Yikes! My mulch is covered in mold or eggs?

Hey there!

Late in August my partner and I sheet mulched our back garden with rye straw. It's been pretty rainy since, and the worms and beetles are THRIVING back there. While thumbing in some garlic this morning, I noticed that most of the straw (and some strawberry plants who were already living there) was coated in these tiny white spore-looking guys. There's been inky caps and other mushrooms that pop up now and again, but that's all good news to me. I'm really curious if anyone knows what this is. Eggs? Slime mould? That crazy ergot stuff that made everyone go crazy? (Maybe not that last one)

Basically I just want to know if this should be a cause for concern not. I know usually fungal activity is a good sign but it just looks kinda creepy.

Looks like a white slime mold to me. Creepy, but beneficial! Kind of pretty, too.

Not my photos, but these molds look similar to yours:

http://tristram.squarespace.com/home/2010/3/23/white-slime-mould.html

https://www.asergeev.com/pictures/archives/2018/2266/jpeg/10.jpg

https://nhgardensolutions.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fruiting-white-slime-mold.jpg

Omg yes! This is exactly what it looks like! I kept researching after posting and was definitely leaning to the slime mold hypothesis. Thanks so much for digging these up!
Honestly I am relieved ha ha. I found out that even if they appear on strawberry leaves they only decompose dead organic matter so they should be safe from any harm.

J. Hunch wrote:Looks like a white slime mold to me. Creepy, but beneficial! Kind of pretty, too.

Not my photos, but these molds look similar to yours:

http://tristram.squarespace.com/home/2010/3/23/white-slime-mould.html

https://www.asergeev.com/pictures/archives/2018/2266/jpeg/10.jpg

https://nhgardensolutions.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fruiting-white-slime-mold.jpg

Looks like a physarum - a kind of slime mold.

Nature doing it’s thing, breaking down the organic material. They only live on dead stuff.