Articles

Narrower than the guides and published as they are written. The guides are the evergreen reference; this is where the more specific questions go.

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  Mushrooms in Bark Mulch and Garden Beds

  Mulch is wood, and wood-decaying fungi eat wood. Most are harmless, one is not, and two of them are strange enough to be worth recognising.

  3 min read

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  Fairy Rings, and What They Are Telling You

  A ring of mushrooms is the edge of a single organism expanding outward from a starting point. The dark green grass is the interesting part.

  4 min read

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  A Child Ate a Mushroom From the Garden

  Call Poison Control now, and collect the mushroom before it is trampled. Most garden mushrooms are harmless — and identification is what establishes that.

  3 min read

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  Mushroom Poisoning: Why the Delay Matters More Than the Symptoms

  How long before symptoms start is the most informative single fact. Under six hours is usually the milder group; after six hours is the dangerous one.

  4 min read

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  Can You Get Poisoned by Touching a Mushroom?

  Essentially no — the toxins have to be eaten. Why the myth persists, the two genuine exceptions, and why over-caution here makes identification harder.

  3 min read

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  How to Take a Spore Print — and Why It Matters So Much

  A spore print costs nothing, takes a few hours, and separates several deadly mushrooms from the edible species they resemble. Here is how, and what each colour rules out.

  3 min read