Strange white stuff on my Tom plant mulch this AM?

hardland · Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:19 am

I discovered some white substance on the mulch of my Tomato plants this morning. I t almost looked like moist icing sugar. It has been raining on and off for 36 hrs and hardly any sun as well. I'm thinking maybe a fungus that will "burn off" when the sun hits the mulch. The Toms on said plants are purple russians, that are doing quite well. Wondering if this is anything to worry about or treat? Thanks

hardland · Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:56 am

That was supposed to say strange white stuff

TZ -OH6 · Tue Jan 18, 2011 8:24 pm

A lot of strange stuff grows on mulches. It doesn't affect the plants.

hardland · Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:13 pm

I'm still curious what it is, it apeared over night

applestar · Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:52 am

Posting a pic would've helped. Have no clue what "moist icing sugar" might describe. But did it look anything like these?
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=70944#70944

If so, then, read this thread:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=126417#126417

Also try searching for any ref to "slime mold" using the Search the Forum function in the top link bar.

Bobberman · Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:54 am

hardland wrote:I discovered some white substance on the mulch of my Tomato plants this morning. I t almost looked like moist icing sugar. It has been raining on and off for 36 hrs and hardly any sun as well. I'm thinking maybe a fungus that will "burn off" when the sun hits the mulch. The Toms on said plants are purple russians, that are doing quite well. Wondering if this is anything to worry about or treat? Thanks

This past year I picked the big green tomato worms off my plants and they had a white paste type substance where they were eatting! When I seen the whie substance the worm was close!

applestar · Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:09 am

When you say that you don't mean anything like this near the cabbage worm?
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=94345#94345

Hornworm photos and more photos in the link in the post immediately following the above. Have not noticed white (or any other color) substance other than the wasp pupae.

More wasp infested hornworm photos here:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=157973#157973
The pupating larvae emerging from this one had not all managed to secure themselves on the caterpillar and had "spilled down" on the foliage and ground below, making cocoons that looked like bunch of cooked white rice grains.

TZ -OH6 · Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:31 pm

Almost all of the things (of various colors) that look like there were plopped down on top of mulch are the fruiting bodies of slime molds that spend most of their lives as microbes eating bacteria etc that is growing on the mulch. I have seen an encrusting sparkley white fungus in and on the rock walkway around my garden. The fungus was probably growing on the dead tree roots under the rocks.

Pasty or fluffy white stuff on the stems or leaves sounds like either spittle bugs or mealy bugs.