So I'm pretty sure my cherry tomato is a lost cause. I went out today and over half of it is yellowed and has dead leaves. I was contemplating how to pull it out when I noticed two little mushrooms growing under it. Since its in a raised bed, and I didn't plant them..I'm kind of wondering how they got there.
They are about 2.5 inches tall and a light tan/cream color. The cap is nearly as long as the entire mushroom and is a narrow bell shape. Any idea what kind they are? Should I pull them?
Also..how do I go about taking out the 4 foot tomato plant? Do I need to wear gloves?
Mushrooms reproduce with dust like spores so they blew in within minutes of the soil going into the bed. they feed on the organic matter in the mix, making it better for platn growth. Fungi that attack plants do not form mushrooms. They form microscopic spore releasing structures or inn the case of Southern blight, little pink-tan balls on the dead part of the stem.
You can pull up the plant with your bare hands, but gloves may give you a better grip. A shovel may make it easier.
You can pull up the plant with your bare hands, but gloves may give you a better grip. A shovel may make it easier.
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DoubleDogFarm
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rainbowgardener
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If you meant do you need to wear gloves because of the blight on the tomato plant, no. The blight can't affect you. You could spread it around your garden, by touching the blight then touching other plants, but you can do that wearing gloves also. Just be careful and wash up once you are done pulling the plant. And don't compost it, unless your compost pile runs really hot.
Because you have a young dog who's inexorably drawn to your garden plants, I recommend pulling the mushrooms out as soon as you see them. They *may* be safe, but why risk it?
I posted elsewhere here about Donato, the Bernese Mtn. Dog puppy (6 mos. old) who ate what turned out to be a death cap last summer. [url=https://bernese.biz/MushroomFlyer.htm]Here[/url] is the flyer.
It's best, in the presence of children and pets, to treat all mushrooms as if they are death caps. If you even suspect that the dog has eaten a mushroom from outdoors, give her peroxide to make her vomit and then take her right away to a vet, together with any pieces of the mushroom that might be available (yes, even if they were...ah...pre-digested).
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
I posted elsewhere here about Donato, the Bernese Mtn. Dog puppy (6 mos. old) who ate what turned out to be a death cap last summer. [url=https://bernese.biz/MushroomFlyer.htm]Here[/url] is the flyer.
It's best, in the presence of children and pets, to treat all mushrooms as if they are death caps. If you even suspect that the dog has eaten a mushroom from outdoors, give her peroxide to make her vomit and then take her right away to a vet, together with any pieces of the mushroom that might be available (yes, even if they were...ah...pre-digested).
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
