Can I Kill the Mushrooms in My Yard With Heat by Covering the Beds in Clear Plastic?

Mushrooms

• Mushrooms thrive in shady, moist planting beds and those without adequate air circulation. Overhanging branches and crowded shrubs nearby help create shade and impede air flow. Once mushrooms take hold in the bed, they may be challenging to remove. If there is a submerged tree stump in the bed, the mushrooms may be living off of the decaying organic matter. Remove any wood buried in the area before solarizing the soil.

Solarization Facts

• Soil solarization heats the soil to temperatures that are lethal to certain organisms -- 108 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit in the top 2 inches of soil and from 90 to 99 degrees at 18 inches. Aside from killing soil-borne pathogens and weeds, solarization has the added benefit of assisting in the rapid breakdown of organic matter in the soil, releasing beneficial nutrients. Plants are healthier when planted in solarized soil, according to integrated pest management scientists with the University of California at Davis.

Technique

• Mow the area, if it's covered with weeds or other vegetation, to make it as smooth as possible. Anything that protrudes from the soil may hold the plastic away from it, releasing heat that should be trapped beneath it. Dig up the soil to at least 10 inches in depth and then rake it smooth. Water the area deeply. This is an important part of the process so ensure that the soil is wet to a depth of 6 inches. Lay the plastic over the soil, stretching it tight, and use rocks or pavers to hold the edges against the soil. Allow the plastic to remain on the soil for four weeks if the weather is sunny and hot. Leave it for eight weeks if your region experiences cool weather during the process.

Considerations

• Although solarization helps organic matter in the soil break down faster, sometimes beneficial organisms are killed off in the process. After removing the plastic, till the soil to a depth of 2 inches. Don't go any deeper than this or you may expose viable weed seeds. Just till the soil enough to dislodge plant material killed during solarization then rake it out of the bed. Add 2 inches of compost to the soil to replace some of the beneficial organisms lost during solarization.