I've looked more carefully. The white stuff - I thought was Perlite.
The sleepers look shiny. Have you treated them with anything? The efffect (in the close-up pics) looks quite formal. I can see why you don't want to disrupt that appearance. Is it for sitting? Certainly for looking at.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Thanks for the reply @bédé . The outer surfaces (visible areas) of the sleepers are treated with an osmo uv protect oil, its got like a satin finish. On the areas where the mold is (internal areas of the sleepers), I treated with a barrentine oil as its penetrates deeper into the wood but isn't as visually appealing.
I didn't really design them for sitting, but they can be sat on. I basically designed them to create a more visually appealing flower bed as just stacking sleepers on top of eachother can look pretty boring... to me anyway. Although doing it that way is significantly easier and would save a tonne of time.
I will attach a picture of the full flower beds.
So my main concern about the mold was how it effects the sleeper integrity. Which is why I would ideally like to remove it with a natural fungicide or something that doesn't hurt the plants, if such a thing exists. Unless this type of mold didnt eat away at the sleeper. But I imagine anything that looks like it belongs in a woodland would.
Very smart @antonyawad7NMSbf5TS. If your sleepers are of a decent quality, those fungi will do no harm. Since you've given them a treatment, that will also prolong their life. Nothing to worry about at all. As already said, you can simply brush the 'tops' away if they bother you. What you're seeing is the fruiting body. All the hard work goes on underground - a vital part of nature's breaking down of various bits of plant life.
Who needs Christmas decorations when you have the photos in @Pete.8 link. They'd make great wall art. Stunning.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Very smart @antonyawad7NMSbf5TS. If your sleepers are of a decent quality, those fungi will do no harm. Since you've given them a treatment, that will also prolong their life. Nothing to worry about at all. As already said, you can simply brush the 'tops' away if they bother you. What you're seeing is the fruiting body. All the hard work goes on underground - a vital part of nature's breaking down of various bits of plant life.
Who needs Christmas decorations when you have the photos in @Pete.8 link. They'd make great wall art. Stunning.
Thanks for the feedback and positive words, as far as sleepers go, I would imagine they are of decent quality, they are all solid oak and weighed upwards of 50kg each per 2.4m length, so pretty dense. I can imagine how complex the structure of all the underground microbes are breaking stuff down. Since you seem pretty experienced in plant life I think I will leave them for now, and should I notice any deteriation I will then take a course of action to remove them. The photos @Pete.8 sent were super high quality and interesting and like you said would make a great wall art. Thanks
Your raised beds look absolutely cracking @antonyawad7NMSbf5TS and the oak sleepers are a work of art in themselves. You must be very pleased with the end result.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Your raised beds look absolutely cracking @antonyawad7NMSbf5TS and the oak sleepers are a work of art in themselves. You must be very pleased with the end result.
Thanks a lot @Pete.8, yeah I am happy with them, it took me some time to get them right. Cutting oak sleepers at a load of different angles to create the correct shape was pretty challenging, since they aren't all rectangular with 90° angles, like the one at the back is a paralleogram (to stay in line with the fence, since it isn't square) and required some awkward acute angles.
Plus they were super rough, so had to plane them and then get a belt sander on them. Having to do that with about 42 sleepers by yourself is a bit like 🤯, which is why when I initially saw the white stuff growing I was a bit taken back and thought ohh no, are my sleepers doomed! I better get some 2nd opinions
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"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I didn't really design them for sitting, but they can be sat on. I basically designed them to create a more visually appealing flower bed as just stacking sleepers on top of eachother can look pretty boring... to me anyway. Although doing it that way is significantly easier and would save a tonne of time.
I will attach a picture of the full flower beds.
So my main concern about the mold was how it effects the sleeper integrity. Which is why I would ideally like to remove it with a natural fungicide or something that doesn't hurt the plants, if such a thing exists. Unless this type of mold didnt eat away at the sleeper. But I imagine anything that looks like it belongs in a woodland would.
If your sleepers are of a decent quality, those fungi will do no harm. Since you've given them a treatment, that will also prolong their life. Nothing to worry about at all.
As already said, you can simply brush the 'tops' away if they bother you.
What you're seeing is the fruiting body. All the hard work goes on underground - a vital part of nature's breaking down of various bits of plant life.
Who needs Christmas decorations when you have the photos in @Pete.8 link. They'd make great wall art. Stunning.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I completely agree
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
The problem is that when we create our gardens, we do mess with nature, but minimising it is the key
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
You must be very pleased with the end result.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Plus they were super rough, so had to plane them and then get a belt sander on them. Having to do that with about 42 sleepers by yourself is a bit like 🤯, which is why when I initially saw the white stuff growing I was a bit taken back and thought ohh no, are my sleepers doomed! I better get some 2nd opinions