Hello,

I'm new at herb gardening this year. Since it's getting cold here, I brought my rosemary and sage indoors. They're both in terracotta pots.

This morning, I noticed a white ring had developed at the top of the pot containing the sage. I was wondering if it's sick or if I should change the soil.

Thank you for your help in advance!

If you mean that the white ring is on the pot, it is mineral deposits. You can scrub it off with white vinegar and a wire brush.
You must have hard water as we do here.
Although, sometimes here we get a white crumbly film on the top of the soil of potted plants, which is mineral deposit too.

yup, sounds like mineral deposits...rain water (which is probably what fed the plants during the summer) doesn't have any additives to it like the tap water.

you could try to let your water sit (preferably overnight) and see if that helps. over time, you'll still see that ring, tho. easy enough to scrub it away tho...a toothbrush and some baking soda and/or vinegar should do it. if you let the ring sit too long, it'll harden up and it will be hard to get off...

Joclyn, letting water sit 24 hours removes the chlorine but not the minerals.
I know that muriatic acid will also remove hard water deposits, but I don't know if it will harm plants.
Maybe someone will come along and tell us.

I have tried Lime Away on pots, but all it did was foam up and didn't even budge the white stuff.

Vinegar in my opinion works the best for removing mineral build up. If you are trying to clean an empty pot the best thing is to use denture cleaning tablets in water and let it soak over night before giving it a little scrub...they work great to remove most anything from posts.

Hey......... I heard that too, Comfrey, glad to meet someone who can say that it really works.

yes, i know the main purpose of letting the water sit is to let the chlorine dissipate...i

i've found that using water that's been sitting at room temp, rather than using it straight from the tap, doesn't leave that white ring.

i've got really hard water here, so it's a big issue for me now that i've got more things that need to be in clay pots.

they were doing fine (no white stuff) until i got busy (and lazy) and started using water straight from the tap. after just 3 doses straight from the tap the clay pots have those white rings starting.

i've had these plants since march, so if it's just the hard water, i'd think the rings would have appeared much sooner - not after i stopped using water that had been sitting for a bit.

dunno what it is about letting it sit (besides the chlorine issue) before using. i have seen a difference tho.

guess i should have clarified my earlier statement and explained why i was suggesting that.

Oops, did I seem rude or like a know-it-all?
I don't want you to apologize-ya didn't do a darn thing wrong !!
Besides, we prolly have different water and different experiences with it !

no, biggie, deb!! i should have explained properly the first time 'round!

the thing is, all water has some amount of minerals in it...hard water more than usual...so, anyone will potentially have the issue of the white ring on the clay pots.

my usual is to keep water for the plants ready/waiting in gallon jugs (because there is SO much chlorine in my water and it is so hard). i just didn't explain myself clearly enough as to my experiences recently.

oh, and thx, comfrey! i'm going to try the denture cleaner trick!!

Hmm, I wonder...my clay pots and soil-tops started getting the white deposits just about the time I started getting the eczema...could that be related? As in, something happened to the water earlier this year?

Thanks, Joclyn !
Myndful, I have eczema too, but my doctor says it's stress.
I do notice that it pops up when I'm raging over some current issue.
Like wondering if I offended Joclyn.....

actually, I think it looks totally cool - adds a "worn" look to the pots

Clearly, we have someone here who does NOT have hard water.....

rofl!!