I have a 3 gallon pot that I had used to try to root some cuttings indoors, but the cuttings rotted and didn't make it, so the pot went outside, still full of soil waiting for something to be transplanted into it.

So, lately I've been picking tons of mushrooms out of it (not the edible kind, I'm sure), and I stuck the thing in the sun to dry out, and still more mushrooms!  How do I get rid of these fungi so I can transplant a new rooted cutting into mushroom-free soil?

Suzi

Keep pulling them before they spore or shovel the top inch or so out and hope you don't leave any spores behind....

Not to get off of the subject, but do you foray for wild mushrooms? Because edibles sometimes appear in some pretty strange places.

Could you post a picture of the mushrooms in question? They are obviously saprophytes(decomposers) and not parasitic since there is no living plants in the pot.

Other variables at play are what kind of soil you use and further what kind of soil you want to use. If you don't mind your soil decomposing then your getting free nutrients unlocked for your babies to use :)   I'm sure you probably don't want your soil decomposing, just trying to make light of the situation. But seriously...

Depending on how much you really want that soil and since there is only 3 gallons or less, you could always put it in a roaster pan(or similar) and pop it into the oven. That'll kill em, spores and all. Also, cooking soil doesn't fill the house with a lovely aroma and cost of electricity vs cost of your soil.

Mushrooms are a sign that your mix is more fungal dominated than bacterial. Remember if it was not for fungus we would be miles deep in fibrous matter. Mushrooms are our friends, because you mix is probably more woody, mushrooms have come along as your helper to reduce the material back to useable energy for your figs. Trees make fungal associations and annuals like veggies make bacterial.

Count yourself luck!

OK!  Got it!  Thanks for the responses.  I took Jason's advice and skimmed off the top layer, hoping to get rid of the spores.  The rooted cutting has been planted and if any more mushrooms pop up, I'll let them be.

Forage for mushrooms?  Nope!  I fear poisoning!  Sorry, I tossed them prior to taking photos, but if new ones appear, I'll take photos!

Suzi

Some mushrooms are actually beneficial to plants. In fact, scientists believe that plants were first able to grow on land by forming associations with fungi. Could be that, but it is more likely something eating the potting mix or mulch. I doubt it was any real danger to the tree but probably is a sign that the mix is not drying enough between waterings.

Great book to read is teaming with microbes, also YouTube Paul Stamet, simply mind blowing.

Brent, yep!  It was sitting over there on the drip system with everything else, BUT there was no living plant to use up that water in there.  Thus, the mushrooms, I guess!

Now I'm hoping that I left a few spores in there to enrich my soil!

Suzi

During extra moist times, I often find the little dark 'puffers'.  They're these dark little balls that, when hit with water, throw clouds of spores everywhere.  Very annoying.  Usually pop up in the spring times.

I'm not sure which Paul Stamlet You Tube shawndturner was referring to.  There are many, but I'm convinced!

Suzi

There a Ted talk with him also, he has done some amazing work in regards to mycelium.

Suzi, taking the top inch of soil will do nothing.  Were they little yellow mushrooms with conical tops?  To identify them we'd need pictures of the top and bottom, and a spore print might help (I use newspaper).

They were rusty orange, small, and smashed together.  Maybe they will grow again, but there is now a plant in there absorbing the water.  Orange doesn't seem edible to me, but if it helps the earth.........

Suzi

Chanterelles are orange.

OK Bob.  I Googled Chanterelles, but the mushrooms I was breeding look nothing like a Chanterelle!  Whew!  I was feeling very stupid, but now all is well.  It's OK if they come back and grow and keep the soil enriched, but I'll hold off on trying mushrooms that don't come from the grocery store! :-))

Suzi

Chanterelles aren't going to come up in a pot but they are very good tasting, orange mushrooms.  It was the statement, 'orange doesn't sound very edible' that I was responding to.  Google Lobster mushrooms if you want to see a fluorescent orange, delicious mushroom.




In Oregon both chanterelles and lobsters are up now but there will be more of them once the rains come.  I hunt them both.  They're very good.  Lobsters also don't grow in pots (except in Maine).  In So Cal you should be able to buy both in a store.  Costco usually has chanterelles later in the fall.

They came back, and I will let them do their thing in enriching the soil, but I do not think I can eat them, right?



Suzi

You have 2 different types there. Notice the one cluster with brown caps and white stems? I am not familiar with either. Do not eat them! If you want to find out what they are then you can make spore prints so you know what color the spores are. Then you can use the key here http://www.mushroomexpert.com/identifying.html.

You could probably grow Stropharia rugoasannulata in mulch beds around your plants if you wanted to have something safe to eat.

p.s. Maitake, aka hen of the woods, is out now in my neck of the woods. Good time to go have a close look at old oak trees with dead limbs.

I would not think that these mushrooms are going to make a big impact on the plant itself. However, do realize that they are indeed consuming many of the nutrients that are in the soil. . . but then again, it breaks them up, and the plant can have some that may be left over.
The only real way to get rid of the mushrooms plus the mycelium, is by "cooking" the dirt (i used to bake my dirt in an oven, to kill any mushroom pores). I have actually done this in the past, as I have a background on mycology (the cultivation of mushrooms).  You may go crazy plucking out mushrooms all season, but the fact is mycelium is already healthy and vigorous under the dirt.

As long as you do not see the plant being affected I would just leave it alone.

If you think that the plant is or may be affected, then you must take out as much of the dirt as possible, and bake it. This may indeed be too much trouble for you to go through....

As far as edible mushrooms: NEVER EAT MUSHROOMS YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE.  In the Mycology community (which is huge) we never ever recommend that you eat any wild mushrooms, unless you purposely grew them, or you are a one of those individuals who do indeed forage for edible mushrooms. However, it takes some good amount of time to  research, know how to find and recognize, mushrooms...
Even I, with some experience in growing and recognizing mushrooms have never dared eat something I found was edible.... I rather grow it....

I guess I am a scary cat...  :)


Good luck

Picture of what Mycelium looks like.... under the dirt.... it usually travels further down and around...

Jerry

You have never tried Chanterelles Jerry!? Oh you are missing out.

That is good advice though. I should add that individuals can have serious allergies to different edible species as well, while not necessarily to common commercial types. Explaining anaphylaxis is usually where people chicken out : )

Suzi, show us a photo of the other side (the bottom) and follow my link for a spore print. Foraging for mushrooms is not hard. join your local mycological society and go with them. you soon learn a bunch of easy ones and over time you learn more and more of the rest.

Also, where one cap is right on top of another cap the lower cap may have a spore print on top of it from the mushroom above it. I'd still need to see a photo of the botom of a cap and a side view of a stem with the bottom dug up.