Pesky mushrooms...
Tootles
Posts: 1,469
Hello! Does anyone know if mushrooms will be doing harm to my strawberies, carrot seedlings, radish and spring onions? I think they must have sprouted from the compost I used (arthur bowers). There are loads of them and they have really long stems. I'm a bit worried that they are taking good nutrients from the soil, and gulping up when I water. I've tried pulling them out but I can't keep up with the little blighters! I dug over the soil yesterday, and when I got home from work today you'd have thought I'd have sown miracle speed growing mushrooms! They are quick little sprouters!
0
Posts
Fungi are everywhere. Never known them harm anything apart from the dreaded honey fungus, which doesn't have long stalks so don't worry about it Tootles. I have great crops of fungi from the shrub/tree shreddings I spread about. vey interesting but don't eat them if you don't know them
Thanks Nutcutlet. I'll leave them be then. But it is like a mushroom party out there!
Fungi are one of the few things that can break down cellulose (woody matter), releasing nutrients which plants can use and are an essential part of the cycle of life, so are actually improving your compost! Like nutcutlet says, they aren't generally harmful to plants (although Honey fungus is indeed one of the exceptions) so pick the fruiting bodies off if you find them unsightly, but the fungus itself is growing within the compost and there are no chemicals available to gardeners for eradication (not that it would be of any benefit.) You can sometimes see it as as thin white sheets or strands (known as mycelia), even in sterilised bagged compost.
Thanks Bob. It's just that there are so many. I'm a tad concerned they will effect the growth of my seeds. I wish I knew if they were safe to eat but will definitely not take a chance there. Where is Ray Mears when you need him?!
Definitely don't risk eating them! Fungi are terribly difficult to identify accurately and even experts are extremely wary. Any chance of uploading a photo? I'd love to see what you have.