i have 1500 hosta.. it is a hosta why in the world you would consider killing anything that looks that vigorous is beyond me... especially when you describe the soil .. i often joke they will live on the driveway.. but yours is proof.. think long and hard.. before you think much else might grow in that soil .. ken

Yes, they are mealy bugs. The first step is definitely to quarantine any affected plants. Make sure you really check all your plants, not just the ones where they are readily visible, because they can be expert hiders. Leaf or surface mealy bugs are different from root mealy bugs, but it is possible to have both. I would try pulling up a plant or two to check; if you don't see anything, you probably only have the surface bugs. Treatment can be a bit of a pain, but you can find lots of information on what solution to use on the forum. I have used a 50/50 water/alcohol mix with a squirt of dish soap, and I'm currently experimenting with Safer's Insecticidal Soap. So far it seems to be working well. Definitely make sure you spray and/or remove what you see, but I always like to spray the whole plant in case there are things I can't see going on. Because soaps and pesticides often work on certain, but not all, parts of the life cycle, you will have to do several treatments. The life cycle is around 3 weeks. I like to spray once every few days (spraying every day seems too hard on the plant, in my experience). Then, be sure to keep your plants quarantined for a few more weeks to be sure all the bugs are gone before you put them back with the rest of your collection. Good luck!

Looks like aphids to me. I'd blast them with the hose, a hard stream but not hard enough to knock the leaves off. Do that every couple/few days for a week or so, soon the ones you'll miss should be noticed and eaten by a "good" bug. Once you see those (likely ladybug larvae) at work, let them do their work. Your ROS looks really close to the wall, but pics can be deceiving. Does the sun shine on it all day?

Actually there IS an organic way to address the problem - mushroom compost. Dr. Davis, of Penn State U, and referenced in the article I linked above as "one of the nation's leading artillery-fungus researchers", has written a Q&A-style fact sheet on this fungus, in which he states, in part: "Our research at Penn State has shown that blending used mushroom compost with a landscape mulch at about 40% by volume (add 4 buckets of mushroom compost to 6 buckets of landscape mulch) will greatly suppress artillery fungus sporulation. Mushroom compost is very "green" and environmentally friendly." Since you don't want to turn over the soil so much as to disturb your veggie plants' root systems, I would scoop out as much of the fruiting bodies as possible then gently work the mushroom compost into the surface. Mushroom compost is great for your plants. It is basically very well-composted manure (usually horse) that has been used to grow mushrooms. It is pasteurized before and after use for mushrooms, so you will get neither mushroom spores nor weeds. Its nitrogen is somewhat depleted, but you can make up for that with a fertilizer if you wish to. While re-doing our front yard several years ago I ordered 6 cubic yards of mushroom compost to work into our sandy soil. I purchased it from a local garden center that advocates the organic approach, and their stock reflects that position. It was backbreaking work moving that stuff around wheelbarrow-full by wheelbarrow-full, but it paid off ... the beneficial effect on my plants and soil organisms has been outstanding. Below is a link to Dr. Davis' Q&A. I didn't include it before, thinking it might be too much, but now think otherwise. Funny how things go; I had to research this topic for someone about two weeks ago, at which time I found Dr. Davis' info, and here it is coming 'round again. As someone else said, don't worry too much about the effects in your vegetable garden. If any produce gets spotted, you can always remove the offending part(s). These are just the fruiting bodies of the mycelium, as are button mushrooms, shiitake, portobello and the like; however, I don't know if they (or their spores) are safe for human consumption as those well-known varieties, so I would err on the side of caution. Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Davis on Artillery Fungus