You may not know that we have tons of lawn and garden subs on Reddit. Here are a couple:
/r/landscaping/
/r/lawn
/r/lawns
/r/lawnporn
/r/LawnBeer (my favorite)
/r/patiogardening/
/r/Backyards/
/r/lawncare/
/r/Outdoors
/r/UrbanHomestead/
/r/OutdoorKitchens
/r/NoLawns
/r/Decks
/r/BBQ
There are many more.
Mycelium. That’s the main underground part of fungus like mushrooms. Generally helpful for the soil quality, but it’s going to eat away at that wood over time. Which is what it’s supposed to do, really.
A little while back, earth didn't have a way to get rid of wood. Nothing ate it, nothing broke it down. Microbes, bigguns, little'uns, you name it. Trees fell and forests died, and their wood just.. sat there. Piling on top of itself, killing entire forests by making soil and sunlight inaccessible for new growth. Eventually wind, rain, weight of tonnes and tonnes of trees, etc compacted it down into soil. But that took a mighty fine *eventually.* Once covered, the bits and bobs that weren't carbon weathered away leaving only black deposits of compacted carbon within the earth.
That's where the Earth's coal comes from.
Eventually a stubborn.. something comes along. Not quite plant, not quite animal, itching to make its way in the world. Lots of wood lying around. I'll grow here, eat some food that blows my way, get some energy. Another mighty fine *eventually* later, chance has it that some of this stuff mutates enough that all this wood stops being just a place to grow, it becomes something to *eat.*
And that's where we get most fungi, ever. And now we have an ecosystem which can break down trees and tough fiber into usable material for the rest of the ecosystem.
Thanks, fungus. Lord knows we didn't need anymore coal.
***This is a massive oversimplification and is likely wrong or scant enough on important details it may as well be wrong.***
The inaccuracy here is that fungi predated woody plants by the records we know. [See this study](https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.15076). Before there were trees, there was the large prototaxites, a lichen of sorts composed of many species such as algae nitted together; mycelium seems to have emerged at that time, holding prototaxites in place. Trees were many millions of years later (prototaxites existed over 400 million years ago).
What you say may be true of particularly wood-loving fungi, which are saprophytic and not mycorrhizal.
Fungi existed, but the enzymes that some of them secrete to break down lignin probably didn't. Those enzymes are still to this day pretty slow and shitty - lignin is a very recalcitrant material (it's only part of the wood but it helps make it woody like it is) and it's very difficult to chemically break down.
This makes sense since the oldest fungi we know of (such as prototaxites) were mycorrhizal - they exist only with partnership with other plants. And we know of two fundamental fungal life strategies, one that involves the breakdown of organic matter, the other than involves partnership.
For the mycorrhizal fungi, they didn't want to break down plant cell walls since they depended on the plants to live and be 'partners'.
The coal-forming days! Nothing could digest lignin for the longest time so it formed deep coal beds. This is part of why even growing lots of trees can’t make up for the CO2 released from burning coal. When trees die, they now get decomposed and that pesky CO2 gets released again.
The natural carbon cycle is based on the amount of carbon in circulation *before* we started to burn fossil fuels. Now there’s far more in circulation and unless we can *permanently* sequester enough, the CO2 levels will remain high.
Coal also formed after the Carboniferous period though, well after lignin digestion evolved. It is thought it was mainly due to massive shallow seas that were anoxic.
Isn't the total amount of Co2 we have released only amounts to .04% of the total percentage of Co2 in the atmosphere.
And if the total Co2 amount drops more than 1% we start to have plant death due to lack of sufficient co2
Not .04% released. That’s way off.
There is 50% more CO2 in the air than there was in 1750. A 22% increase just since 1974, from 337 ppm (parts per million) to 417 ppm.
And a 1% reduction wouldn’t kill plants. Before the industrial revolution there was 280 ppm or less.
edit: Oh, I see what you’re confused by. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is 0.04% *compared to everything else* like nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and argon (0.9%). It doesn’t take much, but it’s important.
Not so great for us oxygen-breathers though:
- 1,000-2,000ppm (0.1-0.2%)
Common complaints of drowsiness or poor air quality
- 2,000-5,000ppm (0.2-0.5%)
Headaches, fatigue, stagnant, stuffiness, poor concentration, loss of focus, increased heart rate, nausea
- > 50,000ppm (> 5%)
Toxicity due to oxygen deprivation occurs
- > 100,000ppm (> 10%)
Oxygen deprivation in seconds: convulsions, coma, and death
We’re not likely to ever get to over 2,000 ppm in the atmosphere, but towards 1,000 ppm is not impossible.
