Odd white mass in the roots.

[fuzzie]

I am clearing a section of my garden so I can grow my own veggies next year. THere is a plant/shrub that i've dug out but as I was digging i've come accross some really horrible white stuff, Can anyone point me as to what it is? Its right inside the root ball of this plant I will attempt to put some pictures...

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[David E. Ross]

That looks like some kind of fungus. Unless your soil is already quite acidic, stir some granular or powdered soil sulfur into the soil. This will kill fungus.

If your soil is already acidic, however, then you will have to resort to a commercial fungicide. In that case, make sure it is intended as a soil treatment and not something to spray on foliage.

[Kay Lancaster]

Looks like ectomycorrhizae to me from your photo... most plants have an association with a fungus that improves the nutrient uptake of the plant and also feeds the fungus. Without some microscopy I couldn't say for sure, though.

Look up "mycorrhizae" on wikipedia... there's a good basic explanation there. And yes, they're very good things.

[Brooklyn1]

Looks like a yeast infection, see your OB-GYN.

[songbird]

likely a fungus, no real big deal. fungi break down organic matter in the soil all the time. most are harmless to living roots of plants or even grow in a symbiotic relationship with them.

if you don't want it under your garden dig a deeper hole someplace else and bury it there. it is very likely that the fungus won't harm anything at all in a garden.

no need to add chemicals or fungicides as whatever the fungus feeds on will be gone or it is in the soil and you won't ever get rid of it anyways. this is normal. do not worry. if there weren't fungi breaking stuff down we'd be buried in unrotted organic material.

songbird

[Gunner]

I'd go w/ Kay and not try to kill it off;

[Billy]

In this case listen to Kay Lancaster, it, the fungus, is a good thing and helps your plants. "David E. Ross" has a good heart, but in this case he is wrong.

[fuzzie]

Wow, firstly, thanks so much for all your replies. THis is great.

So even though this white mass doesnt seem to have a structure it still could be the fungus? I guess this is good news to an extent. It reminds me of coagulated white emulsion paint the way it drops off in small clumps that are somewhat like thick paste consistency.

The question is, when i remove all the shrubs and rotorvate the land, would it be safe for me to put veggies on this part of the land for human consumption?

Again, thanks for all your comments.

Nick

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[Kay Lancaster]

Sounds more and more like an ectomycorrhizal body as you describe it more.

Sure. Most plants are mycorrhizal -- the spores are everywhere in the soil, and the right species will "infect" the plant species that you plant. In fact, without mycorrhizae, garden yields would be much lower.

is a commercial site... I don't see anything there on a quick read that is too overhyped, and it's easier to read through than the research papers here :

Kay

[Billy]

Which is a good reason to learn about "no dig" gardening, and "sheet mulching" (a.k.a. lasagna gardening). Rototilling undoes the good that micro flora and fauna do.

[Gunner]

That myth sounds all good and very logical except there are about 6000 species of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi (EM) found with about 10% of plant Families - mostly woody species. EM is great for trees but does little for garden plants.