Gardening: Orange mass in the soil near the root?

Question

I had a plant that died while I was out of the country and today, I decided to mix all the soil from my unused pots. There was an orange mass near the root, and another one somewhere in the pot that almost looked like around two tablespoons of Tang Orange powder that was clumped up.

Would anyone know what this is?

Answer 1

Yeah, it is a fungus.

Answer 2

agent orange

Answer 3

probably a root there is a weed that makes an oval shaped rounded leaf and runs a deep root to china the root is bright orange and if you get it on your hands takes a long time to remove the stain ,and i guess if not that then some type of fungi ..........tom

Answer 4

It's definately a fungus, I have gotten the same on my plants before...Go to home depot and get a good fungicide..do not get a copper based fungicide for it is summer at the moment and copper based will dry quickly in the heat and not work..You should NEVER REUSE THE SOIL  from unused pots that have been exposed to this..you will spread it to everything you palntin it..also you should take any potting containers and sterilize with bleach and water first then rinse before reusing...I was just reading one of the other answers..DO NOT SIMPLY SCOOP UP WITH A SHOVEL....You will not get rid of it without a fungicide..scooping it up will only scatter it more

Answer 5

It sounds like its the same mold I had in my garden last year.  Try and take a shovel to scoop it up and discard it asap to prevent it from spreading its spores.  Make sure you wear a mask when doing so, so you dont breath in any spores.  I am not sure if its toxic or not!  Hope this helps!