Mjstanfield's Inbox

I am not an expert on mushrooms, but I do know that they have, as Sid has said, a mycelium that can cover an extremely large area...I have a mycelium for inky caps in my back garden...I agree they don't look especially pleasing but I pick the new clumps as they appear...I don't give them a chance to mature and produce spores, that's the black stuff. One thing you can do, is when you see a clump develop, use a plastic bag as you would to pick up your dog's leaving. Just grab the clump and deposit it in a plastic bag. seal it and discard in the rubbish. Make twice daily passes through your garden...if they never fruit, hopefully they will not spread...I have been getting fewer and fewer each year with this method. I use the same method with dandelions. I pick the flowers and discard them in the garbage. Any time we use drastic (chemical) methods of control we upset a balance that we aren't aware exists... in a healthy environment all the life is interdependent. It is your garden afterall, but I would counsel patience. Try the least invasive or damaging method first. I hope it works for you.

I'm amazed that these mushrooms are pushing your plants out of the ground - any chance of posting a picture? What plants are you growing and are you firming them in well when you plant?

I'm intriged that the fungus 'leaves a black melted mess'. This suggests they are in the 'inkcap' family of mushrooms. One species - the Shaggy Inkcap - is edible and I'm told is good eating! It is an unmistakable elongated shape and looks shaggy, rather than smooth like a field mushroom. You eat the young mushrooms, before they start to liquify. The 'ink' that drips from the rim of the mushroom was once used as a actual ink for writing!

If you still want to get rid of them, obviously you would need to use a fungicide rather than a herbicide...garden centres sell stuff to combat honey fungus (which attacks trees and shrubs), but without knowing how the chemical works on the fungus, it is difficult to know whether it would be effective against an organic matter dwelling fungus, if you see what I mean. Might be worth giving the manufacturers a call to ask if it would kill this kind of fungus. Other than that, I can't think of anything you can do.....I wonder whether the problem wtih abate when the high organic content of the soil begins to fall (i.e. the fungus will presumable eventually exhaust its food supply?) Other than that....maybe replace the soil?!

Sorry I can't be of any more help! Good luck with it! And let us know how you do.

Are you sure they are killing your plants? Most live by breaking down dead plant matter, and in this sense they actually do a helpful job returning the 'rubbish' to the soil. Digging out the actual 'mushroom' will not eradicate them. This is just the fruiting body of the fungus, which lives underground as a system of threads called mycellium. Improving drainage might clear them.

Make the most of them if they are edible, they will disappear in time.