fungi is a good thing ...indicative of good connditions for mycorhizae,
I believe.
get some beneficial nematodes to knock down the grubs g, dont know if
they can make a dent in the popopulation when they get big, prolly w/
have some effect , and certainly if you keep the innocul;ated areas
moist enough during the coming seasons... This is the most impoortasnt
thing keep it wet for a week at least, really wet, preferab;ly soaked
PRIOR to innoculation. grubs turn into big ole moths...
"Bigusolemothus flitaboutus are great bird food too.
billevasn
This is my first year to mulch and compost. I've noticed alot of mushroom=
s in my compost and in my mulched beds. I know this is a sign of plenty =
of moisture but I wonder if mushrooms take anything out of or put anythin=
g back into the soil.
I was digging down into the middle of my mulch trying to reach the really=
good stuff to feed my Nellie Moser with when I uncovered a bunch of big =
maggots or grubs. They were about an inch long, gray, legless, and very =
active, disappearing quickly. What are these visitors to my compost? And =
what will they become?
Sydney in Zone 7 who is successfully growing tomatoes for the first time =
after trying for 3 years. Thanks to this list my toms are loaded with fru=
it and blossoms.
Sydney Carpenter wrote:
> This is my first year to mulch and compost. I've noticed alot of mushrooms in my compost and in my mulched beds. I know this is a sign of plenty of moisture but I wonder if mushrooms take anything out of or put anything back into the soil.
Sydney
Your mushrooms are the various fruiting bodies of very important
members of the soilweb. I don't know about them being an indicator of
moisture, their appearence, like the fruiting of many plants, is mostly
governed by the time of year, but I suppose would not take place so
freely in a very dry season.
Fungal mycelial webs (the underground parts) are all through live soils
and many play a major part in plant nutrition by associating with roots
and helping them take up their food, Some are even specially modified
for this job and are known as mycorrhizae (singular mycorrhiza). Without
their help roots would be reduced to a sort of McDonalds snacking on
whatever soluble nutrients appear in the soil solution (just as their
unfortunate bretheren in chemically-fed soils mostly have to do) and
would lose the benefits of a well-balanced diet.
So cherish your mushrooms and do not destroy them but let them fulfill
their function of spreading their spores to new areas.
> I was digging down into the middle of my mulch trying to reach the really good stuff to feed my Nellie Moser with when I uncovered a bunch of big maggots or grubs. They were about an inch long, gray, legless, and very active, disappearing quickly. What are these visitors to my compost? And what will they become?
If they were grey and legless my guess is they were the young of some
sort of Cranefly (Daddy-longlegs is the English name, but I think you
Americans use this for some sort of spider, which your grubs are
certainly not). Craneflies emerge in summer as a very long-legged two-
winged insects with a long slim body and a disconcerting habit of
dropping their legs if handled.
If not actually craneflies, legless grubs are still certain to be some
sort of fly larva, as if I remember correctly only flies have completely
legless young.
> Sydney in Zone 7 who is successfully growing tomatoes for the first time after trying for 3 years. Thanks to this list my toms are loaded with fruit and blossoms.
Good on yer! as the Kiwis say
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
