mouldy compost question

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ilknur
KG Regular
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:01 pm
Location: Scottish Borders

Hello all,
I'm new to gardening or growing much really.
I decided to grow ginger recently (thanks to Pinterest). I managed to have it sprouting but soon enough the compost I planted in became mouldy and the plant died soon after. Now I'm trying again. Again the little bud managed to peak through the soil but the soil started to develop those greyish mould. I don't think I'm overwatering but to keep the soil moist, I spray it with water every 3 days. The compost I used is from a big bag of compost I bought from a garden centre. The only thing I can think of is overwatering unless the compost is contaminated (or the water in the spray bottle contaminated)? I used the same compost for both of the ginger growing attempts.

Soon I'll be starting seeds indoors but I've never done that before so I don't want to kill them all with the same issue. So I better learn what I'm doing wrong.

Any insight is much appreciated.
Thanks!
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Geoff
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Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 5:33 pm
Location: Forest of Bowland
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Welcome!
It looks like you have only bought the one bag of compost and it was perhaps a bit old when you bought it and has may be got a bit worse after opening and storage. With all the labelling there is on stuff these days it should really include compost that should have a "mixed" date on it and maybe even a "use by". It doesn't mean it becomes unusable just that you use it for things that are a bit tougher like potting on things that are growing. I definitely wouldn't use it for seedlings after your results with the ginger. I don't know what you feel about peat but I am not a fan of modern potting composts made out of anything vaguely organic like recycled garden waste, I'm guessing yours was a badly compounded one of these. If you are happy to use it I would buy a peat based one like Erin for your seed sowing, if you can find one labelled for seeds rather than multipurpose (multipurpose really means compromise) that might be even better.
Good luck with your growing, don't give up because of a few early failures.
sally wright
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Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2005 7:32 pm
Location: Cambridge

Dear Ilknur,
ginger likes to grow flat on top of the soil like Iris do. It is also from the tropics which means it needs a lot of warmth (at least 20C) and a lot of light as well. Try again in the spring, April perhaps, and it may do better. Buy a fresh rhizome that is plump and juicy as these will root best. I find that Oriental food shops seem to have the freshest ginger.
Regards Sally Wright.
ilknur
KG Regular
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:01 pm
Location: Scottish Borders

Thank you so much for your responses. I will give it a go at ginger when it's warmer, although Scottish summers aren't very warm :) For all other seedlings, I'll definitely go for new compost with new seeds.
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