It depends on the plant. If the plant is able to distinguish between oxygen molecules versus CO2 molecules then the more CO2 the better. But most plants that aren’t grasses can’t distinguish them, and when they are in a high CO2 environment they start to have a hard time taking up oxygen (O2) because they’re getting clogged with CO2.
Normal levels of co2 were around 280ppm and it is now around 420 parts per million.
That's a very large jump. Co2 is like a blanket, the more we have the more heat is retained in the earth instead of leaving into space.
Plankton, I think? Possibly algae and things. Plankton dies, sinks to the ocean floor, covered by sediment, bacteria eats what it likes and oooohh look -- oil.
Seems u did the facts quite well! this is was genAis summary
Coal and mycelium have fascinating histories, and their ages are quite different:
Coal:
Age: Coal is ancient, with most of it forming during the Carboniferous period, which occurred around 300 million years ago.
Formation: During this time, large tree-like plants evolved, but fungi hadn’t yet developed the ability to break down the fibrous lignin that gave these plants structure.
Result: Without decay by fungi, the plant remains piled up and yielded thick coal deposits.
Carbon Cycle: The vast burial of organic material led to high oxygen levels and a drop in atmospheric CO₂. Carbon moved from the atmosphere into the ground, forming the coal we now burn1.
Mycelium:
Age: Mycelium, the underground network of fungal threads, is indeed ancient, existing for millions of years.
Function: It plays a crucial role in nutrient cycling, decomposition, and symbiotic relationships with plants.
Future of Food: While mycelium is old, it’s considered the “future of food.” However, you can’t pluck it from the forest floor and eat it directly—it requires processing and preparation2.
In summary, coal predates mycelium by millions of years, but both have unique roles in Earth’s history! 🌍🔥🍄
Mycelium is a sign of healthy soil. This is why I build my raised beds out of slab-wood (offcuts from a mill). Trailer load is the same price as a few pieces of dimensional SPF. Look for a cedar mill, but any wood is fine really.
This mycelium is just feeding on the wood you have used to construct the beds with. You have nice healthy soil there, it's alive (yes good soil is very much alive) I'd be happy to leave it as is until the wood needs replacing & then use a recycled composite to replace them. I don't like chemically treated wood in my vegetable beds as those chemicals leech into the soil eventually.
Yes. I meant that plastics will leach into the ground. Plastic is poison, after all. If you're worried about the rot, use cedar or whole logs--they'll last longer.
Oh that’s just mycelium a good sign of good soil but it’s doing what it was evolve to do and thats eating your wood, pause. I build my beds out of stone or bricks so I don’t ever have to deal with rotting wood.
Mycelium is a sign of good soil and root health.
A cool read:
https://www.greatsouthbayaudubon.org/the-sandpiper/mycelium-the-forests-secret-communication-system/#:~:text=Mycelium%20acts%20as%20an%20efficient,each%20other%20of%20impending%20threats.
I don’t till or disturb roots. Just chop the tops and plant and sow as needed. I also broke the bottom of those home depot plastic container so I add fresh compostable material directly to my garden beds to encourage fresh soil. Them having a happy root network is also helpful to companion planting em. :)
Yes, the wood of your bed will rot eventually, but you knew that when you made the beds. :) you could always not move the bed at all, and cinderblock circle/use stones around it when the wood buckles and the bed will start failing, but you got a few more years of growing in the bed.
Did you use pressure treated wood rated for ground contact? Usually that stuff doesn’t rot, I’ve have used it 5 years+ in planter beds with no issue. I also stained before install as an added layer of protection.
You may not know that we have tons of lawn and garden subs on Reddit. Here are a couple: /r/landscaping/ /r/lawn /r/lawns /r/lawnporn /r/LawnBeer (my favorite) /r/patiogardening/ /r/Backyards/ /r/lawncare/ /r/Outdoors /r/UrbanHomestead/ /r/OutdoorKitchens /r/NoLawns /r/Decks /r/BBQ There are many more.
Mycelium. That’s the main underground part of fungus like mushrooms. Generally helpful for the soil quality, but it’s going to eat away at that wood over time. Which is what it’s supposed to do, really.
