Mold under mulch

I just discovered some white mold down under my cypress mulch. It's in the bottom layer of mulch right on top of the dirt. Does anyone know if this is a big problem? I'm in Florida on the beach so we have high temperatures and high humidity both of which probably help create the mold. Thanks!! -- Vicky

That's a decaying or decomposing fungus - working on the cypress, surely. And possibly what's under the cypress. The problem with the ones I've seen (and I've had it happen to me), is that it is impervious to water. Water can't get through it and so plants whose roots are underneath it may end up not being watered after all. The water runs off laterally. It's a big problem with hardwood mulch. I'd watch the plants, and if they appear to be lacking water, check under the fungal mat to see if the ground is dry when it should be wet. If so, then I'd do some mixing up to get that fungal mat broken up. And keep watching.....
CJ, who also has high temps and high humidity - ain't it fun?!

oh yeah, loads of fun...................

But at least we can garden most of the year!! Thanks for the feedback. This particular mold was under the mulch for a yellow oleander I have. The plant seems fine so far. I want to keep the yellow since it's somewhat rare.

that's true, we can garden. once in a great blue moon i am envious of those who can put their garden away for the winter and do other things, but not very often. lol

Oh trackin, I know what you mean. I used to live in zone 7, and I was envious of those who could garden all winter. Now, zone 7 wasn't bad, because we still had an early spring, and a later fall than when I lived in Denver (can't remember the zone there). But we also had a definite wintertime, when nothing was done in the garden. I have had times here when I remember that enforced time of rest. It was not all bad. Not at all.....

lol

I have that same white fungus looking stuff too in quite a few places in my yard.
I have a half acre that I had landscaped last summer and they blew in new mulch on the whole yard. Then they put in sod on a lot of it but left all the edges for plantings. Those are the parts I have seen the fungus. And now I am finding mushroom (large amounts) in some of the beds. What should I do with the mushrooms, dig up, dig under, ignore. Any help with this will be much appreciated. I am a new gardener. Thanks, :)Donna

Well I must say I wasn't thinking of the WORK required to garden all year round! I was actually thinking of two crops of things like tomatoes!! LOL. I had so many tomatoes this spring I was giving them away to all my neighbors.

gads, i just took a huge bag of tomatoes up to my beauty salon and green peppers too. we can't eat them fast enough. we give away several grocery bags a week and still have enough for us for salad every day. i don't know why we plant so many, but we do. LOL

I know what you mean trackinsand! I really do enjoy sharing my harvests though. My mangos are starting to ripen and the figs will be along soon. I've had gobs of peppers too. Are your tomatoes still producing? I was wondering recently why we can't grow them in the summer. The temps in much of the midwest are higher than ours in the summer and they grow them there. I just want tomatoes all year round!! LOL!

VCB,
Well, since you are in FLOR, yr round should NOT be a problem for you

Best;
bluelytes

hi vcb, regardless of what bluelytes thinks, tomatoes don't do well here in summer. lol, unless you plant the right kinds. we have cherrys, grapes, and pear tomatoes that are just now starting to produce. they will go all summer and into fall. the bigger varieties are slowing down and will be gone soon. the romas will produce nicely for another month. the peppers will go all season. we do a lot of the mild banana peppers too. they produce like crazy into fall. i started all my pear tomatoes from seed and the others were bought early this spring. these pears are hard to contain, they want to go all over the place. i have them in the tall cages. i plant in 5 gal. buckets sunk into the ground, lots of drain holes. i start the seeds in peatpots and then move them to the buckets. i fill the bucket about half way with Jungle Growth Professional potting mix and bury the tomatoes about half way up the stem. by the time winter hits you have to have a forklift to move those buckets! LOL

TRAC,
I'll deal with your smartie pants comments LATER!! :P :P lol

bring it on blue! LOL

I didn't know about the roma and pears, etc. I usually plant two crops of celebrity, etc. , one in the spring and one in the fall. It's good to know about the others although probably too late to take advantage now. My green peppers are still producing too -- along with the mild banana peppers.

Growing veggies down here is still somewhat new to me other than the tomatoes & peppers. I grew lots of stuff up north (10 yrs ago!!!) but had some trouble acclimating to veggie growing in FL. What else have you had good luck with? And thanks for the tomato info!!

i forgot to say olive tomatoes. those are very tiny and sweet. couldn't find any this year though.

last year we grew okra. that loves the summer sun here. it's also a beautiful plant. you have to keep picking them though and when they are small, otherwise very tough. i'm going to get some seed next spring for the burgundy okra and grow it in the flower garden. in fall i start radishes. i plant them in an old washtub or other type planter. i don't mess with lettuce much. we mostly eat fresh spinach in our salads. that's about it really.

I would think lettuce is hard since it likes the coolness. I'm going to try cukes this fall. I used to grow kirby cukes up a chicken wire fence up north and got a good crop. Thanks again for all the good info!

vcb, you're a little south of me, but it gets downright cold here! lettuce does good, i just don't like it! LOL