Invasion in my greenhouse

valerieroberts

this fungi is spreading in my greenhouse at a fast rate. It leaves the soil dry and without any humus. It’s roots , if that’s what they are called, spread like veins leaving behind nothing for anything to live on. Help please. Valerie 

pansyface

Here you go.

https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/ramaria-stricta.php

A type of coral fungus, of which there are many. They grow on wood chippings mostly.

valerieroberts

@pansyface thank you for that. Do you know what it does or if it is a disaster. How to get rid of it etc. It sounds bad. Valerie

steephill

It isn't a disaster, just part of life's rich tapestry. The fruiting bodies you see will die down on their own but if you want to remove it you will need to change the soil in the greenhouse.

valerieroberts

@steephill thank you so much. Unfortunately, I’m not able to do such a big job are removing soil, would fungi spray be any good. The soil that is left when the fungus is removed has no goodness in it to grow anything so something needs to be done. Valerie 

pansyface

Why do you say that the soil has no goodness left in it? The soil is fine.

The fungus is harmless. It’s just breaking down the woodchippings. Without fungi to break things down, we’d all be up to our ears in mouse corpses, fallen trees, dead vegetables and all manner of things.

As it is, there are thousands of types of fungi that are too small for us to see. If we could see them would they be more unwelcome in our gardens?  Of course not. As Steephill says, it’s all part of life and death. One thing depends on another thing to complete the circle.

Ignore the coral fungus. It will do its job and leave your soil in a better condition than when it arrived.

steephill

Fungi are nature's recyclers and your coral fungus is breaking down dead wood and providing nutrients for other plants. Any nutrients it takes up will be returned when the fruiting bodies decay. 

Can you tell us a bit more about the soil having no goodness? Are you testing the soil for nutrient levels? Is it just dry?

valerieroberts

I’ll try to get a photo of the condition it’s in, thank you Valerie 

wild edges

Is the compost all from the same source? I'm just wondering if it was terrible woodchip based compost to start with and might have been pre-seeded with the fungus?

valerieroberts

@wild edges, when I bought bags of MPC it started in that area and spread from the back of the beds round to the other side.  The roots of the fungus are like a white network about seven inches deep. Those lumps were easy to remove. Valerie 

Lyn

I love it when I see that network when I am planting up.  People buy that.