As Autumn takes hold and the weather changes, an almost magical eruption can start to happen in our gardens. Toadstools and mushrooms start bursting through the soil and making their appearance.
Toadstools and mushrooms are the fruiting body of fungi, a vital, thread like network that grows in the soil, working its microbial magic. It’s been found that these threads connect plants to each other, especially trees , where it is called the ‘Wood Wide Web!’, and in fact, they are now known to be so important to a healthy soil system, that digging up soil has been found to have a detrimental effect as it disturbs the activity of these microbes.
There is one major toadstool that you should be wary of in the garden and that is - honey fungus. Although this does attack dead trees and shrubs and tree stumps, it can also attack some living plants, weakening them and finally killing them.
As well as in your lawns, beds and borders, you may notice thin, brown mushrooms popping up in your potting compost. They are very unlikely to be causing any harm to your plants as they feed off decaying material, such as wood based ingredients found in compost but again, if you don’t like the look, just pull them out, wearing gloves. They may also be a sign that you are over watering your pots as they much prefer a damp environment.
Never eat any fungi that grow in your garden as although it is highly unlikely they will be poisonous you can never be certain, and even if not deadly, certain fungi can give you a very nasty tummy upset. If you are interested in knowing more about edible fungi then always go on a reputable course with an experienced forager, never just use identification from a book or a website.
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