[webby139]

Hi All,

I'm starting to get a little anoyed to be honest. 

For what ever reason there are small mushroom looking things growing in 3 out of 7 of my raised beds. There are also some in one of my borders where i have bedding plants. They seem to like my onion patch more than anything !!!

I think it must have something to do with the compost i used.

I'm constantly picking them out, then a day later there are more - I wish my vegi's would grow as quick !!!

Is there any way i can get shot of them (easily) other than just hand picking them out ??
Any produce or tricks of the trade etc etc

Here's hoping !!!
Web.

[mattwragg94]

i wonder if your compost had spent compost in it?

anyway i think the only way of getting rid of them is just to keep picking and binning them!

[Willow_Warren]

I have found this with one particular lot of compost I bought (won't be doing so again!).

There are also a lot of mushrooms growing in my lawn, never seen anything like it at this time of year, some are approaching 6" diameter they grow damn quick, it's not like we don't mow our lawn relatively regularily!

H

[savbo]

I assume when  you say 'mushrooms' you're meaning some kind of fungus rather than the edible mushroom?

I think it's not realistic to control fungi - the chemicals necessary are nasty and mostly now banned! However it's happened, you've given them the food and conditions they need and the 'mushrooms' are just the fruiting parts of a big organism in your compost

Are the beds recently filled? If so, it's very likely that the fungi will exhaust whatever was in the compost that they've grown on, and you may well have no problem next year.


sav

[snowdrops]

I agree with the other comments plus if you think about the weather it is much more like the weather in September most of the time when I think fungi thrive & we get field mushrooms etc.

[viettaclark]

My raised bed containing garlic is suddenly swamped with loads of fungi that look edible (like parasols but much smaller)
So disappointed when I found out they were inedible!
I thought it was the mushroom compost I use but obviously not. Strange though because that bed has been covered with debris net for 2 years and this is the first time I've had the problem. I have topped up with used compost from pots though which might have contained the spores.
Can it affect the garlic (which has bad rust anyway actually)?

[Trillium]

Mushrooms prefer alkaline soil, and that might be what you're offering them. Try dusting some sulphur powder over the beds and water in, or any of the boxed sulphates to help lower the pH.

[AnneB]

The source might well be manure.  We imported a whole pile of mushrooms into our raised beds this year following spreading well rotted manure from a local stables.  I just pull them out when they come up.

I think Trillium is right about the alkaline soil.  Ours is on the alkaline side.  I bet webby will have success with the brassicas as we do.

[webby139]

Morning All,

Thanks for that, looks like is just pickin em out then ehh !!!

Your right about the brassicas though - I planted quite a few and now have had to move as they have grown that big they are on top of each other.

I never tested my soil to be honest, it was a little bit of spare land at the bottom of my garden - 9m x 9m. I just ripped all the weeds and nettles out about 2 year ago and started growing stuff right away.

Still pulling the odd nettle out every now and then, but it's well under control.

Best thing i ever did, although at 36, i do get a little needle of the "lads" having a laugh about me having an allotment.

Cheers,

[savbo]

Mushrooms prefer alkaline soil, and that might be what you're offering them. Try dusting some sulphur powder over the beds and water in, or any of the boxed sulphates to help lower the pH.

I agree that the commercial mushroom likes alkaline soil but I'm not aware that is true of most fungi... after all they thrive in a very wide range of habitats... so you'd need to know what species you've got before taking action...

sav

[viettaclark]

In my raised beds I grow wonderful brassicas, parsnips, carrots (when they germinate/survive slugs) leeks, garlic and beans/peas but have had little luck with roots such as swede/celeriac/turnips/beetroot.
I add mushroom compost, my compost and spent compost with some topsoil to top up every year. Yes.....likely it's gone quite alkaline.......

[Trillium]

Mushroom compost in itself is quite alkaline, and will always carry extra fungal spores. When conditions are right, other fungi are likely to grow with the standard mushroom spores. With all the rain in the UK, that alone is causing many fungi to sprout.