Fungus on logs

thehappybutterfly

We cut down a few trees last summer (2012), chopped them up into little logs and left them to season. We didn't have them under cover for the first four months then we transferred them into a mini greenhouse (one of those 3-tier plastic jobs) with the plastic cover on and zipped up. This was in November before the snow started.

However, I went to get some of them in just now to check their moisture levels and most of them are covered in a white wet looking fungus. The plastic cover is very wet. Are they completely ruined?

I can upload some photos if that would help.

TonyMMM

They need to be stacked somewhere with a cover over the top to keep rain off, but open so that air can circulate around them so that they can dry out properly ... by putting them in a plastic cover you are just trapping the moisture in.

thehappybutterfly

That's what I thought as soon as I opened it. Do you think they're beyond salvaging? I get the impression that fungus / mould of any kind is pretty invasive.

muckybutt

Let them dry naturally but let them breath as well, as they are now there will be too much moisture in them.

By all means keep them under the plastic but open both ends up to let the moisture out and the air in, they'll probably need a good six months to dry out.

Ectophile

Last time I had a bunch of logs that had gone mouldy, I dumped them in a pile, exposed to the elements. After a while all the mould died off. I then put them under cover to dry out.

While it did get rid of the mould, those logs never seemed to burn very well. But they did burn.

Leif

The fungus will have started to consume the wood, but it takes years for fungus to decompose a tree or log into humus. As others say, get them into a dry, ventilated place. Fungus grows when the moisture levels are high.