The goal of composting wood chips is the same as the goal of composting other materials.
Wood chip mulch fungus.
Other fungi such as slime molds consume bacteria and other organisms living in the mulch.
Most gardeners take advantage of organic mulch such as bark chips leaf mulch or compost which is attractive in the landscape healthy for growing plants and beneficial to the soil but sometimes organic mulch and fungus go hand in hand.
The mold is unsightly but causes no harm to plants or animals.
Some fungi such as the artillery fungus are recyclers and break down woody tissue directly.
You can also use wood chips as a ground cover or mulch.
Most of us have mulch of some type in the garden and likely it s of the natural kind such as shredded bark wood chips or pine needles.
Slime mold or fuligo septica sometimes referred to as dog vomit mold is one common fungus that can grow on decaying wood.
Your mulch is moldy because it provides the ideal conditions for mold growth.
However since wood chips have such a high carbon to nitrogen ratio anywhere from 200 1 to.
You can treat mold growth on mulch by spraying it with vinegar to kill the mold or by digging up and disposing of the mold.
Arborist wood chip mulch is ok to use.
You ll be doing the garden a favor by adding soil building mulch while keeping tons of organic matter out of the landfills.
Mulch fungus is difficult to get rid of and should be treated immediately.
The fungi involved in the decomposition of landscape mulches are natural components of the mulch environment.
Some people simply add a new layer of mulch over the old layers to get rid of mulch fungus.
Other methods for treating mulch fungus include heat treatments ph changing agents or fungicide treatments.
Mulch from the bark of pine trees and hardwood bark mulch screened to remove particles smaller than 3 8 inch has fewer problems with mold and fungi than other bark mulches.
Given time microscopic bacteria and fungi cause the wood to decay.
Wood landscaping mulch is made of shredded wood and bark.
Fluffing the wood chip mulch up and airing it out before using it will get rid of any unsightly masses of mold.
There s a fungus among us and it could be lurking in a garden bed near you.
But sometimes that natural mulch organic can be full of surprises perfect environments for all manner of fungal growth.
To break down the materials into nutrient rich plant food.
In fact various fungi are natural components of this rich organic environment.
The discussion was about the harmful fungi that appeared in wood chip mulch used in children s playgrounds.
So don t worry about arborist wood chip mulch.
This post fungi in wood chips was prompted by a picture and discussion on a facebook group called australian native plant enthusiasts ref 3.
How to compost wood chips fast.
