Mushrooms in the garden can be an unsettling sight, indicating changes in the soil and in growing conditions generally. While growing mushrooms is becoming more popular as a home interest, fungi can be unpleasant in gardens when they arrive out of nowhere. These unplanned garden guests can also be toxic, so you’ll want to remove them if you have curious children or pets.
While the discovery of mushrooms may prompt feelings of unease, they pose no risk to the health of your soil and plants. Indeed, they can have environmental benefits that are worth considering. So unless you have children and pets to worry about, mushrooms can be left where they stand. Here, we explain when (and how) to remove them, and when it’s OK to leave them.
Before you tackle their removal, it helps to understand fungi and why they seem to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Many mushrooms sprout when the right environmental conditions exist, such as moist, shady areas where decaying tree stumps, roots or mulch are found. The mushrooms contain spores that are released to the wind to further spread the fungi.
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi present in the soil, which are breaking down organic matter through a network of filaments called hyphae. These fungi live for years in the soil, and only send up the fruiting bodies when conditions are favorable, such as after rainfall.
Knowledge is power, and identifying mushrooms gives you a better handle on next steps. Here are some of the most common mushrooms found in lawns and gardens. You will generally find these on or around mulch, fallen leaves, animal waste or decaying wood:
If you are worried about pets or children tasting a mushroom, you can manually remove mushrooms as you see them. These
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