Found something nasty in my sealed jar from 2020

I opened a terrarium I made three years ago in my old apartment in Phoenix, and the whole thing was covered in thick white mold. I used regular potting soil instead of a sterile mix, and the humidity must have baked in that Arizona heat. Has anyone else had a sealed setup go bad after that long, and what do you do with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthewp522d ago

Yeah angelaellis is right, regular soil is asking for trouble in a sealed jar. I had the same thing happen with a moss jar I forgot about. That white mold is no joke, I opened mine outside with a mask on just to be safe. Honestly toss the whole thing, clean the jar with bleach if you want to save it, but starting over with sterile mix is way easier.

angelaellis2d ago

That's a total bio jar horror story. Regular soil is basically a mold buffet in a sealed glass box. The Phoenix heat turning it into a slow cooker didn't help. I'd just toss the whole thing, jar and all. Not worth the risk of breathing in those spores. Next time, sterile mix and maybe a little charcoal are your best friends.