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There’s slime mold growing in my garden!

May 19, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 13 Comments

One of these things is not like the other...

♫ one of these things is not like the other♫♪

 

Sometimes a garden isn’t all pink flowers and sweet smells. Sometimes an odd thing (like slime mold) takes up residence, and it’s up to you, the head gardener, to get to the bottom of it. Here’s how it happens. While enjoying your morning coffee (freshly ground beans from Arsaga’s with just a touch of milk) and admiring all the new blooms since yesterday, you happen upon a whole colony of strangeness lurking in the mulch.

What on earth?

Slime Mold

Did a gigantic wolfhound vomit in your yard, because your small schnauzers could never barf up that much of anything.

A few days ago, you thought you saw a mushroom in that exact location. But now the “mushroom” has multiplied and slithered across the ground like The Blob. What a fascinating / nasty thing.

As you might expect by now, this is a true story. Insert dramatic music…

I turned to Dr. Google who said I have a slime mold, also known as dog vomit slime. For real. Mine (see how I’m stepping right up and owning it?) was whiteish and sort of reminded me of meringue or a funnel cake gone way bad. You know how funnel cake dough is all loopy and strung out on the paper plate? Sorry for the food references…

Here’s more slime in a different area of the bed. Yeah, I have lots of it.

Slime Mold slithering in my garden

Scientist-types get excited over this sort of thing because there’s a whole ecosystem living and growing right here. In my opinion, this wasn’t nearly as cute as when Horton heard a Who on that speck of dust. But still, I was curious to know more.

Horton Hears a Who

When I was in seventh grade science class, there were only five kingdoms of life. Later a sixth one was added (and some argue there is now a seventh.) Do you remember them? Me neither. They are: Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Plantae, Animalia, Protist, and Fungi. Although I thought I was dealing with Fungi, slime mold belongs to the Protist family. According to PBS, slime mold is a soil-dwelling amoeba, a brainless, single-celled organism, often containing multiple nuclei. Now, I’m clearly no scientist, and I’m sure there are a bazillion differences in these two classifications, but the thing that interests me most is that fungi “absorb” food while protist “feed”. (Think=monster.)

IT EATS YOU ALIVE!!

Although slime mold is unsightly*, it’s harmless. It grows in damp conditions and preys on decaying matter. There’s no need to remove it, but who wants to look at that? Plus, it’s a matter of time before my dogs roll around in it.

Or drag it in the house.

I promptly scooped it into a sack and very carefully (to keep the spores from scattering) placed it in my garbage where it is, no doubt, growing this very second and will smother our house tonight while I sleep.

The moral of this gardening story…sometimes a little mold may grow. It’s part of the deal.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Check out this slime mold time lapse! Creepy yet cool.

Musical Pairing:

Weird Science Soundtrack

* gross understatement

Filed Under: Gardening, Nature & Seasons Tagged With: amoeba, dog vomit mold, protist family, slime mold

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Comments

  1. Barbara thompson says

    May 19, 2015 at 2:47 pm

    The last picture looks like a petrified rabbit. (if you use your imagination)

    I Will look for slimy mold…in my soggy flowerbed.
    Great story.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 20, 2015 at 7:04 am

      Interesting Barbara! Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  2. Barbara Tate says

    May 19, 2015 at 2:52 pm

    I probably have slime mold growing in your bedroom at the Bat Cave as we speak. Half the carpet is wet and the guys from All-Clean Restoration Services are sucking out the water NOW. Who knows where the cat is? Great blog.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 20, 2015 at 7:04 am

      Always an adventure at the Bat Cave:)

      Reply
  3. Sarah Shotts says

    May 20, 2015 at 8:47 am

    Now I’ll know what this stuff is if it appears in my garden rather than calling in the Ghostbusters… Bizarre.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 21, 2015 at 9:18 am

      I know, it’s craziness!

      Reply
  4. Jill says

    May 20, 2015 at 12:27 pm

    Thank you for this! I found several spots of that in my strawberry garden. I had no idea what it was. Glad to know it’s harmless.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 21, 2015 at 9:17 am

      Glad to help!!

      Reply
    • http://www./ says

      November 16, 2016 at 12:23 am

      I sent the 18-200mm back already Pete, but I can tell you for certain that the 55-210mm is sharper! It’s not a all-in-one solution though like the 18-200mm Best,Jay

      Reply
  5. Adrienne says

    May 23, 2015 at 10:21 am

    1). That totally looks like dog vomit.
    2). I skipped over the funnel cake part, because I really don’t want funnel cakes forever ruined for me.
    3). I keep thinking about those brain-eating amoebas.
    4). I’m glad you disposed of it.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 23, 2015 at 4:53 pm

      Yes it does look like dog vomit. So far, it hasn’t come back even though we’ve gotten more rain.

      Reply
  6. Jamie says

    May 24, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    I agree, it totally looks like something one of my (larger) pets ralphed up. Interesting to know, though! I wonder if it grows more with moisture?

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 25, 2015 at 8:32 am

      Yes, the rain is a huge problem!

      Reply

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Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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