natydoll, I can't remember if it was a New Guinea impatien or the hybrid Sunpatien that did ok(not great) in the spa. I may have also had dragon wing begonias in one of those pots that did well. Do not use the moisture retentive potting mix you linked. It uses the polymer crystals that will make it even worse. Again there may be some circumstances where one might use that type of mix and be semi-successful. One is a hanging basket with a coconut coir liner that breathes and evaporates lots of water from the sides of the basket in the summer sun. I have baskets like that in the full sun but my choice was to continue using the 5-1-1 mix and place a plastic liner with slits for drainage. One other thought is that you could amend the media that you have with "soil conditioner" or "pine bark mulch" to add more aeration. In our region soil conditioner is made from pine bark as well. I live in the southeast and both can be found at all the big box stores and nurseries in the atlanta area. Some of the pine bark mulch is not good however. Right now the Timberline brand of mulch is good but the Evergreen brand is bad. Just yesterday I noticed the Evergreen pine bark mulch at Lowes had large bark chunks with lots of sapwood. There is considerable variation in consistency and quality depending on where you live. I have even seen considerable differences in batches at the same store a month later. Both brands can be found at some of the Lowes and the Timberline brand at Home Depot. Soil conditioner($2.60 for 2 cu.ft.) is more composted than mulch so it might be a little better than pine bark mulch. You could mix between 2 to 5 parts of conditioner/mulch to one part of your existing potting mix. It's also recommended to throw in a little dolomitic lime to offset the possibility that the conditioner/mulch has a low ph(maybe a 1/2 tablespoon per gallon). Usually it's the addition of peat moss when making 5-1-1 that requires lime(1 tablespoon per gallon). Soil conditioner/mulch is partially composted and has had time for the ph to adjust upward. You may not even need lime when mixing in with your existing media. Best of success! Tony

Sugi, in the yard, unless they are associated with a tree with which they have a symbiotic relationship, mushrooms tend to show up where there is an adequate supply of food. This can be dung (including doggie doo doo), rotted stumps, or lots of compost, and in particular, when it has been very damp or rainy for several days. The food source might not be obvious: they usually indicate that decay is happening underground. That's a good thing, as the decay of organic matter (leaves, twigs, tree stumps) puts nutrients back into the soil. Where we have bark mulch and then had leaf and twig mulch decaying into compost in a shady area of the garden is where we saw them develop a few years ago. Aside from that, we rarely see mushrooms in our yard and if we do, it's usually only in our compost area after a particularly damp, rainy spate of weather. Our compost area is outside of the main garden area. Then again, we don't have any grass and very little mulch; we turned the entire yard (1/2 acre) into a garden and we mulch our garden beds with compost, not mulch. We only use mulch over a wide path (a driveway, actually), that extends along the side of our property from front to the back garden and that is pretty much the only place where we see them in the yard. I originally thought this might be a mushroom of the Lactarius family and it physically resembles them, but the fact that it did't ooze any liquid puts that ID in question. I notice that this is growing in mulch. In our yard, the main place where we saw mushrooms was in the one area (a driveway) that we mulched. We had put down a very thick layer of mulch and then Mother Nature did the rest. Mushrooms in grass show up when you have a lot of thatch decaying. In both locations, however, conditions have to be perfect, a mix of the correct temperature, moisture (we saw them develop during a particularly wet spring) in an area where they would have ample food. it's likely the spores have been in the mulch and your soil all along - they are ubiquitous - and the climate allowed them to develop. The structure above the soil is only a small part of the structure; there is likely an extensive underground network which is why they are springing up elsewhere. My own experience in our most recent garden is that we rarely see them sprout, they only sprout when the weather conditions are "perfect" for them, and they have been known to skip years that were particularly dry or where we didn't water as extensively. Over the years, however, in the other places I've lived - always in New England until now - that has been similarly my experience... mulch or leaf litter or compost, heavily thatched lawn, a tree stump, rain, the right temperature... we saw them occasionally, but they were rarely a serious problem aside from the fact that not knowing much about them, we removed the visible structures to protect our pets. We always picked the mushrooms as we didn't want our curious dogs to eat any. You can read about our experience - limited as it was - on our blog. It includes some information about the underground network that develops. The link I've included is to a post I wrote about faerie rings and in particular, one that developed in bark mulch in our yard in 2011. (This is a personal blog abut our garden; we don't have a garden-related business.) I believe we had a few mushrooms surface in that same area in 2012, none in 2013 or this year. In that area, the mulch was fairly old and decaying but we thought we would let it be for one more year. We had put a very thick layer (4-5 inches) on a base of clay. We had piled some twigs and leaves and left during spring clean-up and left them when the weather turned rainy. The following year (2012) we added a very thin layer of bark mulch, and this spring (2014) we added a substantial covering of bark mulch as the existing mulch had decomposed dramatically. My guess is that if you disrupt the mulch and perhaps de-thatch your lawn, you may possibly disrupt the cycle enough to eliminate much of the problem. On the other hand, even if you do nothing, since weather plays a pivotal role, you may or may not see any of them sprout next year. Here is a link that might be useful: Faerie Rings

