Why do mushrooms grow in your garden and how can you prevent this?

MUSHROOMS and toadstools are commonly found in gardens throughout the fall season.

Here’s everything you need to know about why they grow in your garden.

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Why do mushrooms grow in your garden?

If mushrooms have invaded your garden this season, you are not alone.

Mushrooms thrive in moist, warm and wet conditions.

They also do well in decaying organic matter, so if you have mowed your lawn and stored the clippings or have a damp pile of logs, this could be the perfect home.

Garden expert Laura Andrews at The Plant Company said: “Many people believe that mushrooms are a sign of poor lawn health.

“However, they only grow when the soil is healthy and, most importantly, they do not cause any damage to your grass.”

How do you grow mushrooms in your garden?

To get them actively growing, loosen the soil under the turf with a garden fork and add additional organic matter, such as well-rotted manure or garden compost.

Avoid chemical fertilizers; Mushrooms do not grow under these conditions.

If you want a yard full of mold, don’t mow the lawn.

Short grass dries faster and provides less moisture for mushroom growth.

Aerated lawns are better for drainage and airflow, which also prevents fungi from thriving.

There are countless ways to grow mushrooms.

You can purchase mushroom spawn to grow in beds or boxes filled with compost or manure.

Alternatively, you can opt for a mushroom growing kit, which usually includes the growing material and growing media (such as wood shavings or straw).

If you have access to recently chopped wood, you can purchase wooden dowels or dowels impregnated with spawn.

Before inserting the dowels or dowels, you need to drill holes in the tree trunk.

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Can you eat mushrooms growing in your garden?

Although most species are not poisonous, it is best that children or pets do not eat them unless you can confidently identify each specific mushroom.

And if you see them growing on trees, you may want to get an expert involved.

Calum Maddock op HomeHoe.nl said: “If you see mushrooms growing on the trees in your garden it is worth calling in an expert to check them as this is usually a sign that they are dying.”

Explaining how to remove mold from lawns, Laura said: “Pull the mushrooms out of the grass from the base as this will help stop the spread and reduce the risk of children or pets eating them.”

How to prevent mushrooms from growing

The best way to prevent mushrooms from growing in your garden is to disrupt the conditions in which they need to thrive.

Here are some tips:

Mow the lawn

By mowing your lawn regularly, the grass stays nice and short and mushrooms cannot grow.

Saturated soil encourages mushroom growth, so keep your grass short to ensure it dries out more quickly after a rain shower.

Remove food sources for mold

Rake up leaves, twigs, grass clippings and other waste material as soon as they appear on your lawn to prevent fungi from thriving on organic matter.

Scarify your lawn

Thatch is actually a layer of dead grass material stuck beneath living grass.

Felt can contribute to the growth of mushrooms. If you can prevent thatch, you can also prevent mushrooms.

The best way to scarify your garden is to use a liquid agent that prevents felting.

Perform aeration

Regular raking of the soil improves drainage and airflow, preventing the soggy conditions that mushrooms love.

Reduce shady areas

If you prune back overhanging branches, more sunlight will enter your garden.

Sunlight is an essential daily ingredient for keeping your soil dry and free of mushrooms.

How can you tell the difference between poisonous and edible mushrooms?

Basically, you can’t tell the difference without positively identifying each individual mushroom, but here are some helpful tips to stay safe…

Here are some general rules for avoiding poisonous mushrooms if you are not an expert:

• Avoid mushrooms with white gills, a skirt or ring on the stem and a bulbous or bag-like base, called a volva. You may miss out on some delicious edible mushrooms, but you’ll avoid members of the deadly Amanita family.
• Avoid mushrooms with red on the cap or stem. Again, you might miss some tasty mushrooms, but you most likely won’t pick any poisonous mushrooms.
• NEVER use mushrooms unless you are 100% sure what they are; however, this is by far the most important rule.

The following British mushrooms are relatively easy to identify and safe to eat:

• Giant puff ball
• Steak Mold
• Porcelain mold
• Cauliflower Mold
• Dryad saddle
• Hedgehog fungus
• Truffle (if you are lucky enough to come across it)
• Wood Ears (as long as they grow on older trees/shrubs)
• Chicken of the Woods (as long as they do NOT grow on a yew tree)