What's growing on my pod?

most of what shows up on a pod looks scarier than it is. The trick is to look at the character of the growth, not just the fact that something's there. Here are the three things you might see.

This is saprophytic fungus, the most common one. It's dry and cottony, sitting on the surface in little tufts. It feeds on the coir itself, not on your sprout, so it isn't attacking the plant. Sprouts very often come up right through it without any trouble. It shows up when conditions are warm, still, and moist. Annoying to look at, but not a real threat.

If the look bothers you, scrape it off with a clean fork or your finger. A light dusting of cinnamon, kept off the sprout, slows it coming back.

This is algae. It looks painted or smeared onto the surfaces that the light reaches, because that's exactly what it needs to grow: light, moisture, and a bit of nutrient. It's basically tiny plant life, not a fungus, and it won't hurt your seedlings. Sometimes you'll see green algae with white fuzz tufting up above it, and the combination reads as "green-and-white mold", but only the fuzzy part is fungal.

The green layer is just algae. If you want it gone, scrape or wipe it off.

It's called damping-off, and unlike the surface stuff, it actually kills seedlings. It attacks a young plant right where the stem meets the pod, causing the stem to thin, darken, and go soft so the seedling flops over and collapses. If a sprout that looked fine suddenly falls over with a pinched, mushy spot at its base, that's damping-off, not the harmless surface fuzz.

There's no saving a sprout once it collapses like this, so throw the pod out, give the pod holder a wash, and start a fresh one in the plant starter. Damping-off can spread, so keep an eye on the pods next to it.

If you're not sure what you're looking at, email support@vext.fi with a clear photo of the pod and the sprout, and we'll tell you whether to leave it or replace it.