A friend of mine, who is usually quite green-fingered, has been having problems with growing anything indoors for the past few months.
Everything he tries to grow from seed gets so far, and then dies. He’s tried sterilising all his pots etc., and trying different composts, but to no avail.
A few days ago he planted a pineapple top in a pot, and woke this morning to find it covered in a furry white mould. :eek:
He lives in a small flat, with average airflow.
Does anyone have any ideas what the problem might be? We’re thinking maybe some kind of spores in the air … if this is the case, anyone know how to get rid of them?
Thanks for any help with this. 
There are always mould spores in the air; their level of concentration doesn’t make a whole lot of difference; if a suitable growth medium is available, then it doesn’t matter if one spore lands there or one thousand; the results after a few days of growth are going to be quite similar.
I think the problem could be overwatering.
Thanks for your reply Mangetout … my friend is absolutely sure that overwatering is not the problem. As I said, he is quite an experienced “indoor” gardener, and the problem has only arisen over the past few months.
(BTW - I haven’t forgotten to email that info to you - just trying to ascertain the precise lat/long )
Anyone else got any ideas?
I suppose there could be a number of other reasons; reduction in the chlorination of your friend’s tap water, perhaps.
Or it could just be a run of sheer bad luck. It happens.
Dunno. I’m stumped; maybe someone else can suggest something.
BTW, pineapple tops should be pared down so that only a thin slice of the central core remains at the bottom of the leafy crown. This should then be left in a warm, dry place for several days until it scars over, then it should be planted in sharply-draining gritty compost.