Fungus in our garden can be both good and bad, meaning there are good types of fungus like mycorrhizal fungi that help our plants grow. Found naturally in soil, mycorrhiza attach to plant roots to break down minerals and elements allowing them to be more easily absorbed by the roots. And then there is Pestalotiopsis microspora a species of endophytic fungus capable of breaking down and digesting polyurethane, in laymens’ terms, a mushroom that will eat plastic. Why this fungus (mushroom) isn’t a household name is beyond me. 

Since first writing about this mushroom back in January 2020 not much has happened with it on a commercial scale. With the ability to get rid of one of the leading causes for landfills filling up, you would think that there would be a huge push by large cities to incorporate these mushrooms into some sort of recycling and recovery process. While nothing seems to be done on a large scale model, you can now buy these mushroom spores on the internet and start your own plastic recycling at home. Etsy, Amazon and even Walmart.com had vials of Pestalotiopsis microspora for sale. The mushrooms are grown for food as well as eating plastic. I just don’t know if I would want to eat a mushroom that had just dined on plastic, remember you are what you eat.    

Other fungus are not so helpful and down right damaging to your plants. Rust, black spot and powdery mildew are just a few of the harmful fungus that the average gardener will have to face each year. There are both chemical and natural fungicides on the market today to deal with the multitudes of different fungus problems. After the recent rains we had, I noticed that my pumpkins are coming down with powdery mildew already. Powdery mildew is easy to kill but left untreated it will kill your plants. Fungus is like the common cold, it is always out there but plants won’t succumb to it until they get stressed. The stormy Fourth of July weekend stressed my pumpkins, so they came down with a case of the powdery mildew. Neem oil is a popular cure for powdery mildew, and it has the benefit of being an insect killer as well so it has added benefits. 

Copper or sulphur dust are also good remedies for powdery mildew. They can be used as a dust or mixed with water for a spray application. Having the sun back out will also help reduce the amount of powdery mildew as like most fungus, powdery mildew is a waterborne fungus that travels by water vapor and humidity. Drier conditions help prevent powdery mildew from forming in the first place. Black spot and rust are common among fruit trees and berry bushes and can also be treated by neem oil, copper or sulphur. Daconil and fungonil are two chemical fungicides that are stronger than the natural products for hard to kill fungus. If after a few applications of the natural fungicides you don’t get the desired results, you may need to use one of the chemical fungicides. 

Captan, although no longer available in many states, is probably the strongest fungicide out there. Originally patented and brought to market back in 1951, it was taken off the market in the early two thousands due to health concerns. But there are plenty of other good fungicides that are still available to help save your plants from the ravages of the fungus among us.