Mums at war over Woolworths Discovery Garden mould scandal
'I can’t believe you’re happy to take the risk.'
By Eliza Scanlan
October 03 2019
It’s the Discovery Garden ‘MouldGate’ drama that’s caused some mums to throw away their Woolworths plants, disgusted to find large amounts of fungi growing on their seedling kits.
Photos of Discovery Garden plants covered in extreme mould have flooded social media in recent weeks, leading one mum to ‘chuck them in the bin’, claiming she’d ‘had enough.’
But other seasoned gardeners have defended the mould, saying that it can actually be beneficial to the plants and people need to just ‘ignore’ the fungi.
The conflict in opinions has lead to some fiery exchanges between some Discovery Garden fans on social media. During one heated debate, a fan came under fire after maintaining that ‘Mould is not something that’s good to just leave if they are in your house’ and that ‘breathing in mould spores is not good.’
Image: New Idea Food
Image: New Idea food
When the mum claimed that her own mother, a registered nurse, had said that the mould on the Discovery Garden pots was fine, other mums echoed her sentiments.
Said one: ‘There is a big difference between toxic black mould, and the harmless mould that has been popping up on a lot of these pots.
‘Mine are kept inside and my immune suppressed, Oncology child is 100% fine.
I even double checked it with his Oncologist in clinic today so pipe down.’
Added another: ‘Maybe U should learn to double check ur information.....because DING DING DING.....ur wrong.’
Image: Facebook
A Woolworths spokesman has told New Idea Food that mould on the Discovery Garden plants isn’t dangerous.
‘We’d like to reassure growers that mould can be a natural part of the process when it comes to growing a natural product,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Mould is found everywhere and comes down to the environment and caused by local conditions such as moisture and airflow. If you see mould appearing, we suggest gently wiping it off with a tissue or cloth.
‘Although the mould doesn’t damage the plant, it is unsightly and usually indicates that the pots are being overwatered and have poor drainage or circulation.’
Originally published as Mums at war over Woolworths Discovery Garden mould scandal
