Mushrooms, while unsightly in a yard, do have their place in the natural world. They help to break down decaying matter and in turn help the soil. Because they help the soil they are actually good for the lawn. Unfortunately, their appearance does not sit well with most people who like a well-tended lawn. At the same time many types of mushrooms are not safe to eat so their presence can endanger kids and pets.
Mushrooms are the above ground, reproductive structures, of some kinds of fungi. Other reproductive structures sometimes found in lawns include inky caps, puffballs, stinkhorns, and bird’s nests.
Many fungi do not produce visible fruiting structures, including those that cause many lawn diseases. Most mushroom causing fungi in lawns however, are beneficial because they decompose organic matter, thereby releasing nutrients that are then available for plant growth.
Lawn mushrooms are simply the product of fungi in the soil. while there may be spores in many areas of the lawn, they will only grow where they find a suitable habitat. Because of this, one or more areas of your yard could have them, while other areas do not.
Lawn mushrooms feed off decaying matter such as: organic matter, dead tree stumps, old building material and the like.
The greater the amount of these kinds of food sources available for the fungi in the soil the greater the chance mushrooms will develop. Also note the more food sources for the fungi, the bigger the mushrooms tend to grow.
The whole reason some mushrooms will be very large, while other times they will be very small all depends on the material available to feed off of. Permanently ridding your yard of lawn mushrooms means totally eliminating the food sources for the fungi, but this is oftentimes difficult and expensive
Mushrooms in Lawns
Because mushrooms are merely the fruiting bodies of fungi, removing them does not kill the underground mycelia from which they are growing. Picking mushrooms, puffballs, stinkhorns, or other fungi types soon after they appear, however, may prevent their spores from spreading to new locations.
Because most spores are wind-blown long distances, they can easily come into a lawn from neighboring areas. The primary reasons for removing mushrooms from lawns are to keep them away from children and pets since so many are hazardous and to improve the lawn’s appearance.
Mushrooms in New Sod
Mushrooms often appear in new sod during the period of sod establishment because new sod lawns require frequent irrigation and the fact organic material may have been left behind before or during the sodding, thus creating an ideal environment for the growth of mushrooms. These mushrooms do not harm the lawn and will normally disappear when irrigation is reduced.
What Mushrooms Feed on
Mushrooms found in lawns often develop from buried scraps of construction lumber, dead tree roots, or other organic matter. These fungi which produce these mushrooms are beneficial because they decompose organic matter in the soil, making nutrients available to other plants.
‘Lawn’ mushrooms usually are harmless to grasses, but some people consider them unsightly or want to get rid of them because young children play in the area.
The parts of the mushrooms you see on the top of the ground are not the whole fungus. You are in actually only seeing the head or fruiting body, which is the part of the fungus responsible or reproducing. Below the ground is where the fungus is getting food and nutrients to survive.
Most mushrooms reproduce by releasing thousands of spores through openings in the fruiting bodies into the open air for dispersion into the environment.
Here is the short and simple version of mushroom’s life cycle:
It all starts when the spores are released from there tops. Countless numbers of these spores are released into the environment and then spread by natural means, (Wind, water, animals, and even mowing) these spores are dispersed by various methods, (depending on the kind of mushroom).
Most of these spores simply die because they do not find a suitable site to establish. For the small percentage of spores that do land in an ideal spot, the spores germinate sending out tiny hyphae. In order for the hyphae to develop and eventually produce a mushroom they have to find other hyphae that are compatible.
When two compatible hyphae meet, they fuse together to form a mass called a mycelium. This mycelium eventually forms what is known as a hyphal knot. It is this growth which develops into a pinhead and turns into the mushrooms we see on the surface. The mushroom then produces spores and the process repeats.
Though the fruiting body of the fungus only stays around for a matter of days, in most cases, the main body of the fungus, under the ground, can last for much much longer, in some cases years. The main body then only produces fruiting structures when conditions are favorable, such as after periods of prolonged wet weather, or when there is a sudden change in weather e.g. warm and sunny one day, cold and rain the next.
Once the proper trigger hits these fungal bodies growth of new fruiting bodies or Mushrooms can happen extremely quickly.
CONTROL OF MUSHROOMS
Limit Irrigation:
The vast majority of mushrooms are associated with wet soil and/or poor drainage. Once the soil dries, mushrooms tend to go away. out. In simple terms areas with heavy mushroom problems should be watered less.
Air circulation:
Aeration and, in extreme cases, thatch removal will help with air flow which will prevent mushroom growth in many areas. This will also strengthen the roots of gasses since they will be able to breath better.
Good Fertilization:
Proper fertilization will often eliminate or drastically reduce mushrooms from springing up out from organic matter by applying proper and well balanced nitrogen fertilizer. This helps, because fertilization speeds up decomposition of organic matter.
Top Removal:
A popular method to control mushrooms is to remove the tops as they are seen throughout the year. Continual vigilance and removal will keep the appearance of the yard up and will drastically cut down on the spread of the fungi, but the source of the mushrooms will still be present. Thus, the mushrooms are likely to return in the future.
There is only one way to permanently rid your yard of lawn mushrooms, and that is to exhaust all of the food sources in your yard and soil. Performing the following tasks could aid in permanently ridding your yard of lawn mushrooms: Clean up pet waste, Dispose of rotting mulch, Have old tree stumps ground, and were there are rings of mushrooms (fairy ring) aerate outside the circle to help airflow and quicker breakdown of material the fairy ring is feeding on.
Having old tree stumps ground down and removed may aid in the permanent ridding of mushrooms, but realize there are still tree roots extending out from the stump which will decay over time and will provide ideal food for mushroom growth.
Fungicides are not useful on mushrooms:
Many people, even some professionals, will want to spray mushrooms with a fungicide. The problem is, the spray can’t really get to the source because fungicides sprayed onto the mushroom itself do little. The Mushroom is only the reproductive top. Hitting this with a fungicide does no good because the mushroom is not the source. Most of the fungus is below ground, inaccessible to the chemical.
Best Suggestions:
- Picking the mushroom is the first step, since it gets reid of the reproductive part and prevents spread.
- From there it is a matter of good lawn care: Proper fertilization, mowing, Aeration, and fertilization. In simple terms, control of mushrooms is all about diligence.
- The professionals at Mountain High Tree, Lawn and Landscape are the right people to have on your lawn.