Artillery Fungus? Help...

I think I have a fungus. I noticed all these little black "specks" on all of my peas the other day. I have been slow to google it and it is now on everything in both my boxes, including my grid, wood boxes, and PVC trellis. I googled "black specks in my garden" and started looking through "images" section for anything that resembled my problem. I found some pictures that look exactly like what I have going on. The pictures were labeled "artillery fungus". It is getting dark here at the moment so I just wanted to post this quickly and run outside to get some pictures to share with y'all. Has anyone dealt with artillery fungus before? Any tips? Thanks guys

-StinkyFeetMendoza

It is also known as shotgun fungus, often comes from mulch but not always.

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/money/consumer/how-to-spot-shotgun-fungus-and-keep-it-from-leaving-its-mark-on-your-home-and-car

there are lots of google articles and youtube stuff for removal information

Thanks. I did just recently put pine bark mulch down. I will definitely be hitting google and youtube. Here are the pictures just to confirm that it is artillery fungus. There are some other critters visible in the photos as well. Be warned, Im a terrible photographer, especially when it comes to tiny fungus . Here are the pictures:






I'll be looking at youtube and google and as always, thanks a bunch for the help

-StinkyFeetMendoza

Your Welcome Stinky, I mean Stinky Feet, I mean, shoot, gosh darn, there is no polite way to address you!!

llama momma wrote:Your Welcome Stinky, I mean Stinky Feet, I mean, shoot, gosh darn, there is no polite way to address you!!

Please feel free to call me whatever you are comfortable calling me. Stinky, StinkyFeet, Mendoza, or the whole thing works. I've finally left my playstation and games in the past but I still use my gaming handle with love.

I've been googling and youtubing my problem and it doesn't sound great. Like you said before it is caused by mulch, which I had just put out. I used mini pine bark nuggets. One post said that the mini pine bark wasn't as susceptible as other mulches. This mulch had been sitting in a wet bag for some time, so im guessing that did it. From what I've been reading, it sounds like I need to remove the existing mulch, which sounds like fun. Also from what I'm reading it sounds like there is really no way to get the black specks off of my garden without the use of harsh chemicals or sand paper. So im not sure how Im going to get my new peas clean. I found the following in another forum:

Here's what Cornell says:

" Artillery fungi spores do not normally structurally damage the houses, cars, plants, etc. they cover. Removing the fungi is virtually impossible. Scrubbing and scraping with tools or washing with soap and water aids somewhat in removal; however, the use of tools or harsh chemicals may damage painted or otherwise colored surfaces. No fungicide treatment is recommended at this time."

If there are any other square foot gardeners out there who have battled this I would really appreciate your input. Thanks

-StinkyFeet