Weeds in the lawn are a thorn in the side of many hobby gardeners. If fungi also appear, then all possible means are used to get the situation under control.
Checked out the beautiful green lawn in the evening and then this in the morning: the lawn is full of mushrooms. In itself this is not a problem, but for many garden owners it is an unsightly condition when small mushrooms sprout all over the lawn. Especially when the so-called cap fungi occur in a circular pattern. One then speaks of a witch ring. But getting rid of them is not that difficult. There are just a few key points to keep in mind.
Causes of fungi in the lawn
Mushrooms in the lawn occur when the soil is poor in nutrients, the lawn is heavily matted or when the soil is too wet. In most cases, waterlogging has formed either due to the weather or excessive watering, which then offers ideal conditions for the mushrooms at warm temperatures. Incidentally, you can also get the problem with turf. This problem is usually due to the high proportion of organic material in the turf substrate.
You should never do this against the mushrooms
A big mistake that many people make is leaving the mushrooms where they are mowing or mowing them with the lawn mower. You should avoid this as far as possible, because it spreads the spores over a large area and the fungi only spread even more. You should therefore remove the fruit bodies before mowing.
How to get rid of the mushrooms
Aerate lawn
To prevent waterlogging from forming on the lawn, it is advisable to aerate the lawn, i.e. to aerate it. It is best to use a special aeration device for this. This is a device that has spikes on the underside and uses them to pierce the ground. Alternatively, you can also use lawn aerator shoes that have spiked soles. All you have to do then is walk across the lawn. You can find out more about all the aeration equipment here. Incidentally, the best time for aerating is spring between March and May or autumn between September and October.
Scarify lawn
It also doesn't hurt to clean the lawn once inScarify in spring (March to May) or in autumn (September to October). This works best with an electric scarifier, which you can borrow from any hardware store or garden center. This device has blades that penetrate vertically into the soil when scarifying and loosen the soil. You can find out how to proceed correctly when scarifying here.
Fertilize the lawn
Fungus in the lawn can also be a sign of a nutrient deficiency. So it can't hurt to treat the lawn with a long-term fertilizer that has a high nitrogen content. We recommend e.g. Compo lawn fertilizer with long-term effect (e.g. available here). It is suitable for playing, sports and ornamental lawns and, with its long-term effect, ensures a dense, lush green lawn that defies moss and weeds.
Lime the lawn
The mushrooms thrive particularly well on acidic soil. To prevent this, it is advisable to lime the soil of the lawn, because lime raises the pH value of the soil. A so-called soil test will tell you how much lime you need to lime (here are instructions on how to do this). With light, sandy soils you only need to lime a little. For a light soil with a pH below 5.5, 150 grams per square meter is sufficient. For loamy soils it should be 300 grams per square meter. If the soil has a pH above 6.9, you don't need to lime at all.