Hi,

I've been growing veggies for years and this spring and early summer we got a lot of rain. Some crazy fungus has popped up in my garden. I think it's called chinese caterpillar fungus, but I'm not sure. It starts out as little white balls-they grow to almost the size of a golf ball, just underneath the surface of the soil. If I can see five of these balls, there are 10 more under the soil. Out of these white balls sprout hollow orange spikes, they look like upside-down carrots. On the tip of the 'carrot' is a dark brown slimy substance that is sticky and attracts flies. After about week, they dry out and shrivel up.

I only see these in the garden area, not in the grass. I think it's classified as a soil fungus. I would like to know if anyone can positively identify this and tell me if it's safe to eat the vegetables that I have growing near where this fungus is. And if anyone knows how I can get rid of it, organically if possible, that would be great! Thanks so much!

veggieMom4 in southeastern PA