It's yellow, it prefers to be on the lawn, and it's moving. If you've never seen anything like this, you've never come into contact with a slime mold before. Find out what it is and how to fight it now.
slime mold
Witch butter or just a slime mold
It goes by nice names like witch butter, but it's nothing more than a slime mold. But what is it? Pest or harmless natural spectacle? The tan blossom can only be fought to a very limited extent, but there are still a few options.
identifying features
How do you recognize the slime mold?
There are a few characteristics by which you can identify witch butter quite clearly.
These include:
- yellow sulphurous appearance with structure
- irregular, pillow-like shape
- it is a single cell
- does no harm to plants
- Locomotion is slow and crawling
Slime mold, yellow tan blossom
Witch butter is one of the slime molds, although it is actually a protozoa. However, while mushrooms are harmful to plants, witch's butter cannot cause any harm. This is one of the reasons why it usually makes no sense to prevent the yellow spectacle of nature. In addition, the tan flower is able to eat real fungi and bacteria from mulch and lawns.
properties
An overview of the properties of the tan flower follows. Witch butter has several properties that clearly define it.
These include:
- irregular shapes that are visually reminiscent of a pillow
- Looks like construction foam that has been thrown on the ground
- crawling locomotion
- glossy white slime trail left behind when moving
- Traces are reminiscent of slime trails from snails
- they are unicellular organisms made up of different individual cells
- Propagation takes place only at the final position
- Witch butter can form fruiting bodies, which in turn develop spores
In the bark mulch
Witch butter in the mulch. If witch butter has developed in the bark mulch, it is not harmful. Panic or fear is therefore superfluous, the slime mold does not always spread. However, if a strong increase takes place, it makes sense to fight them. This applies in particular if the lawn is visually disfigured, for example.
Bark mulch in the garden
Funny information from Mexico
In Mexico, witch butter is not fought, but simply consumed. The Mexican nickname of the slime mold is "Caca de Luna", which means moon poo. The mushroom is consumed in a preparation like scrambled eggs, it is non-toxic and not harmful. In this country, however, it is not customary to eat the tan blossom, but to prevent it.
Prevent
Prevention in bark mulch and on the lawn. The best way to keep witch butter down is with prevention. When warm, humid weather arrives in summer, the fungus is at its peak. It can multiply optimally, preferred places are bark mulch and lawn. No damage is to be expected, and neighboring flowers or crops will not be affected either. Nevertheless, most gardeners understandably want to take action against an infestation in bark mulch or on the lawn. The following are preventive measures that can prevent an infestation.
lawn
Witch butter can be avoided, especially on the lawn, if the following measures are carried out regularly.
- The entire lawn area should only be kept slightly moist
- up to three times a year may be fertilized
- organic fertilizer is best suited, mineral fertilizer rather not
- it should be mowed and scarified regularly
- Grass should not be shorter than three to five centimeters
- Clippings must be removed after mowing
- Lime helps if there is too much moisture
lush green lawn in the garden
bark mulch
The prevention of spreading with bark mulch now follows. Bark mulch is actually well suited to protecting beds, but this can carry the spores into the bed. They live mainly in the forest and settle on dead wood. Remaining spores can then get into the bark mulch and be transferred to the garden bed. If the climate is right, the fungi multiply and spread to other parts of the garden, including the lawn.
Prevention is possible through the following measures:
- Bark mulch should only be used dry
- To test, apply a small piece of bark mulch to an area
- water and moisten this piece regularly
- Check after a few weeks whether a slime mold has developed
- Pre-treat the flower bed with lime to contain moisture
Fight fungi with feed
It sounds strange, but mushrooms like the tan blossom can be lured to a desired location with food. For example, if the mushrooms are not to be removed, but only moved, a feeding track is suitable oatmeal. As in the case of Hansel and Gretel, a trail of oatmeal can be scattered until the slime mold's destination is reached. It crawls, always on the trail of food. It can be quite interesting to watch these mushrooms on their migration.
Oatmeal as an attractant
Control fungi on bark mulch and lawn
If, despite prevention, a slime mold has formed, it is possible to remove it again. To do this, the yellow, cushion-like structures simply have to be lifted off and disposed of. It is advisable to dispose of the mushrooms far away from your own garden, otherwise they can multiply and return again.
How to dispose of:
- note that the spurs can be deep
- lift off a large area of lawn or bark mulch around the fungus
- fill the cut soil directly into a bag
- Bark mulch must also be removed and disposed of over a large area
Especially when bark mulch is infested, the infestation can be quite expensive for the gardener. However, it is not necessary to keep new ones mulch to buy. Sometimes it is sufficient if the infested mulch is left to dry in the sun. It is also advisable to sprinkle it with lime so that it can dry out faster.
Important tip in the event of an infestation:
If you have discovered fungi in your bark mulch, you should remove it from the bed. Even if you don't see it, there may be hidden spores and further slime mold growth. It is advisable to replace the entire mulch, as the tan flower has most likely gotten out of the mulch and into the bed.
Slime mold, yellow tan blossom
soil preparation
Preparation of the soil after fighting
If you've dumped mulch or sod over a large area, you need to condition the soil. It is possible that spores have settled here, which then develop into tan blooms over time.
You can prepare your floor with the following tips:
- fold in lime if it's compatible with your plants
- then let the floor dry completely
- water moderately and avoid mulch at first
- close the resulting hole in the lawn with seeds;
sow lawn seed
In the case of stubborn slime molds, it is possible to treat them with a mixture of vinegar, water and salt to fight. However, since many plants react negatively to this mixture, you should only use it in an emergency.
Fight by waiting
If the fungus in the garden doesn't bother you, you can just ignore it. If the weather conditions are bad, the fungus will die back on its own. The structures turn black and can be easily disposed of. The most suitable place for disposal is household waste, because further spores can form in the compost, which then lead to a new development of witch butter.