Friend Or Foe? / Mushrooms in the garden....
Spring is here which means the rains are coming. On our garden page, people often ask the question "Is this bad!?" with a picture of mushrooms growing in their garden. My answer, NO! Absolutely not! Mushrooms in the garden are a sign of good, healthy, fertile soil. That being said, I would not advise disturbing them and certainly not eating them unless you are well trained in this area and know exactly what variety you have growing.
Mushroom caps are actually the fruiting bodies of fungi spores that are living in your mulch, compost, and or soil. These mycorrhizae play a very important role in your garden. They actually speak to and nourish the roots of the plants with sugars, phosphorus, and other minerals the plants that grow around them need. It helps to break down organic matter in the soil turning it into food for the worms and plants. There is an entire ecosystem going on just a few inches below your feet! The site of mushrooms in your garden is not something to fear. If however, you are seeing a constant showing of mushrooms, this may be a sign that your soil is too moist. The mushrooms caps typically appear after a heavy rain or watering. If left alone, they will dry up and the caps will die back and decompose turning into even more food for the plants (people pay MONEY to buy bagged mushroom compost! You are making your own! ) If you take note that these caps aren't dying back and you see a constant supply then you should pay mind to how much you are watering. Balance is the key.
Mushrooms play an even more important role in our ecosystem then one might know. Check out this amazing article that explains how mushrooms actually make it rain!!
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0140407
With lots of love
Kindred Acres
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