soil disease

When I started digging a hold for a new plant today, the soil under the mulch was white and thready. I dug out what I could but I need to know what this stuff is. Can anyone help me out on this?

Sounds like fungus. Can't tell ya whether it's a good kind or a bad kind, though. I'm no mycologist. If you post a picture maybe someone here will recognize it.

Are any plants nearby looking sickly?

You are right - I should have posted a picture of it. I will do that tomorrow. Thanks for your reply! The plants look ok to me. Mostly. :)

mableruth - fungus is needed to break down the mulch. There are thousands of different kinds of fungus. If there were no fungus, we would be over our heads with things that fungus breaks down into usable soil.

I'm guessing your fungus is doing the job Mother Nature intended it to do, so be glad it's there. Just don't eat it!

You might want to do a search for mycorrhizae. It's a beneficial fungus I purchase to add to my soil.

Sounds like plain old decomposition to me. :-)

I would not worry. I think probably neutral or beneficial.