Fairy Ring Friday anyone?
Last weekend, I had the perfect hemispheric fairy ring pop up in my yard. I made this quick, unedited video to capture the opportunity to explain why these occur.
To me, they are a visualization of an interesting symbiotic occurrence that is taking place between the mycelium and the turf as the turf receives soluble nutrients from the enzymatic and microbial action amongst the hyphae of the fungi.
Fungi get a negative connotation as a pathogen, yet without them life on our planet likely would not exist. Their coexistence with plants and soil is beyond fascinating and when you see them growing, it warrants asking yourself “what species might they be sharing resources with as an echo-mycorrhizae or endo-mycorrhizae fungus?” or “is that a wood decay fungus that is digesting a decaying stump or cluster of tree roots?”
For example, the beloved Porcini is a bolete that coexists with certain tree species. And oyster mushrooms? Well, they are consuming dead or dying wood as recyclers of the forest. And portabellas? They mostly get farmed on manure and hay or some other lignins-rich medium blended with manure, and the resulting byproduct from the mushroom houses is one of the most nutrient rich compost products you can use to amend soil. As the mycelium digest the carbon and carbohydrates and break down the lignin, they leave a residual soil that plants can readily absorb nutrients from.
Have a great weekend, and be on the look out for fun-guys growing everywhere during this wet sub-tropical weather.
—Kurt Bland
Bland Landscaping Co. President