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I have had small patches of mushrooms/fungi pop up in the garden from time to time but last year some new ones sprouted and really took over some areas. They grow in cluster and look like dried button mushrooms without stems. They do shrivel and spout yellow spores when disturbed. I hoped that they would suffer some over the winter but today I see that they seem unaffected.
Other then doing away with mulch in these areas, is there anything I can do to slow their growth? I searched online for pictures but I cannot find anything that is exactly like what I am growing. Thank you in advance!
It's perfectly normal for mushrooms to grow in mulch and it is not harmful to your plants. Spores are airborne. They land everywhere, but they reproduce and grow on moist dead organic matter like wood chips. There is no stopping it, and please don't get rid of the mulch in order to get rid of the mushrooms. What you are seeing is perfectlyt natural.
I know this is a natural phenomenon but, like with anything, too much is not a good thing. I was hoping something simple like changing the ph might help. It has taken over a wide span of a flower area and bled into an area we and the dog walks through daily.
I have had small patches of mushrooms/fungi pop up in the garden from time to time but last year some new ones sprouted and really took over some areas. They grow in cluster and look like dried button mushrooms without stems. They do shrivel and spout yellow spores when disturbed. I hoped that they would suffer some over the winter but today I see that they seem unaffected.
Other then doing away with mulch in these areas, is there anything I can do to slow their growth? I searched online for pictures but I cannot find anything that is exactly like what I am growing. Thank you in advance!
Nitram is right about the amount of water the area is getting. A wetter than usual winter and/or spring will cause a lot more to pop up and grow. Too frequent light watering that doesn't let the mulch completely dry out will also cause lots of fungi to grow.
You will have to be a little more proactive than you were. By letting them get to the shrivel and release yellow spores stage you effectively have let them multiply. Spores are the seed for the next generation of fungi. There is nothing wrong with them but it you don't like the look you will have to get out there after every rain and anytime you have watered and pick any new mushrooms before they reach the spore releasing stage. If you are persistent the level of new mushrooms will gradually diminish. I also have dug out the root area some mushrooms I had come in with a load of topsoil because they were quite ugly and smelly; they were one kind of stinkhorn.
Thanks everyone! The areas affected are adjacent to the part of yard that is wooded and tends to be damp. I actually don't water these areas at all. The dried mushrooms are very evident now - having gained a good foot hold through the late fall. Our weather has just, and I mean just, warmed to the point of working out in the yard so I am digging out clusters where I can. It is also an area that gets a fair amount of foot traffic by the dogs
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