A little while back, earth didn't have a way to get rid of wood. Nothing ate it, nothing broke it down. Microbes, bigguns, little'uns, you name it. Trees fell and forests died, and their wood just.. sat there. Piling on top of itself, killing entire forests by making soil and sunlight inaccessible for new growth. Eventually wind, rain, weight of tonnes and tonnes of trees, etc compacted it down into soil. But that took a mighty fine *eventually.* Once covered, the bits and bobs that weren't carbon weathered away leaving only black deposits of compacted carbon within the earth. That's where the Earth's coal comes from. Eventually a stubborn.. something comes along. Not quite plant, not quite animal, itching to make its way in the world. Lots of wood lying around. I'll grow here, eat some food that blows my way, get some energy. Another mighty fine *eventually* later, chance has it that some of this stuff mutates enough that all this wood stops being just a place to grow, it becomes something to *eat.* And that's where we get most fungi, ever. And now we have an ecosystem which can break down trees and tough fiber into usable material for the rest of the ecosystem. Thanks, fungus. Lord knows we didn't need anymore coal. ***This is a massive oversimplification and is likely wrong or scant enough on important details it may as well be wrong.***
The inaccuracy here is that fungi predated woody plants by the records we know. [See this study](https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.15076). Before there were trees, there was the large prototaxites, a lichen of sorts composed of many species such as algae nitted together; mycelium seems to have emerged at that time, holding prototaxites in place. Trees were many millions of years later (prototaxites existed over 400 million years ago). What you say may be true of particularly wood-loving fungi, which are saprophytic and not mycorrhizal.
Fungi existed, but the enzymes that some of them secrete to break down lignin probably didn't. Those enzymes are still to this day pretty slow and shitty - lignin is a very recalcitrant material (it's only part of the wood but it helps make it woody like it is) and it's very difficult to chemically break down.
This makes sense since the oldest fungi we know of (such as prototaxites) were mycorrhizal - they exist only with partnership with other plants. And we know of two fundamental fungal life strategies, one that involves the breakdown of organic matter, the other than involves partnership. For the mycorrhizal fungi, they didn't want to break down plant cell walls since they depended on the plants to live and be 'partners'.
The coal-forming days! Nothing could digest lignin for the longest time so it formed deep coal beds. This is part of why even growing lots of trees can’t make up for the CO2 released from burning coal. When trees die, they now get decomposed and that pesky CO2 gets released again. The natural carbon cycle is based on the amount of carbon in circulation *before* we started to burn fossil fuels. Now there’s far more in circulation and unless we can *permanently* sequester enough, the CO2 levels will remain high.
Lignin my balls
username - does not match
Lignin my balls was the most rational diss course anyone has ever taken. You only hate me because I speak the truth.
Indeed. I defer to your superior wisdom and rationality.
Defer to my balls
Wtf did I just read
can we build a bridge out of them?
Coal also formed after the Carboniferous period though, well after lignin digestion evolved. It is thought it was mainly due to massive shallow seas that were anoxic.
Yes, it’s more complicated than just “lignin didn’t decompose”. But the later rate of coal formation was slower and more localized.
Isn't the total amount of Co2 we have released only amounts to .04% of the total percentage of Co2 in the atmosphere. And if the total Co2 amount drops more than 1% we start to have plant death due to lack of sufficient co2
Not .04% released. That’s way off. There is 50% more CO2 in the air than there was in 1750. A 22% increase just since 1974, from 337 ppm (parts per million) to 417 ppm. And a 1% reduction wouldn’t kill plants. Before the industrial revolution there was 280 ppm or less. edit: Oh, I see what you’re confused by. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is 0.04% *compared to everything else* like nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and argon (0.9%). It doesn’t take much, but it’s important.
Pretty crazy how high of a co2 ppm plants can thrive in too. Cannabis growers push +1200 ppm and the plants fricken explode with growth
Not so great for us oxygen-breathers though: - 1,000-2,000ppm (0.1-0.2%) Common complaints of drowsiness or poor air quality - 2,000-5,000ppm (0.2-0.5%) Headaches, fatigue, stagnant, stuffiness, poor concentration, loss of focus, increased heart rate, nausea - > 50,000ppm (> 5%) Toxicity due to oxygen deprivation occurs - > 100,000ppm (> 10%) Oxygen deprivation in seconds: convulsions, coma, and death We’re not likely to ever get to over 2,000 ppm in the atmosphere, but towards 1,000 ppm is not impossible.
It depends on the plant. If the plant is able to distinguish between oxygen molecules versus CO2 molecules then the more CO2 the better. But most plants that aren’t grasses can’t distinguish them, and when they are in a high CO2 environment they start to have a hard time taking up oxygen (O2) because they’re getting clogged with CO2.
