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Please help - Fungal Invasion in my raised beds.

barrow.charliebarrow.charlie Posts: 3
in Problem solving
 Hello, 

This is the first year that I have grown in raised beds in the garden. Top soil came from about 30 miles inland. I live on the coast in N.E Scotland.

I have been trying to stay on top of what I presume is a fungus of some sort. It looks like little hula hoops but grows rapidly, smothering my plants.

Can anyone tell me what it is, how harmful it is to my plants and how I should treat it.

I was so excited about all my veggie goodies this year but this has put a bit of a dampener on things! I'm scooping out the visible bits on a daily basis. 

Thanks.





Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391
    Most likely one of the Peziza family of cup fungi.:

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • barrow.charliebarrow.charlie Posts: 3
    Thanks very much BobTheGardener. I did look at that page when searching and it does look as close to what I have as I can find. It says that it's not a huge threat to plants but it's growing so aggressively that I'm concerned it's just going to strangle everything. 

    I'd be interested in anyone's ideas of how to keep it at bay. 

    Thanks.
  • razvan.stoiciurazvan.stoiciu Posts: 6
    Not much of a gardener myself but I'd buy a fungicide (or craft one at home) and apply every couple of days.

    Can use neem oil once the fungus is gone, to prevent further infection.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 85,976
    It’s not an infection 😟 it’s fungi feeding on the organic matter in the soil and breaking it down into a form that can be accessed by our plants’ roots for nutrition. Without fungi we wouldn’t be able to grow plants. 

    Please don’t advocate the unnecessary use of fungicides. There are tremendous problems appearing now in hospitals as illnesses involving fungal conditions are developing resistance to fungicides (just as bacteria are developing resistance to antibiotics). Some serious conditions are now untreatable 😢... this has been caused by the overuse of fungicides in agriculture, gardening and other industries. 

    @barrow.charlie your fungus is harmless and is doing an important job. When it has broken down the organic matter in your soil to feed your plants it will simply disappear. 
    😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • SmudgeriiSmudgerii Posts: 185
    Loads of this in my raised carrot beds which have been filled with a 50/50 mix of MPC and used coffee grounds.  I just leave it be, it certainly doesn’t strangle anything.

    Actually wondered if there was any benefit in adding some to a small water butt, maybe create a ‘culture’ for feeding the compost heap?
  • barrow.charliebarrow.charlie Posts: 3
    Thanks @razvan.stoiciu @Smudgerii and @Dovefromabove. 

    That's really reassuring. I read more on the fungus that @BobTheGardener mentioned and I'm happy that it's not harmful and doing it's job. I'm not putting any pesticides or fungicides on my soil but I am regularly removing the fungus 'fruits' as I've only a fairly small area and it did seem to strangle my marigolds, sunflowers and made an attempt on my courgette. Everything is on the young side so I'm maybe a little over protective!

    Thanks everyone for your advice. If it's not strangled @Smudgerii 's carrots then I guess I'll be fine.  
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