mbaker410
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Location: Baltimore, MD

Black Prince & Mushrooms?

I purchased some Black Prince tomato seeds from ebay. I grew one from seed and is now in my garden and doing well. I have noticed there are 3-4 dark colored almost black mushrooms near the base of my plant. I have never seen this type of mushroom before in my area.

Now what I don't get is that I have a soaker hose that runs through the whole garden and I know mushrooms like damps areas. However is it a coincidence that they are growing next to my black prince and no where else? Or do you think its possible that the plant itself has contributed to the growth of the shrooms? I was not sure if by not having a native plant species could cause the growth of non-native shrooms?

I will get pictures after work today as I first noticed them this morning and did not have time to do so.

Thanks,

Mike

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Kisal
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Location: Oregon

I don't think your tomato plant has anything to do with the mushroom, so You can just pull the mushroom out..

Fungi like damp areas with rich soil. They grow all over my backyard in the spring, because it's poorly drained. The mushrooms seem to be especially abundant in the areas of the yard where my dogs deposit their wastes. :)

mbaker410
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Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 3:10 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

ok, I just thought it was weird that out of the whole garden that it grew right next to the base of the one plant.

Mike

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Kisal
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mbaker410 wrote:However is it a coincidence that they are growing next to my black prince and no where else? Or do you think its possible that the plant itself has contributed to the growth of the shrooms? I was not sure if by not having a native plant species could cause the growth of non-native shrooms?
The only reason the shrooms are growing in that one spot is that the spores landed there and liked the conditions well enough to grow. Where they originally came from is anybody's guess. They could have come on the seeds you bought. I presume you started your seeds in some type of sterile medium, such as sterile potting soil. If the medium wasn't sterile, the mushroom spores could have come from that. They could also have come with non-sterile soil amendments, if you added any to the garden soil when you planted the tomato plant in your yard. :)

The truth is, tomatoes originated in Peru and are not native to the U.S. Everyone in the U.S. who grows tomatoes has "non-native" plants. :)

mbaker410
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Posts: 150
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 3:10 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

That is good to know.

I did grow them from seeds in sterile potting soil. Any who by the time I got home yesterday they were dried up from the heat. Then we got a monsoon last night so I am sure they will be back today.

Thanks for all the info.

TZ -OH6
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Mushrooms are just the fruiting stage. The "body" is a mass of threads feeding on decaying plant material in the soil, so that orgnism is spread far and wide from your plant, probably feeding on the compost in the soil, and on the seedling potting mix. Its a good thing because mushrooms are the major organisms doing the chemical breakdown that results in humus. Mushrooms in the garden mean a living soil, which holds nutrients better.

mbaker410
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Posts: 150
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 3:10 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

Thats good to know... My soil is Alive! lol



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