What Are Backyard Mushrooms?
The fruiting bodies of an underground fungus that is growing beneath the earth in your garden are known as backyard mushrooms. These fungi are essential to the breakdown of the soil's woody organic matter, which increases its fertility.
Why Do Mushrooms Grow in Backyards?
The ideal environment for fungus to fruit is found on your lawn, which is why mushrooms and toadstools flourish there. Mold spores are attracted to moisture from water leaks, inadequate ventilation, or other types of water damage, and within 24 to 48 hours, these spores grow into colonies and infestations. While many forms of fungi prefer moist, chilly temperatures, others will flourish in warm, humid environments.
Common Backyard Mushrooms
1. Common Stinkhorn (Phallus Impudicus)
The common stinkhorn fungus is among the oddest varieties of lawn mushrooms you may see. These mushrooms thrive in areas with a lot of woody organic materials, such as mulched gardens and forests. They smell bad, but generally speaking, they are not poisonous.
2. Fairy Ring Mushroom (Marasmius Oreades)
These enchanted elements seem to materialize overnight. Fairy rings on lawns are formed by around 60 different species of fungi, all of which are members of the Basidiomycetes group. The fungus develops in a circle, expanding outward by feeding on this wood. Certain ring-forming mushrooms provide nutrients that are good for plants.
3. Field or Meadow Mushroom (Agaricus Campestris)
It is closely related to the common button mushroom, tasting and feeling similar. They can be seen growing alone or in clusters in lawns, meadows, and fields. They can form arcs or gradually widening rings known as fairy rings.
4. Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria)
This big red or yellow mushroom is easily recognized by its white gills, white scales on the cap, and white stem. Despite being listed as dangerous to eat, eating it hasn't been linked to many deaths; instead, it's more of a narcotic or hallucinogenic mushroom.
5. Giant Puffball (Calvatia Gigantea)
A particular kind of fungus known as puffballs forms solid spheres without stems, crowns, or gills. You may eat the giant puffball while they're still young when their insides are hard and pure white. However, it has reached the "splat" stage and shouldn't be consumed if the inside has become mushy and has begun to turn yellow.
6. Green-Spored Parasol (Chlorophyllum Molybdites)
Extremely frequent in groups or fairy rings on lawns and garden beds during the rainy seasons of spring, summer, and fall. Most of the 'parasol' mushrooms, including several edible species, belong to this family.
7. Mower’s Mushrooms (Panaeolus Foenisecii)
These little brown mushrooms have thin stems and crowns that are convex to bell-shaped, with a tiny, nipple-like feature occasionally visible in the middle. The brownish, narrowly spaced gills under the cap secrete dark brown to black spores.
8. Ringless Honey Mushroom (Armillaria Tabescens)
Ringless honey mushrooms could be growing on tree trunks or oak tree stumps. These mushrooms are edible. Even while fungi can play an important role in ecosystems, ringless honey mushrooms can harm trees by preventing them from gathering water and nutrients. If you notice any in your yard, get rid of them.
9. Shaggy Ink Cap (Coprinus Comatus)
The moniker 'lawyer's wig', or shaggy inkcap, refers to the bell-shaped toadstools' hairy, scaly exterior. It is quite widespread and may be observed growing on lawns, parklands, and along the sides of roads. The huge and noticeable fungus Coprinus comatus is delicious when young and fresh.
How to Determine Whether Your Backyard Mushrooms Are Poisonous
Stems with a skirt or ring, white gills, and a bulbous or sack-like base called a volva should be avoided. While you could lose out on some delicious edible mushrooms, you will be spared the deadly Amanita species. Stem or cap red mushrooms should also be avoided.
9 Ways to Prevent Mushrooms Growing in Your Backyard
1. Increase light and Air Circulation
Reduce dampness in the soil by routinely aerating it and pruning overhanging trees to let in more sunshine.
2. Eliminate Wood and Tree Roots
Because mushrooms grow best on rotting wood, this helps keep them from growing in your backyard.
3. Get Rid of Extra Thatch on Lawns
Increasing soil aeration and decreasing moisture retention, it helps keep mushrooms out of your garden by fostering an environment that is less conducive to their growth.
4. Eliminate pet waste
Nutrients included in pet excrement may encourage the development of mushrooms. Pet feces can be quickly removed and disposed of, eliminating a possible source of food for fungus and preserving a healthy, mushroom-free outdoor environment.
5. Boost The Drainage of Soil
Improving drainage eliminates surplus moisture, which makes the environment unsuitable for the growth of mushrooms.
6. Minimize Watering
Reducing the amount of water you use helps make your yard less conducive to the growth of fungi, which reduces the chance of mushrooms growing there.
7. Use a Fertilizer High in Nitrogen
Since mushrooms prefer low-nitrogen conditions to flourish in, high nitrogen levels make the environment less conducive to the growth of mushrooms. By maintaining nitrogen dominance regularly, such fertilizers help stop undesired mushroom growth in your outdoor area.
8. Remove Immature Mushrooms
This stops the spores from releasing, which might encourage more mushroom development.
9. Balance the Bacteria and Fungi in Your Soil
As fungi prefer conditions high in organic matter, cultivating a soil ecosystem dominated by bacteria prevents the growth of mushrooms.
3 Natural Ways to Kill Mushrooms Growing in Your Backyard
1. Vinegar
One natural and efficient technique to get rid of mushrooms in your lawn is to use vinegar, preferably white distilled vinegar. The mushrooms wilt and die as a result of the acetic acid content disrupting their growth and mycelium. For an environmentally responsible method of managing undesired fungal development, combine vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio and spray the mixture directly onto the mushrooms, ignoring valuable plants.
2. Baking Soda
When applied to regions where undesired mushroom growth is present, baking soda changes the pH of the soil and makes the environment less conducive to the growth of mushrooms. Because of its alkaline composition, it prevents mushrooms from growing in their preferred acidic environment. This all-natural cure uses no hazardous chemicals to get rid of mushrooms in your property.
3. Soapy Water
A natural and efficient way to get rid of mushrooms in your lawn is to use soapy water. The mushroom's cell walls are broken down by its surfactant qualities, which causes dehydration and eventually death. An environmentally friendly method of controlling mushroom growth is to directly spray the mushrooms with a solution of soapy water. This method eliminates the need for toxic pesticides.
How to Plant a Mushroom Garden in Your Yard
To keep weeds out and conserve moisture, first line the bed with cardboard. Spread a layer of wood chips, sawdust, or straw for a growth media on top of the cardboard. Place your first layer of mushroom spawn on top of the nutrients, and then add another layer of nutrients on top of that to encircle the spawn with food.
