The Clear Sign It's Time To Pluck Your Garden's Mushrooms

Having a few wild mushrooms pop up in your backyard can be an excellent way to design and plant the perfect cottage garden. Their whimsical shapes and earthy tones feel like something straight out of a storybook, adding texture and mystery to carefully curated flower beds or shaded corners. Some gardeners even encourage the growth of edible mushrooms as a sustainable food source. But the reality is that most of the mushrooms appearing uninvited in backyards aren't edible, and some may even be toxic to humans and pets. Whether you're growing fungi intentionally or they've popped up on their own, knowing when to remove them ensures your garden stays safe and tidy. The clearest sign that it's time to pluck a mushroom is when the cap opens to reveal the gills.

Getting the timing right directly affects your ability to manage the spread of mushrooms. Removing fungi too late means the spores may already be airborne, drifting on the wind into other garden beds or onto essential gardening tools and clothing. On the other hand, while premature removal won't harm your garden, it may not prevent further mushroom growth either. In their early stages, mushrooms have rounded caps that keep the gills hidden. As they mature, the caps typically flatten or curl upwards, exposing a delicately ribbed underside. These gills are where the spores are produced. Once they are visible, the fungus in question is on the verge of releasing millions of microscopic seeds into the air. Removing the mushrooms as soon as the gills are visible will prevent spore release and stop the reproductive cycle.

The caps of the mushrooms growing in your flower beds typically start to open following rain, especially in organic-rich areas like mulched borders or lawns with decaying tree roots. The transformation from a small, rounded button to a cap or upturned cup takes a few days at most, so vigilance is important if you want to stop fungi reproduction. Mushrooms are capable of incredibly rapid growth because their mycelium, an underground network of vegetative parts, is always active. It's just waiting for the right conditions to produce fruiting bodies — the above-ground mushrooms.

While it may be unwise to eliminate mushrooms entirely (fungi are nature's decomposers and play a vital role in breaking down organic matter), timely removal greatly reduces their numbers. Wear gloves to stop the spores sticking to your hands and potentially transferring elsewhere. Grasp the mushroom gently near the base of the stem and twist while pulling upwards in one smooth motion. If the stem is proving stubborn, use a sharp knife to slice it off close to the ground or dig up a stubborn cluster. Avoid breaking the caps, as this can also release the spores. In other words, handle the mushroom as little as possible. Place the mushroom (or mushrooms) directly into a paper bag, not an open container. Always dispose of picked fungi in the trash, your green bin, or buried deep in your compost pile.