Mushrooms growing in the lawn is a frequent occurrence in UK gardens. The majority of mushrooms are not harmful however some can be poisonous. They can also be an eyesore in an otherwise perfect lawn.
So how to we get rid of mushrooms in the lawn and how to we keep them away?
Why are mushrooms growing in the lawn?
“know your enemy” Sun Tzu
Mushrooms are the reproductive organ of fungi. Fungi is a natural part of the lawn and can actually be a sign of health. Fungi help to break down and decompose organic matter and generally keep the soil healthy.
Just because fungi exist in the soil does not mean that mushrooms will definitely appear. mushrooms require the right conditions to grow in a lawn. They thrive from:
If you frequently get mushrooms in the lawn you can bet that some or all of these conditions exist.
How to remove mushrooms from the lawn
Unfortunately fun guy I’m very difficult to get rid of however there are some ways to make sure you don’t get overrun with mushrooms. If you’re looking to get rid of mushrooms quickly there are a few things that you can do.
Make sure you read the next section for methods to keep them away permanently.
Pick mushrooms out as soon as they appear. Mushrooms release spores which is how fungi reproduce. If you pick off and dispose of the caps as soon as you see them they will have less chance to release spores and spread.
Make sure to wear gloves or use a weed picker as some mushrooms are quite poisonous.
Use a nitrogen based fertiliser. Nitrogen based fertiliser can help break down the organic matter in the soil which gives the mushrooms nothing to feed on. it’s advisable to use fast acting nitrogen rather than slow release.
Make sure to follow so any product guidelines to avoid damaging the grass.
Spray with fungicide. Spraying with fungicide can have some short term success which may be all you need as mushrooms tend to grow in seasons.
Whatever you do, don’t mow mushrooms. If you run over a patch of mushrooms with a lawn mower it will fire the spores out more effectively than they could ever spread themselves. mowing mushrooms away is a sure fire way to spread them all over the garden.
How to keep mushrooms off the lawn long term
Because fungi make up part of a healthy lawn it’s not desirable and potentially not possible to get rid of them all. This means in the right conditions there is always going to be potential for mushrooms to develop.
The best ways to do this are:
Get rid of decaying organic matter. Mushrooms thrive on decomposing organic matter such as leaves rotting wood and things you may find in compost. make sure to quickly tidy away any fallen leaves or debris so that mushrooms don’t have the required food to thrive.
Make sure the lawn is well drained. Mushrooms thrive in damp conditions so if your lawn has damp patches which are poorly drained it may be a good idea to look at how you can improve drainage under the garden.
Replace some areas of the lawn. It may be the case that there is a lot of decomposing organic matter in the ground where the mushrooms are growing. the quickest way to fix this could be simply to dig out the area down to about 10 cm and replace it with some good quality topsoil for turfing soil. This is likely to have very little decomposing organic matter and should solve the problem.
Conclusion
Unfortunately there’s no way you can ever completely prevent mushrooms from growing in the law however there’s plenty you can do to make sure they rarely or never appear. do a survey of the area to work out what the issue could be which is causing mushrooms to grow and then work on a targeted solution.
Remember the key is to to make sure the right conditions never exist for mushrooms to appear.
As an amazon associate we earn from qualifying purchases
