 

[Lily_Lover]

Another solution for the mold is to use vinegar in a 1:20 part mix with water. It is an acid and will kill anything it touches so make sure you don't get any on the seedlings. It's way cheaper than HP and probably something you already have in your house. Definitely don't use ammonia/bleach as it is bad for the environment.

 

[HarryS]

Hi Deborah , sweet peas like a deep root run. So plastic pint cups seem to do fine .