If it looks a bit like... dog vomit... then it's what's called "dog vomit mold". If you're on the east coast, then it's hard to control with all the rain. It'll settle down in drier times. It doesn't hurt anything, that I've heard of.

It is most likely one of the (so called) slime molds, of which the infamous dog vomit fungus is one. I use the term 'so called' because it is not a mold or fungus but just a very interesting and harmless organism. They are most commonly discovered in mulched beds, but this stuff can grow anywhere where there is some kind of organic matter to support it.

Don't worry about trying to get rid of it, that would be quite difficult to do actually. But you can remove any offending clumps with a shovel if you wanted to....or just watch it! Most of us find slime molds pretty interesting.

Hmmmm......dog vomit, well thanks guys. I guess that is much, much better than something deadly, tho. And I did get a laugh from it.
thanks,
Kiki

Yes, that's exactly what it looks like, I have had a couple patches on my mulch after all this rain. I was just wondering how the dog had managed to puke under my peonies. :-D

I wish I would get this stuff, it sounds so cool (I love fungi that don't eat my plants). Hadn't heard before that it wasn't actually a fungi. Either way, still wish it would show up around my yard sometime so I could check it out.

lol! THAT'S the attitude I like to see! These things ARE really cool. My first introduction to them was many years ago, coming across a bright orange mass creeping across my lawn. It actually moved inches a day, even over a cement path! I threatened ex-DH with bodily harm if he did anything to get rid of it, as I was utterly captivated by this THING!

I see much slime mold on turfgrass which get mistakenly identified as a disease. But the 'dog vomit' species is the most common, I think. Why DOG vomit, I wonder? ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Slime mold information

I grew a slime mold in junior high in a science class (thanks Mr. Papadonis- you still rock!). When that part of the class was over, I put it in a larger jar and kept growing it. The species that we had sent out little veiny tendrils. It was very much like some sort of proto Giger painting critter. Too cool- until an air mold took hold in the jar.

Hey Dorie, it appears that thread you linked to doesn't exist anymore ;-(

Pablo, is there somewhere I can but the seeds/spores/whatever it is to grow this stuff?

I just found a bunch of sources by googling "slime mold cultures". I dunno about strains, etc- so can't recommend any.

Hmmmm. I've been using that Wayne'sword site for ages. Click here, and then visit the first listed site (Wayne's Word).

Here is a link that might be useful: c'mon with me

Thanks Pablo, I am looking at some cultures now. Fascinating critters.

I had never seen a slime mold until last year. Almost immediately after reading about it for the first time, there it was creeping over the mulch in a potato patch.

I can see how someone that never heard of it can be somewhat startled by its appearance.

Wayne

i had some of that for the first time this year. then, i saw some at the school in the mulch. i'll be darned if it wasn't growing 8" up the tree trunk, as well!

Yep, saw it for first time on wood chipped mulch in flower garden, after a wet, humid week. Of course my wife panicked....she thought our doggie's vomit. It sure appears fast.

LOL the first time I saw dog vomit slime mold, it was all over my mulched garden, even on the fence posts. I thought the deer were throwing up from eating something in my garden. Hah! Serves 'em right, I said!
But no, the deer just keep on eating everything in sight, and it's just a mold.
BlueBars

I would add that I've been doing the compost tea thing on my plants and trees. I always mulched the base of my trees, and I have had that slime buildup pretty regularly. I believe it's a sign of a lot of bacteria activity. And this is a good thing!

The Slime Mold, Dog Vomit Fungus, is an ameoba and it digests soil bacteria so in a way its presence does indicate bacterial avtivity.