Mushroom invasion!

[thompo]

Hi guys,

Just noticed that our garden has sprouted lots of mushrooms in literally a day or 2.

They weren't there last year to our knowledge but the grass hadn't been cut for 3months prior to us getting the keys around this time last year.

Anyone know what might cause this? what they are? Poisonous?

Also have few bits of dark grass which has grown much more than surrounding grass, last week these areas had some large mushrooms Like field mushrooms.

Just curious as to why this happens

Thanks for any info

Untitled

• thompo
• 2 Oct 2013
• 1

Untitled

• thompo
• 2 Oct 2013
• 1

 

[Deleted2797112]

My lawn too! All lawns have fungi (usually thread-like or matted in the grass itself) and they're beneficial. Toadstools or mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of the fungi, the equivalent of a flower on a plant, and they disperse the spores of the fungi. They develop when the ground and weather conditions are right so this year must be a good year! Where your grass is darker and you have lots of toadstools, you might find they're over patches of accumulated thatch, which is what they break down. I'd work on the assumption they're all poisonous unless you know someone who really knows their mushrooms or you're very confident using a good field guide.

 

[munchingB]

go over the area with a fork. douse the area in some diluted washing up liquid or preferably cheap shampoo.

 

[Deleted2797112]

Why? Are you trying to kill them? They're a sign of a healthy lawn.

 

[munchingB]

if your lawn were not a lawn but a woodland then yes healthy. fungi would suggest that you have inadequate drainage which is why i suggested stabbing those infested areas with a fork to make the soil less compacted.

raking the area of thatch build up and using a shampoo or washing up liquid diluted will break down the water repellant aspect of the mushrooms.

mushrooms in the middle of the lawn are definitely not a sign of health and depending what type of fungus might be growing could also cause damage to the roots of the grass that they will be living off.

does the area where mushrooms grow look drier than the surrounding grass in the summer? thatch and compaction.

trying telling someone with honey fungus that they are a sign of health!

 

[Deleted2797112]

I think you're confusing moss and fungi. The RHS and companies that produce lawn turf don't share your opinion on fungi.

And what has honey fungus got to do with anything? That's not what the OP asked about or described.

 

[r896neo]

Ceres is right in that they can be a sign of healthy beasts but they themselves are of no value, they are also not terribly attractive. Your best bet is to remove them to reduce the spores making more you can try a light spray of armillatox to kill off spores already spread.

However munchingb is describing the symptoms and treatment of fairy rings. These are a damaging and difficult fungal problem to deal with.

the worst type of Fairy rings would exhibit as rings of dead grass with very dark green patches in the middle. in this situation you need to rake roughly and apply a wetting agent such as shampoo to help cut through the waxy secretions.

 

[Deleted2797112]

Is Armillatox licensed as a lawn fungicide?

I'm quite bemused at the advice trend in this forum - if it moves, nuke it, if it doesn't move nuke it, and preferably with an illegal unlicensed substance.

 

[munchingB]

ceres, because when you squash them with the wheels of your mower or spread them with the blade they look a complete mess.

be real-most people like to keep there sward a certain length and others dont even like to cut the lawn in the first place, so within the realms of realistic practicality-mushrooms on the lawn are a completely craap idea and are ultimately-in whatever form-detrimental to a lawn.

RHS-you mean monsanto promoting spray everything with glyphosate RHS?..yes i have my qualifications from them and do not agree with a whole bunch of issues they preach.

 

[JohnD]

no need to waste your money on chemicals.

Knock them over with a broom or rake, if you don't like them. They will shrivel away and be cleared up next time you mow or rake the lawn. They are not doing any damage.

Sometimes they will be growing on rotten wood buried in the lawn, including dead tree roots.

 

[Deleted2797112]

ceres, because when you squash them with the wheels of your mower or spread them with the blade they look a complete mess.

be real-most people like to keep there sward a certain length and others dont even like to cut the lawn in the first place, so within the realms of realistic practicality-mushrooms on the lawn are a completely craap idea and are ultimately-in whatever form-detrimental to a lawn.

RHS-you mean monsanto promoting spray everything with glyphosate RHS?..yes i have my qualifications from them and do not agree with a whole bunch of issues they preach.

Mushrooms on a lawn aren't any kind of idea, 'craap' or otherwise. They're a natural occurence and lawn fungi are essential to a healthy lawn. A lawn without fungi is a dead lawn.

I have no idea what you're on about conflating the RHS with Monsanto or indeed what 'qualifications'.

 

[munchingB]

stinging nettles are a very good sign of healthy soil...but i dont want them growing in the middle of my lawn nor anywhere else in my garden.

personally i would not encourage something to grow in my lawn that could poison my kids.

only a complete grade A muppet would.

a lawn is a cultivated area of mixed grass types.

grass-not moss-not fungi but grass

and thats what most people aim for with a lawn-not to see how many weeds and weirdness they can collect.

 

[JohnD]

A lawnmower will remove nettles from your lawn.

A rake or broom will knock over mushrooms so that they shrivel up. If you think your children will eat them, sweep them up and bin them. Otherwise they can go on the compost or the mower will take them, or you can rake them up with the leaves.

No point in wasting time and money on chemicals.

 

[Deleted2797112]

personally i would not encourage something to grow in my lawn that could poison my kids.

only a complete grade A muppet would.

Only a grade A muppet would fail to teach their children what they should and shouldn't eat.

 

[munchingB]

only a super chief rsx5000 uber muppet would trust a 2 year old to correctly identify wild mushroom types.