Mushrooms are fungus that thrives in a variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, and even your garden. They proliferate by dispersing spores through air or water droplets.
The five main reasons why mushrooms are growing in your grden beds are: You’re using garden soil and fresh organic manure. You don’t mulch and you overwater your plants.
Five Reasons Mushrooms Are Growing in Your Garden Beds and Potted Veggies
1. You Are Using Garden Soil
The first guideline for planting in a container is that you must not apply garden soil.
Garden soil contains nematodes, earthworms, beneficial and toxic bacteria, and much more. There is a risk that fungus is present in the soil if you used garden soil in your pots.
There are a few measures you should take before using garden soil in container gardening.
You must sterilize the soil in addition to aerating it (and improving its water drainage ability) by mixing it with additional materials. Every organism in the soil can be killed by baking it at 180°F for 30 minutes.
This step can be skipped if you use potting mix instead of garden soil. The majority of potting soil has already been disinfected and is ready for usage inside (or outside) the home.
2. You Are Using Fresh Organic Manure
If they are young and undecomposed, fungi may be discovered in animal droppings, organic fertilizer, or other sources of organic nutrients for your plants.
It is possible that if you mixed compost in the pot, it is an unfinished compost.
In container gardening, inorganic fertilizer is preferable. If organic materials must be used as a source of plant nutrients, they must be completely rotted or decomposed.
3. Your Potted Vegetables Have Been Susceptible to Mushroom Spores.
Mushroom spores are similar to plant seeds. Mushrooms disperse their spores via air, water, and other methods. Mushroom spores can readily infiltrate your potted vegetables and begin to grow in them if they are in an exposed position.
If you do not want mushrooms to grow in your pots, do not put them in a windy position or in a site where you have seen mushrooms grow before. You can also follow the advice in the following explanation.
4. You Did Not Mulch
If you do not mulch your potted vegetables, the potting mix or sterilized soil is exposed to a wide variety of airborne bacteria and critters.
Mulching your potted vegetables, on the other hand, protects the soil from various plant pests and fungus spores.
Two inches of straw, hay, wood chips or other materials should be mulched around your potted vegetables. Keep in mind that the higher the height of the mulch, the less likely it is that unwanted organisms will enter the soil.
5. You Overwater the Plants
Fungi thrive in moist environments. A moist medium promotes the spread of fungus cells. Vegetables do not require excessive watering.
The majority of veggies require a moist (but not wet) potting mix. Overwatering the veggies may cause root rot, and the moisture of the potting mix may encourage the growth of mushrooms.
Vegetables should not be overwatered. Also, ensure that the pot includes holes that allow water to flow out of it.
Should You Remove Mushrooms from the Garden?
Mushrooms, in our opinion, should not be removed from the soil. Apart from being useful, they also offer a lovely accent to the soil as they grow gently beneath the plant foliage.
Mushrooms in soil indicate that the soil is healthy and will not damage garden or potted plants. Mushrooms can be picked off by hand.
They will complete their life cycle, decompose, and restore nutrients to the soil if left in the soil.
Much research [google scholar] has shown that mushrooms can contain minerals from the soil through quantitative analysis. In certain circumstances, the minerals are beneficial, but in others, the minerals may be harmful.
However, this is entirely dependent on the soil quality in which they develop.
Another study [google scholar] found that employing spent mushroom compost (SMC) boosted plant growth and fruit output.
The findings were reviewed regarding the use of SMC as a suitable organic fertilizer for improving vegetable growth.
Garden soil, on the other hand, is healthy and full of nutrients and organic material that will nourish the plants through decomposition.
The same is true for potted plants. Healthy plants indicate healthy soil, and the presence of mushrooms in the mix confirms that you are doing a good job of providing your plant with everything it requires to grow.
Can Garden Mushrooms be Poisonous?
When some mushrooms are consumed, they can be dangerous. As a result, you must use extreme caution when handling mushrooms found in and around the garden.
Poisonous mushrooms have an unpleasant, acrid odor, whereas benign mushrooms have a nice, mushroom-like odor.
Final Thoughts
If you find a mushroom in the soil of your plants, consider it a sign of a happy, healthy mini-ecosystem. Mushrooms are fungi that may collaborate with bacteria in the soil to convert organic resources into plant food.
Mushrooms can build a network of communication between plants, which they can use to alert other plants when they are in distress.
They prefer moist soil and may grow in a variety of environments, from potted plants to extensive garden areas.
Although some are quite attractive, they can also be dangerous, so if you plan on eating them, make sure you properly identify them.
The presence of mushrooms is an indication of healthy soil, and if the soil is healthy, it only implies the plants that are planted on it are healthy as well.
Mushrooms will flourish in plant pots and vegetable gardens due to spores buried in the potting soil or mulch media employed.
They are beneficial fungus that develops a symbiotic relationship with plants by providing nutrients for growth. Mushrooms in the soil indicate the presence of a small, thriving ecosystem.
This article has discussed why mushrooms develop in the garden and on plant pots. Mushrooms can thrive everywhere, but now, we explained that there are a few things to keep an eye out for if you have them around.
Look on the right side, so, as long as they’re not poisonous, mushrooms are wonderful to eat and very good for your health. You could keep doing whatever you’re doing, allow the mushrooms to grow, and enjoy eating them. It’s just another benefit of being a hands-on gardener!
Jenny Marie
Tribal Editor
Edited By
Patricia Godwin
