Toadstools in compost

Hi all,

Its my first year composting, and some toadstools have appeared. Is it a problem should i just turn it over and batter them with my spade?

Cheers,

 

NewbieGreen,

Now composting really interests me. Still new and learning but i may be able to assist thru the power of deduction

Fungus=spores, spread like wildfire. I would by all means batter 'em with your spade for the hell of it after all they aren't paying rent, bloody squatters but personnally i would dump the whole lot and start again otherwise you may end up lovingly sewing toadstools in around your plants.

Thats my theory anyway

If i am right you will then have the job of all jobs to get rid of them but i would google if i was you as well.

Hope someone else has a better solution and that i am wrong

 

NG,

May be wrong not sure, looked into it some more and maybe they will degrade :confused:

I just can't make my mind up

 

Leave them alone. They're part of the decay cycle. Try chucking in a few Mushroom spores then you can eat what comes up. Incidentally, what you call "Toadstalls" might be edible, but I wouldn't try it unless you're completely sure.

 

Thank goodness you stepped in there Cajary :D

 

Thanks all,

Its really interesting watching this compost degrade, its going through so many cycles. So many creepy crawlies At one phase i had a lot of flies, then i saw a few spiders move in and web appeared everywhere. Since then the flies have all gone Its an ace little ecosystem in there.

AG, definitely give it a try, i just built mine out of some wood. It will end up rotting too, but then i'll just build around it a new one. Personally i find it prettier than a plastic one.

Mushroom s****s have been put in my compost so maybe they are from there. Anyway i've left them, actually they'll be covered with grass cuttings this afternoon I dont think i'll eat my grown ones though, i wouldn't dare.

 

As a couple of peeps on here know, I am totally thick. Is this about toadstools, toad stools or toad's tools? If the latter - I pass :D

 

Serra i'm glad i'm not the only one :D

 

Definitely not a toad's tool. That's why the elf smiled, it sat on one :D

 

Cajary! :eek: I would'nt fancy sitting on a toad's stool.

 

Mackem,

Think of the mess :eek:

 

Think of the toad :D

 

With compost making you first of all get bacteria working away which is when the heap heats up. Later after the heap has cooled down fungi ie. toadstools and such move in and start breaking down the cululose. The toadstools are only the fruiting bodies. Most of the organism is a mass of strands going throught the compost. When they die they will have broken the material down into nutrients that can be taken up by plants. So basically they are an essential part of compost making. That is why I never get worked up about fungi in the garden as long as it is not honey fungus. They are busy working away breaking down organic material into a form that my plants can use and are an essental part of any ecosystem.

 

Cheers geoff :D

That means my compost is really working :D

I just wish i hadn't strategically attacked them now with my spade. :( Oh well i was only turning it over anyway, just adding air. Oh the wonders of composting