Why Are Mushrooms Growing in My Vegetable Garden?

12.07.2024 - 16:01 / thespruce.com / Sophia Beams

As you’re tending to your garden this summer, you might notice a few uninvited guests cropping up in your yard. Mushrooms growing in your garden or backyard are common, but are they something you need to worry about?

Actually, mushrooms are a great sign for your garden. Mushrooms grow in soil that is healthy, so if your soil is well-fertilized or otherwise contains lots of organic matter, you’re much more likely to spot a mushroom now and again.

When you see mushrooms in your yard, you can pat yourself on the back for having a well-kept garden. Learn a bit more about why you're seeing mushrooms and if you need to get rid of them.

Mushrooms' job doesn’t stop at being a healthy soil indicator. Mushrooms can speed up the process of organic matter decomposition.

Dead plants, leaves, and cuttings in your yard can all be broken down by the enzymes that mushrooms release. As the matter in your soil is broken down, mushrooms make more nutrients available to the surrounding plants, creating a healthier ecosystem for your garden.

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Are mushrooms safe to leave in a veggie garden? We definitely don’t recommend trying to eat any of the mushrooms growing in your soil, but it’s generally very safe to leave mushrooms growing around fruit and veggies.

As long as you’re not picking up mushrooms along with the edible plants you’re harvesting, the other plants in your garden will remain safe to eat. 

If you’re not a fan of mushrooms growing in your garden for aesthetic reasons, feel free to remove them. You can just pull them out of your garden or even gently kick them out of the soil. Mushrooms don’t root