Killing Mushrooms

[Auxin]

One of the pots I'm growing a hot pepper in is infested with annoyingly prolific orange mushrooms. Fungicide was thuroughly applied twice but the infestation is too well established. I have to scoop out mushrooms daily to keep it from spreading to the other pots, but it is getting very tedious. I've been letting the dirt dry out most the way between waterings, but the mushrooms are too well established for that to work! I cant uproot and repot because the plant is a 5' by 5' bush that is about to go to fruit.

How do I kill these bastard things without hurting the capsicum?

Different fungicide?

1 inch of sand on top?

[spiders]

Are you getting that in your potting mix? A friend often gets orangey mushrooms fruiting in their hanging pots. I dont think they do any harm, but the best ways to get rid of them naturally would be something that would take away air exchange. Sand might work well.

You never know, if the mushroom is orange it could be a laughing gym!

[Torsten]

the mushroom would be providing nutrients by breaking down the substrate, so it may not be all bad. Sulphur and copper usually get rid of most fungi. Copper salts are herbicides too though, so should only be used sparingly. Elemental sulphur dust may help, but it will acidify the soil. Systemics won't do much at all. Keeping it drier or changing substrate would be my choice.

[theobromos]

Is it based on coir fibre? I kept getting a bright yellow fungus that looked remarkably like a tropical species of Coprinus known to turn up in potting compost.

How about Aloe vera? No idea if it would work but it cleared up a fungal infection for me very nicely.

[Auxin]

"the mushroom would be providing nutrients by breaking down the substrate, so it may not be all bad."

Even if its not hurting that plant if those things spread to some of my younger delicate plants or my germination jars it could kill them.

[devance]

Cinnamon bark are Cinnamaldehyde (55 75%) and Eugenol (5-20%

some people are beginning to use the powder bark as a fungicide.

[Ed Dunkel]

Is the fungus really a problem? If it doesn't hurt the plant it might help break down nutrients for it!!

Have you noticed any loss or gain (or no change) on the growing rate?

Maybe just leave it.

E D

[Auxin]

"Have you noticed any loss or gain (or no change) on the growing rate?"

No change in the affected plant, but I'm growing several delicate, slow growing seedlings and some rare SLOW germinating (5 weeks) capsicums that would be killed if it spreads. When you get 20 very small hard to find capsicum seeds with 50% viability and 5 weeks to germination the threat of mushrooms growing everywhere in addition to the normal damping off and fungus gnat threats it can make you very worried.

I have a very controlled growing area and mushrooms are just an unwanted pest.

Nutrient release just isnt worth it, for that I have purified ammonium humate to make bound nutrients more available and custom made fertilizers to provide any combo of additional nutrients I want.

[Ed Dunkel]

In those circumstances it is totally understandable. Yeah, rip them out and kill them.

Have you got the really super hot chillie seeds?

They would be cool to have.

Laters,

E D

[Auxin]

"Have you got the really super hot chillie seeds?"

Some of 'em.

As far as REALLY HOT ones go I've got Fatalii hot pepper (tastes like the name indicates it should), Caribbean Red (much hotter than habanero it ranks right up there with red savina (red savina is usually the one labled 'hottest in the world' I tried growing them but they died from a combo of fungus and fungus gnats))

And I'm starting many more for spring:

Capsicum chacoense

Datil (hot as habanero)

Kung Pao F2

Dundicut

Bulgarian carrot

Atorodo

Trifetti

Yatsafusa

Jaloro

Xigole

Experimental hybrids

etc, etc, etc...

I'm turning into a real Chile Head, can you tell?

[theobromos]

It took less than a minute to find that the Tezpur chili is the current champion at one and a half times the strength of the red savina. I hope (but don't expect) that the vendors will change their labels immediately.

http://www.chilimysoul.com/chilinews.html

[Torsten]

actually, it is the controlled environment that i probably causing the problem. Put them in the sun for a few hours each day (behind glass) as most fungi won't tolerate sunlight.

[Guest reville]

Easy. Change your soil mix.

The mix u are using obviously has too much undecayed wod in it or other plant materials.

This is bad all round as many plant pathogens will also get into this so id suggest cahnging the mix, more sand, some coco-peat or something like that and some inert bits like perlite and vermiculite.

Not having all that wood should help stop nitrogen drawdown too which is probably being ameliorated to a degree by the wood decomposing fungus ATM

[Auxin]

"Easy. Change your soil mix."

Well thats easy to say. Not easy to do. The plant is a 5 foot by 5 foot hot pepper bush (not the strongest stems) in a 10 gallon pot. The thing is at least half my body weight, and its in a small room and I cant get it out without major pruning.

In the future when I plant peppers in such a big pot I'll add some vermiculite or sand ( HEAVY ).

Anyway, I think I'm getting it under control. I used more fungicide, scraped off some dirt, applied sulfur dust, and I'm 'spoon-feeding' it water from the bottom of the pot just enough to keep the pepper from wilting.

[This message has been edited by Auxin (edited 29 November 2002).]

[Torsten]

Applying a layer of sand to the top of the pot has also helped me before with similar problems. The shrooms don't seem to like fruiting through the sand.