It’s been a rather dry summer so far, so dry in fact that the grass has died. Since we haven’t had to cut the grass for weeks, a few rogue seedlings have taken over the slope. And by a few I mean a few dozen.
Seriously.
We had about a dozen locust trees removed back in April, and the tree man told me at that time to drill holes in the stumps and add rock salt. If I didn’t, the trees would grow back. Turns out, I didn’t heed the advice, and he was right. In addition to the stumps regrowing, the sun now hits the site and I have a small forest growing.
As dry as it’s been, I was surprised to find a small mushroom bloom in my new mulch covered flower bed last week. A few days before that, we had an explosion of dog vomit fungus in the same bed. Yes, it’s a real thing! It looks exactly like its name. I read up on how to get rid of these fungi, and it seems the best you can do is remove it before it blooms. It turns black and then the spores fly! It grows amazingly fast.

Now, the mushrooms have started. I read up on them as well, and the more I read, the more I think it’s not necessary to destroy them. I pick them each morning, but I’m not treating the area with vinegar or baking soda, as I’ve read are treatments. If you prefer to treat, you can mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda to a gallon of water, and use that to water the affected area.
I do keep the dogs away, but mushrooms feed on the mulch as it breaks down, which is the reason I have mulch and not rock around my beds. I’d much rather nourish the soil than just cover it.

When I added these guys to the border, I really didn’t expect their natural counterparts to take over!