Straw bale gardening - Pink blobs on straw bales

(Minneapolis, MN USA)

Some sort of pink foamy like blobs (pea size) are growing on my straw bales. Does anyone have any ideas as to what it could be? Will the pink substance hurt my eggplants or tomatoes?

Megan replies...

Fungus on Straw bales
These small colourful blobs are pretty, but harmless and will turn brown and die in a day or so.

You have Slime mold, sometimes called Wolf's Milk Slime Mold (Lycogala epidendrum). This is more often found in mulches and composts.

You are less likely to get fungus/composting oddities on your strawbale if you do a pre-treatment to 'cook' the insides of your strawbale first. Nothing to worry about though.