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I can't seem to find out what this is. It was growing on soil that's why I didn't make a huge deal of it but now it started growing in the thyme plants and I'm wondering if I should discard the entire plant. The pictures attached are of a 3 gallon fabric grow pot. A cluster's size is no larger than a quarter inches. It populates relatively large & visible brown cloud of spores when contacted with water.

It starts as blue or pink (I have seen both) dots on the surface then converts into little spikes.

Location: Memphis/TN, grow zone 7

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ReturnTable
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  • Very interesting. Definitely a fungus of some sort. I looked up Coral and Puff balls...which is where I think this fungus is filed. – stormy Aug 26 '19 at 22:31
  • @stormy Agreed, what makes it more interesting is that I can't find anything about this, I'm just more curious in regards to this being some sort of a danger to health. I looked up every possible thing I could find for common fungus or puffball fungus... It also seems to be rendered infertile by neem oil as it stops spreading dust after neem-oil is applied but it keeps the shape and it just sits there after neem-oil application. – ReturnTable Aug 26 '19 at 23:36
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    If the soil in your pots contains fragments of uncomposted wood, that's why this is present in the soil, but I'm guessing its now spread to the material of the 'fabric' grow pot. I'd repot whatever you're growing in the fabric pots into ordinary plastic pots using new potting soil instead and don't keep the soil too wet. – Bamboo Aug 27 '19 at 00:33
  • @Bamboo I'm always using new bag of potting soil when I'm potting plants and the soil smells like pine a whole lot, these peppers for instance were just repotted into these just a few weeks ago. Are you aware of any hazards related to this type of mold? – ReturnTable Aug 27 '19 at 17:21
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    Likely not to you, although you might get the occasional faceful of spores, but possibly to the plants in the pots. This mould has evolved to break down damp wood, but there is also a slight risk it will devour your plants, since they are in a pot that contains the roots as well as the mould. And once it reaches the sporangium stage, it will disseminate a lot of spores far and wide. I suspect the 'fabric' pots themselves may have some wood content, and that if you move the plants into plastic, ceramic or terracotta pots the problem will disappear.As for the soil, it should have been sterile – Bamboo Aug 27 '19 at 17:42
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    Sorry, ran out of character space - that potting soil should have been sterile at point of purchase, and whilst still contained in the bag, so this has come in either in that soil, or maybe you've got the spores in the air locally. Most potting soils contain composted material which may be woody, but its usually produced using a very hot, anaerobic method, which kills of this sort of thing prior to sale. – Bamboo Aug 27 '19 at 17:45
  • @Bamboo thank you for the info. I have observed this in a potted pepper for the first time so I think you have a point in thinking the soil brought this epidemic (and obviously that's how it spread) As for eating the plants, you are indeed correct, it dried an entire thyme plant and I stopped it halfway in another one. I'll repot the peppers in these. And since this is not a true fungus, I doubt that daconil or seranade would work eliminating this at all right? – ReturnTable Aug 27 '19 at 18:10
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    I too doubt those products would be effective, plus I'm not sure I'd want to eat food from a plant that's been in contact with those products. I forgot to say dispose of the fabric pots - if you are allowed to burn stuff, do that, or leave them out of the way somewhere to completely dry out, then dispose of them. Slime moulds need lots of moisture to survive, though the spores can hang on indefinitely for the right conditions and likely won't be killed by treatments. Don't keep the plants overly wet if you repot, and ensure there's free drainage from holes in the base of the pots. – Bamboo Aug 27 '19 at 18:22
  • @Bamboo thank you for the advice, I'll be discarding the pots after hydrogen peroxide application, though I wonder I can discard each and every plant since I have more than 100 vegetable plants in the backyard. I'm sure leafy edibles are all gone if I see the growth inside (a couple thyme plants and a few lemon balms as well as a rosemary) but I can't decide about the peppers and tomatoes. I'll have to find out some solution for eliminating this. – ReturnTable Aug 27 '19 at 19:55
  • @Bamboo and unfortunately I'm living in Memphis where the weather is almost liquid with 95%+ humidity on daily basis which makes it impossible to reduce moisture... – ReturnTable Aug 27 '19 at 19:58
  • Return Table I've been bothered by the dimensions of this fiber pot. There is no way roots could take advantage of the depth of your soil. Plant roots are 95% within the top 4 to 6" of topsoil, the surface. Any deeper they are roots meant for support not water and chemistry. Pots should be wider than tall. The plant planted should be proportioned to the pot. Small seeds/starts should be in tiny tiny pots such as 2" deep 1" wide. As they grow they need to be transplanted into 3 and 4" THEN 6" or 1gallon then 10" or 2 gallons. You need to use fans 24/7, your hair should move! – stormy Aug 28 '19 at 21:17
  • @stormy Very good point indeed, I heard about the same thing for cucumbers but I never thought about that for peppers since they seem to go as deep as the container goes in my hydroponics systems. Very interesting point indeed. Is this valid for all the vegetables or peppers in particular? I do know that cucumbers have shallow roots but tomatoes tend to go somewhat deep since they actually got the roots penetrating out from the bottom of 10 gallon grow pots. I was in fact thinking about getting deeper containers for them. I will look for the wider grow pots next time I'm purchasing them. – ReturnTable Aug 28 '19 at 21:56
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    95% of all plant roots reside within the top 4 to 6 inches of soil. Way too much soil for any plant and then the water that needs to be taken up by roots actually causes roots to rot. – stormy Aug 29 '19 at 07:28

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Apparently this is Chocolate-Tube Slime Mold and it's formerly classified as fungus but no longer. It seems to not be a health hazard. Although I can observe this destructing the plants. Info: https://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/club%20and%20coral/species%20pages/Stemonitis.htm

ReturnTable
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    Fascinating - thanks for posting such an interesting question and answer! Never seen this other than once on a dead log in the woods... – Bamboo Aug 27 '19 at 00:38
  • Yay, Return Table! Spent a lot of time on the internet but never got this close, I believe you are right! – stormy Aug 28 '19 at 21:06
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    Bamboo, why would anyone dispose of the fabric pots? Easy peasy to disinfect and they cost a bit of moola. These 'fabrics' are oh so organic yet to burn them causes me to hesitate. They are petroleum products, yes? What are the gases released when this fabric is burned? – stormy Aug 28 '19 at 21:09
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    I'm not throwing my fiber pots away...they are great for potted plants! Just dunk in a tub of chlorine (not chloramine) and rinse and ta da...a new sterilized pot ready for sterilized potting soil! Glad we are on the same page with that! – stormy Aug 28 '19 at 21:13