Random Thoughts & Other Stuff »

Look at this—something strange is going on with my house plants, especially this one. They are being “attacked” by UFOs (unidentified fungi objects ;-)), and I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing wrong.

I water my plants regularly, but not extensively. However, after watering, little sprouts of fungi are appearing in the soil of some of my plants. First, there are just a number of tiny little yellow dots. Then the dots grow into finger-size objects, and the next day, the whole pot looks like one big mushroom plantation. They are an appalling yellow in the beginning, and then they open up and turn into whitish umbrellas. It is scientifically amazing how fast they grow, literally over night, but in the house and with my plants, it’s gross at the same time.

I have no idea what to do. If I water my plants any less, they start wilting (I’ve tried that). I really don’t want mushrooms in my plants. I’m rather worried if they might be just as bad as mold. In the beginning, I used to dig the little suckers out when they were still tiny, and I scraped off a good amount of the soil around it too. I wonder if the soil that I bought already came with traces of fungi (although it was supposed to be good quality, not the cheap stuff) or how else I could have attracted those unwanted house guests.

Anyway, if anybody has any idea if these things are poisonous (or otherwise bad for humans) and/or how to get rid of them, please let me know. I’d appreciate a comment here or a tweet (@mayasplace).