White Fungus?

[Gouranga]

I noticed last night I have a few spots in my yard where what looks like a white fungus is growing right on top of the soil. Anyone have any idea what it is, what causes it, and more importantly how to kill it?

 

[Prashster]

On the soil or on mulch?
Sometimes it's caused by too much moisture. It can happen if you're irrigating too much, or after an extended period of rain.
Loosen the soil with a rake to admit air and it should dry out and disappear after a day or two.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Chassis]

Cookie, yes you can cut bricks. It can be done with a wet saw (also used for cutting ceramic tile), or you can use a chisel made for this purpose with a hammer. Safety glasses please when doing this.

Don't have a good suggestion on your drain, other than to NOT put a rubber ball in there. Never know, maybe pressure will build up and the ball will come back much faster than it went in.

 

[Gouranga]

No prob Cookie. MANY times discussions end up meandering and it is not like I was hearing a lot on the fungus anyways. Mine was not in an exceptionally moist area BUT I have been using a decent amount of liquid fertilizer there this year so I was wondering if I caused it myself. It seems to be dissapating a bit since the nice HOT SE summer has been kicking in.

 

[Prashster]

Better to rent a good paver wet saw than buy a cheap tile saw. The smaller tile saws will not have a blade large enough to cut brick.

Also, Cookie, concrete pavers are usually better for walkways and definitely driveways than reg bricks. Bricks are more brittle and I believe made of clay (don't quote me on that). Also, bricks w/holes should really only be used in wall applications where they don't get a lot of lateral force.

 

[Gouranga]

You can also get yourself a good masonry blade for a skill saw to do this (but your will get a LOT of dust). I had to do this for a paver patio I built a while back. Cut a lot of pavers with it, got a good clean cut, and got through them quick.

 

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

This is a hard thread to follow back and forth between fungus and bricks...

The tried and true organic solution to resolving fungal disease (almost any fungal turf disease) is to use ordinary corn meal at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. It takes 21 full days to improve but then, suddenly, it looks better. This is not a home remedy or tonic. The research was started at Texas A&M University at Stephenville back in the 90s. You can use grocery store corn meal or I get it in 50 pound bags at the local feed store for about $6.

Corn meal works by stimulating the growth of the Trichoderma (try-ko-DER-ma) family of fungi which, in turn, kills most of the popular lawn fungal diseases without hurting the rest of the soil microbial populations. The process of feeding the Trichoderma and killing the disease is what takes 3 weeks.

Corn meal is also an organic fertilizer, so if you use it for fungus, you won't need to fertilize any time soon.