If the soil isn't good, please don't blame the fungus. The mycelium network is beneficial. They feed on dead matter in the soil and improve it - they also attach to plant roots and feed them - it's one of nature's helpers.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I know that all the above advice is usually correct about fungi. But for many years we had a fungus in the greenhouse border , in just one place. It came back even after we replaced the soil. The effect of the fungus was strange. It seemed to prevent the soil in that area from absorbing water, and a tomato plant put there would wither and die, while others either side were okay. I also noticed that compost was not broken down as well there, probably due to this water repellant effect. I used to dig out the soil in that one spot and put fresh in, but sometimes it would mean replacing the tomato plant two or three times before I could get it growing. It has depleted over about twenty years, and this year was the first year that a tomato plant put in that spot has thrived and I've not needed to start again. And the soil now absorbs water there the same as everywhere else. The fruiting bodies did not look like the ones in the photos above, but maybe some fungi do have a less than helpful effect in enclosed environments like greenhouses?
Thank you @Woodgreen, that’s the same effect that I’m having. Nothing is growing where the fungus has been and as you can see the soil is so dry it crumbles to dust. I shall just use the space as a place for potted, seed boxes and overwintering tender plants as these are all in containers. Must make sure there is a barrier between the soil and the pots where the worst is. valerie
The fungus hasn't caused the dryness, it is lack of watering that has done it. Your fungus is not the cause of your issues, it is simply taking advantage of the conditions. If you think of your greenhouse as the Serengeti then your fungus is the vulture helpfully cleaning up death and decay rather than the lion killing other animals.
With any luck @valerieroberts the fungus you have may not be so persistent as this one was here. I haven't seen the fruiting bodies for years now but they were unusual, not like a toadstool. I knew as soon as I started to plant in the border that something wasn't right. Personally, due to my own experience in my greenhouse border, I would remove it and any adjacent soil and replace with fresh. It seems to have worked here eventually. I know exactly what you mean about how it affects the soil. It's probably due to being an enclosed environment, not open to the elements and other soil organisms, but I really don't know. I can only say from my experience. I hope it doesn't persist for you. I had an excellent tomato and cucumber crop this year, even from the spot that used to be affected.
Just to add, I hope that @steephill is on the right track, and that you don't have the same fungus as I had. If all is well in the spring you'll know it wasn't the same thing as here.
We noticed a similar 'dry' effect from fungal mycelium in this garden when we moved in and started to dig a new border. However, digging over and watering thoroughly seemed to 'cure' it and we've had no dry spots since and everything grows well there.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
They feed on dead matter in the soil and improve it - they also attach to plant roots and feed them - it's one of nature's helpers.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
But for many years we had a fungus in the greenhouse border , in just one place. It came back even after we replaced the soil.
The effect of the fungus was strange. It seemed to prevent the soil in that area from absorbing water, and a tomato plant put there would wither and die, while others either side were okay. I also noticed that compost was not broken down as well there, probably due to this water repellant effect. I used to dig out the soil in that one spot and put fresh in, but sometimes it would mean replacing the tomato plant two or three times before I could get it growing.
It has depleted over about twenty years, and this year was the first year that a tomato plant put in that spot has thrived and I've not needed to start again. And the soil now absorbs water there the same as everywhere else.
The fruiting bodies did not look like the ones in the photos above, but maybe some fungi do have a less than helpful effect in enclosed environments like greenhouses?
I know exactly what you mean about how it affects the soil. It's probably due to being an enclosed environment, not open to the elements and other soil organisms, but I really don't know. I can only say from my experience. I hope it doesn't persist for you.
I had an excellent tomato and cucumber crop this year, even from the spot that used to be affected.
If all is well in the spring you'll know it wasn't the same thing as here.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.