Gardening in Mississippi: Overnight Garden Surprise!

Here is a test for all you gardeners. What do you get when you combine warm, wet weather with organic mulch? Give up? Well, you get an almost overnight surprise known as ’dog vomit’ fungus. At first glance it looks like Fido had a stomach problem and your flower bed was convenient. I put the photo at the bottom this time so readers would not be grossed out and fail to re the information.

The ‘dog vomit’ fungus is not a fungus, but a slime mold. There are lots of different slime molds. It is harmless to people, pets, and plants. In fact, it is edible. Native people in some parts of Mexico gather it and scramble it like eggs. They call this dish "caca de luna." The translation is an even more entertaining name than dog vomit slime mold.

‘Dog vomit’ slime mold usually appears in late spring or summer following soaking rains. This year it is extra early due to the current weather conditions. The slime mold is usually found growing in mulched areas near homes and office buildings, but can appear in forested areas as well.

The color of this wonderful mold is often bright yellow, and in some instances, sickly orange or tan. This colorful growth occurs when the mold is beginning its fruiting stage. It can appear seemingly overnight causing some people to wonder what it is and how it got there. Therefore, you can see how this mold got its common name – blaming it on the dog.

There is no way to prevent slime molds; the spores are all over the place, just waiting for the right conditions to become active. If the appearance of a slime mold in your garden offends you, break it up by raking out the mulch or blasting it with the hose.

This web-site (http://waynesword.palomar.edu/slime1.htm) has some interesting photos of this slime mold near the bottom of the page.

So, now that you know all this you will not be surprised by the almost overnight appearance of this slime mold. But I do not recommend eating it.