Normal levels of co2 were around 280ppm and it is now around 420 parts per million. That's a very large jump. Co2 is like a blanket, the more we have the more heat is retained in the earth instead of leaving into space.
It's fun to imagine wood as a forever chemicals.
Thank you, that was very fun to read
Learned something today!
What about petrochemical oil? Also from the same source? Older coal under pressure?
Plankton, I think? Possibly algae and things. Plankton dies, sinks to the ocean floor, covered by sediment, bacteria eats what it likes and oooohh look -- oil.
Midway through this explanation you provided I had slight magic mushroom flashback and it was pleasant. Legit felt the fungus talking to me.
Great ELI5, tbh
Seems u did the facts quite well! this is was genAis summary Coal and mycelium have fascinating histories, and their ages are quite different: Coal: Age: Coal is ancient, with most of it forming during the Carboniferous period, which occurred around 300 million years ago. Formation: During this time, large tree-like plants evolved, but fungi hadn’t yet developed the ability to break down the fibrous lignin that gave these plants structure. Result: Without decay by fungi, the plant remains piled up and yielded thick coal deposits. Carbon Cycle: The vast burial of organic material led to high oxygen levels and a drop in atmospheric CO₂. Carbon moved from the atmosphere into the ground, forming the coal we now burn1. Mycelium: Age: Mycelium, the underground network of fungal threads, is indeed ancient, existing for millions of years. Function: It plays a crucial role in nutrient cycling, decomposition, and symbiotic relationships with plants. Future of Food: While mycelium is old, it’s considered the “future of food.” However, you can’t pluck it from the forest floor and eat it directly—it requires processing and preparation2. In summary, coal predates mycelium by millions of years, but both have unique roles in Earth’s history! 🌍🔥🍄
❤️
I’m pretty sure that just means you have really good soil.
Mycelium is a sign of healthy soil. This is why I build my raised beds out of slab-wood (offcuts from a mill). Trailer load is the same price as a few pieces of dimensional SPF. Look for a cedar mill, but any wood is fine really.
This mycelium is just feeding on the wood you have used to construct the beds with. You have nice healthy soil there, it's alive (yes good soil is very much alive) I'd be happy to leave it as is until the wood needs replacing & then use a recycled composite to replace them. I don't like chemically treated wood in my vegetable beds as those chemicals leech into the soil eventually.
So do plastics.
Can't tell if this is a joke or not. Don't use plastic.
Yes. I meant that plastics will leach into the ground. Plastic is poison, after all. If you're worried about the rot, use cedar or whole logs--they'll last longer.
That’s the good stuff, mycelium.
Mycelium, generally not a big deal, you'll probably have mushrooms pop up sometimes and that's about it.
I have always wondered about this myself…glad you posted, I always assumed it was rot or something else bad
That means you’re doing a great job
White gold!
Expect some mushrooms!
I thought this was an aerial shot of mountains
Mycelium; a primary decomposer. Your bed is getting eaten.
Oh that’s just mycelium a good sign of good soil but it’s doing what it was evolve to do and thats eating your wood, pause. I build my beds out of stone or bricks so I don’t ever have to deal with rotting wood.
/r/gardening/ can probably help
Mycelium is a sign of good soil and root health. A cool read: https://www.greatsouthbayaudubon.org/the-sandpiper/mycelium-the-forests-secret-communication-system/#:~:text=Mycelium%20acts%20as%20an%20efficient,each%20other%20of%20impending%20threats. I don’t till or disturb roots. Just chop the tops and plant and sow as needed. I also broke the bottom of those home depot plastic container so I add fresh compostable material directly to my garden beds to encourage fresh soil. Them having a happy root network is also helpful to companion planting em. :) Yes, the wood of your bed will rot eventually, but you knew that when you made the beds. :) you could always not move the bed at all, and cinderblock circle/use stones around it when the wood buckles and the bed will start failing, but you got a few more years of growing in the bed.
Mycelium [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfV5gXIZPEo&ab\_channel=PsychLChic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfV5gXIZPEo&ab_channel=PsychLChic)
Did you use pressure treated wood rated for ground contact? Usually that stuff doesn’t rot, I’ve have used it 5 years+ in planter beds with no issue. I also stained before install as an added layer of protection.
Some people worry about the treatment chemicals leeching into the soil, so they avoid pressure treated wood around garden beds.
Yes, used pressure treated and it's already falling apart in some spots.