Serious question, are you checking your pots for root rot before you plant?

I just lost a whole batch of cherry tomato starts because I reused a pot from last year without cleaning it properly. The old soil had fungus gnats and the roots were a mess. I learned you need to scrub pots with a 10% bleach solution and let them dry for a full day. Has anyone else had this happen with a specific plant?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_perry2922d ago

Watched my buddy lose all his pepper seedlings the same way last spring. He reused a bunch of those cheap black nursery pots and didn't clean them at all. The plants just stalled out and fell over, roots were totally brown and slimy. He's a bleach convert now too, but he adds a vinegar rinse after to get the smell out. What do you do with really dirty terra cotta pots, just toss them?

grant_ross2713d ago

Terra cotta gets a long soak in a vinegar bath for me. The white crust is just mineral buildup, but that porous material holds onto pathogens like crazy. Fill a tub with one part white vinegar to four parts water and let them sit overnight. A stiff brush takes off the rest. It's way less harsh than bleach on the clay, and it dissolves that crust without any scrubbing.

colemiller22d ago

Yeah, that bleach soak is key. I've found even a quick rinse leaves behind spores. For plastic pots, I'll sometimes soak them in hot water with a bit of dish soap first to loosen everything up before the bleach scrub.