small yellow/orange balls

I keep some earth in a container in our garden shed which I use for topping up interior plants' plantpots. Today I was moving a lucky bamboo into a bigger container for which I needed extra earth when I noticed ugly orange balls in that earth container. When I crushed one ball it produced a white powder. Do you know what it is? Can I just ignore them, should I clear the earth off them or should I get rid of the earth? Is it going to harm the bamboo? Hopefully, it is not poisonous, or is it? How can I stop these balls appearing again in the new earth supply? Thank you for your advice.

 

Dahlia, it is nothing to worry about, just slow release fertiliser.

 

Thank you Daitheplant. I am sorry but I don't understand. How did they get there? I don't remember them being there before. I can't even remember what sort of earth that is and where I have it from. I might have even dug up some of it in the garden.

 

They would be in the compost you used.

 

I dont have any compost but it's possible I emptied some pots a while ago and that this earth came from them. It sounds as though these balls are put in the earth/compost additionally by the earth supplier then, and I just didn't notice them before. Anyhow, it's a relief to know it is not something harmful that multiplies and spreads.

 

It`s common practice nowadays for nurseries to add the fertiliser when potting on plants. It really is nothing to worry about.