JerseyMike wrote:
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...........



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.