We landscaped our front yard in May and unfortunately we got bad soil. The soil was white underneath the top 1/4 inch, very hot, steaming, and smelled like ash so to cool it down we kept on watering the yard. The soil was so hot it cooked 80% of our plants including the baby carrots. Fast forward to July, the soil seems to have calmed down and things are growing but recently I have notice these “doggy diarrhea” blobs all over the bark nuggets and at the same time we have seen mushrooms growing all over the yard. What type of fungus are these blotches. 40BDB1E4-42B5-43CA-9078-67D2FDEDAA85 by Yo_Jo posted Jul 9, 2021 at 8:06 PM 9371A023-9B61-4E49-A162-9382B1408961 by Yo_Jo posted Jul 9, 2021 at 8:06 PM 7B962EE7-4DA1-4466-97B8-737C8CCFBCFB by Yo_Jo posted Jul 9, 2021 at 8:06 PM
Apparently I "do not have permission to to view media within this album." That's quite a graphic common name for a fungus. I had 'dog vomit' slime mold identified in my garden quite a few years ago - never seen before or since.
Hi Margot - Thanks for the example image. It looks quite similar except for the colour. I finally found the spot to change the permission. You should be able to see them now.
Yup, it has a few different common names ... personally I prefer "scrambled egg slime" - and yes it is a myxomycete not a fungus.
Also, I have to say this “myxomycete” works fast. It seemed to appear from nowhere overnight. That’s why I originally thought a dog did it’s business in my garden but then it was show up all over the front yard.
Not dangerous or poisonous ... more likely beneficial for what it adds to the soil in terms of N and such from the post-sporulation leftovers. Is actually edible ... but tastes just kind of water mushroom ish to me, not culinarily inspiring :-) Some pretty coprinoids and Peziza sp. in your photo set there.
Thanks Frog for the IDs. My tastebuds and stomach will pass on sampling those spores. Are those mushrooms edible? Not that I will sample them - just curious. I was told the bad garden mix was made from mushrooms manure.
After it has had time to age a year or two, that mix you bought may just turn out to be wonderful. You shouldn't let the appearance of fungi and slime molds put you off - they're all part of the decomposition process and will disappear when their job is done. In the meantime, try to enjoy their uniqueness and beauty.
The mushrooms might be edible ... but for me, I don't consider anything edible without a positive ID to species (as opposed to genus or a clade) ... and more work would be needed for a positive ID to species for these two.
Thanks Margot, I will let the wife know. She has been a little upset with condition of the soil and how it took out her Peonies and designer Hydrangeas. This month I think the soil has cooled down - the zucchini plant has started taking over the planter. Thanks Frog, what kind of pictures should I have taken to obtain a better ID on those fungi? Even though they are in the planter box with the vegetables I am a little apprehensive about touching them.
Thanks @Yo-Jo. They are safe to touch. Your photos are good - I would suggest - in general with mushrooms - getting a close-ish shot of all parts, including intact base, underside of cap ... anything not already in the shot or not close up enough to see details. With these two specifically however: ... there are enough Peziza that microscopy would be required to be precise, though the habitat narrows the options a fair bit. If the substrate is not rotted wood, not sterilized soil, not burned material, not mainly dung ... given the colour and large size Peziza varia or Peziza repanda are likely. ... I have spent little time on coprinoids, and I gather that even for coprinoid experts there are groups that are tough to get down to species. So, photos aside, for me this would require some serious digging into what species possibilities we have for this substrate/habitat for things that look C. lagopus-ish.
'Mushroom manure' in a garden soil mix is probably the component least likely to result in burnt plants and random fungi in your garden. Fresh, un-composted or under-composted manures often contains weed seeds and possibly also fungal spores, and can also chemically burn plants, but the process used to produce manure for growing commercial mushrooms is designed to provide a clean relatively sterile starting mix. After it is aged further by being used for growing mushrooms it is even less likely to introduce detrimental moulds and fungi into your yard. Here is one description of how it is produced: The base manure is composed of horse, chicken and steer manure With wheat straw, cotton seed meal, as well as gypsum ground into the mixture Blood meal is added to make the manure high in protein Water is added for moisture The manure is heated at 150-180 degrees for 3-4 weeks until it is composted The material is transported to a dark place, and used to grow mushrooms (the supermarket kind) Once mushrooms have grown, the ones good for selling are removed, and the remainder stay in the manure and decompose. Once it is no longer suitable for growing a commercial mushroom crop the spent compost it is re-sold for garden use. I'd be happy if adding it to my garden resulted in a nice crop of edible agarics, but unfortuately that's never happened, at least to me.
Yeah, I am pretty sure I was sold under composted garden mix. The beds have cooled with only some small corner areas that are still white with an ash like appearance. When I dig into the soil I smell cow/horse poop. Margot, the lone corn and zucchini plant are growing nicely but I am still finding mushrooms growing in the soil under the foliage. It’s kinda cool because I do like seeing mushrooms grow in the wild - last year I found a Nintendo “Super Mario” type mushroom with red dots out at the trails at UBC.
That is just totally unacceptable. I have also been reading your comments under: Boxwood Dying I hope you have the time and energy to pursue the company and their supplier to acknowledge the fact that they sold you incompletely composted 'soil' and compensate you for your significant financial losses. Don't forget Small Claims Court if all else fails. Keep records of everything.