Several years ago I had a big bunch of mushrooms in the front yard. They seemed to be spreading in lines, not rings. One morning I came out and picked a full 5 gallon bucket from one day�s growth. They looked like they were progressing to the neighbor�s yards. I did some research and some university sites said golf courses used a product, I think called "Prairie", but I could not find any sources. They also used a "wetting agent". I finally decided to try a fungicide. I bought GreenLight brand Fung-away from a local nursery. The product came in a hose end sprayer. I added some of the wife�s laundry spot cleaner "Sunburst" as a wetting agent. I used one quart in an area of about 15 by 20 feet. Then I soaked it in good, trying to get it deep enough to get to the actual fungus area. This worked. I used one Qt Sept 08, and had to use another Pint along the edge of the previous infection in Aug 10. No more mushrooms. However, in July, 11 I have a new infection, in a line, right at the edge of the area I previously treated. Green Light no longer makes or sells Fung-away. My container label was damaged, but the active ingredient as best I can see was Triadmegon, Triaoliyil and Chionophanory. Do not quote me on these names, the label is almost gone. Since I could not buy Fung-away, I tried a Bayer Advanced product called Fungus Control for Lawns, with Propiconazole. I made two applications, first 8 oz with Shout in July, and the rest of the quart in early September. Today I picked more mushrooms on that line. I need to find another product. Can I buy Consan-20 in California?

anne, many of hte forums have a search link where you type in what you are looking for. it will give you the option of checking the forum you are on or all forums. it will then bring up a list of threads that have referenced or is about your typed topic. some of the forums also have a faq link (frequently asked questions). good info on these. anything underlined is a link to click on and the site will either redirect you at he bottom of the "page" or to another page. the general rule is to do a "search" before asking/posting a question in case of repeats. also, when you post a question (there is a link for this on the forum's "front" page) you have the option of having responses emailed to you. this is good, in case you have not kept up on the thread and someone responds a week later or after you have forgotten about it. hope this is what you are looking for. these are just the basics. i start out slow rather than all info at once. ok, your earwigs. since you are already out at night with a flashlight, arm yourself with a spray bottle water with a squirt of dishsoap. i am not sure how little or how much soap is preferred, but that is what i use. one squirt, and the earwigs run, starting to contort in seconds. they probably die faster than any other bug from soapy water which is why i like it! :) the spray bottle enables me to get them individually rather than soaping the entire plant. also, for the low plants- you can't tip a pitcher very well. i am not really sure if dishsoap and water is considered organic. i also just dumped some diatomaceous earth on an area last night. this should give them a slow death. if you click on the link i posted on the 15th "organic gardening forum" it will take you to another thread where some wonderful forum members picked my brain. it would be much easier for you to read than to repeat it all here. i will add that wild violets tend to form a nice mat. i am sure the earwigs hide out in there during the day as well. are you experiencing a lot of damage? i have always had earwigs, but not the damage i had this year. any other questions that i missed? shoot!