more about mushrooms on lawn.....

[JerseyMike]

i read the thread about mushrooms dated 6/2 but wasn't sure if anyone was going to further reply to that post so i posted about my problem w/ mushrooms.....hoping for some different suggestions.

i too came in looking for help w/ 'shrooms. i live in ocean county,NJ and every year i have a problem w/ the mushrooms. right now i'm the only one on my street w/ them and they drive me nuts. i'm not a lawn freak, i try to keep the lawn looking good, but why does it seem 'shrooms like my lawn better? i have south west exposure, so by 10:30 every day i get sun on the front of the house and it lasts all day. the front is the only place i get the mushrooms, except for the back yard near my grill and only get a few located in one spot. in the front they spread like wild fire. yesterday i had a couple of patches w/ about 12 or so 'shrooms in each patch but this morning after rain over night, those patches spread and there are about 2 dozen or more in each patch. i have very little to almost zero shade in the front and i have some new trees i planted last year on the lawn, but the mushrooms problem has been pestering me for a few seasons. if i don't water the lawn it burns very easy from the intense sun exposure in the dead of summer, but if i water regularly (about 30-45 minutes per area) the lawn looks good but the 'shrooms start to appear and if i cut back on the watering, the lawn burns. we have sandy soil beneth the top soil in our area.

the 'shrooms on my yard are whiteish in color, narrow stalk, caps that looks to be about the size of a quater. i know they are a fungus, but what will get rid of them and not damage the lawn.

any help????

mike...........

[trader4]

How much water do you apply in the 30-45 mins of watering? If you don't know you can find out with some tuna fish cans. If you have a typical inground sprinkler system, 30 mins isn't much water. It sounds like you may be watering it shallow and too frequently. You want to water it deeply as infrequently as possible. That means 3/4 of an inch to an inch every 4 to 7 days, if it hasn't rained, depending on temp, wind, sun, etc. If you are watering it shallow and too frequently, that will make it more favorable to mushrooms. I don't water mine until I see signs that it actually needs water. You can tell by the grass not springing back when you step on it and it starts to take on a more blue/grey color. If you allow the lawn to always dry out the max before applying water, over time, that may help reduce the mushroom population. It also helps reduce disease and fungus.

And don't worry about burning the lawn. A lawn will go dormant and brown from lack of water, but that is not burn, it;s not dead. Given water, it will start growing again. You have to withold water for quite awhile before it will actually kill the grass, like a prolonged drought. Burning typically occurs from over application of fertilizer, which you should not be applying from now till Sept.

Your lawn may have a different soil condition than your neighbors. If it is rich in decaying matter it will be more favorable to mushrooms. Unfortunately, short of not over watering, I don;t know anything else that is effective to eliminate mushrooms.

[Peter H]

'shrooms are caused by organic matter breaking down in your soil. Chances are that you had a tree on your lawn and someone chipped the trunk out without cleaning up all of the leftover chips. That wood is now decomposing and feeding the mushrooms.

There is no sol'n. Peter H

[Stubby]

Mushrooms don't like "sweet" soil, so add some real lime. I'm experimenting with the new "liquid lime" products that have just hit the market.

[trader4]

Neither does grass.

[Jonny]

Try a drip/soaker hose watering the grass for a couple of months. Deep soak the soil. Then, let it dry out for about 4 or 5 days between irrigation intervals. Equivalent to long slow rain/drizzle all day. Your grass shouldn't have a problem if it has a decent depth root structure. This will also save little on water as there is little runoff or evaporation.

[trader4]

How do you water a whole lawn with a soaker hose? They are fine for shrubs/flowers planted close together in a bed, but how are you supposed to do any reasonable size lawn with one? And how is that supposed to do anything to prevent mushrooms?

I agree that letting the lawn dry out as much as possible between waterings is a good idea, but don't get the reasoning behind the soaker hose.

[JerseyMike]

my usual routine for watering is everyother day for the time i said in my OP. i use a regular lawn sprinkler, i don't have a sprinkler system, but i even those people who have sprinkler systens who water every day, even when it's raining, never get 'shrooms. i'm perplexed.

mike.............

[Steveo]

If your lawn is 10' x 50'.

[trader4]

Time means little without knowing the flow rate. Watering every other day is way too often and likely also not deep enough. This keeps the the lawn wet too much, which promotes shallow roots, fungus and disease. It's especially bad if you do it early evening, so that it stays wet the longest. As another poster pointed out, your lawn may have soil which is different. Mushrooms like decaying matter, like chips of wood, and your soil may have more of it.

I'd cut way back on the watering. You want to give the lawn 3/4 of an inch to an inch at a time so that it's watered deeply every 4 to 7 days, depending on heat, wind, sun, etc. Don't be afraid to let the lawn start to go off color before applying water. Water it as infrequently as possible.

I live in central NJ and right now, it's been raining every day for over a week. I have small brown mushrooms scattered through my lawn, the most I've ever had. But fortunately the truf is so thick, they are not noticeable unless you look closely. But, soon as it stops raining, they will disappear. They only surface in my lawn when it is being kept constantly wet.

[Jonny]

Sort of is. Moved in house with no lawn, poor soil and rocky, and sits on appreciable elevation leaning north to south. Some areas simply won't support any kind of non-native grass without introducing alot of topsoil. Got 3 pallets of St Augustine and 2 truckloads of topsoil. The depth of the St. Augustine varies a little but is around 10 to 12 ft from house where it ends.

The runoff factor is high using common sprinkling methods so I noticed due the hilly nature of the yard. The soaker hose seems the most effective way to accomplish irrigation I've found in such cases as mine. I can water 2

24' sections with one soaker hose. The yard is divided in half due the front entry pathway from the fence. The sides being in excess of 50' can only be watered properly by moving the hose again. The backyard doesn't need as much water as it faces north, and gets alot of shade from the house. I use a sprinkler here. The grass is much more lush here as well and elevation isn't a factor. Basically almost level. The remainder of the yard lacked any vertical blade growth, almost all stringers. Soil dried out quickly using aerated watering methods. Soaking with aeration sprinklers resulted in big pools of water elsewhere, rather than the yard. The grass in these areas has bounced back using the soaker method. There are few areas of exposed soil made by the dogs walking. These areas don't seem to dry up as quickly. Alot of it has turned to vertical blades. I also introduced an iron additive, Texas Greensand, which seems to have eliminated the yellowing.

[trader4]

And again, what does this have to do with reducing mushrooms?