Does anyone have an idea what the strange brown organism on the soil in the attached photo could be?
If I hit them with water, they give off what looks like steam. My main concern is should I leave them or remove them? They seem to be spreading through the box.

I live in Sarasota, Florida and I'm a novice to vegetable growing. I currently have 2 4x4 raised beds. Everything was going and growing great, but within the last few weeks disaster has struck in one of them.

In the box concerned there are cayenne peppers, orange bell peppers, basil, canteloupe, mint and a couple of squash.

Both pepper plants are doing pretty well, but the squash are pretty much dead and the canteloupe is heading that way.

I am pretty sure in the excitement of my new hobby, I have been overwatering. The soil (organic potting mix) is pretty damp so I have resolved to letting it dry out some more to see if I can at least keep the peppers happy.

Any clues as to what the brown mass could be would be much appreciated. I have read about slime molds and other types of mold/fungus but this doesn't look like it fits any of the descriptions / photos I've seen so far.

This post was edited by peterbwf on Sat, May 25, 13 at 6:47