Mysterious witch circles on the lawn

Do you want to talk about something mystical? Maybe such events happen on your site? We are talking about the so-called witch's circles, namely rings of mushrooms and herbs. You might think that some kind of mysticism is really involved. Let's figure out what is really going on. It is customary to call witch's circles a round mycelium, which consists of cap mushrooms with a height of 2 to 5 cm. As a rule, such rings can be found on lawns and meadows. the thing is that the filaments of fungi are located in the upper layer of the sod and they wait for the right conditions and time for development. The mycelium of the fungus begins to grow at a tremendous speed from the center to the periphery, thereby forming a circle. After a certain time, the center begins to die without receiving nutrients, in the extreme part it continues to bear fruit. Now let's look at what symptoms are typical for those lawns that are sick with "witch's rings".

Witch's circles: types

All witch circles can be roughly divided into three types.

• Aimed at destroying or causing significant damage to grass. You can see 2 circles, which are composed of herbs that are dark green in color. Moreover, between these two circles there is a ring of bald patches with dead grass.
• This type is much easier to spot. In their area, the grass grows much faster, has a dark green color. Sometimes you can see the mushrooms themselves.
• This type includes rings with tall dark green grass and mushrooms that are randomly located. "Witch's circles" form different mushrooms. Due to the fact that the plexus of mushrooms takes a lot of water for itself, nothing remains for the grass, so it simply begins to dry out and die.

The reason for the appearance of witch circles

You may ask, what is the root cause of the appearance of witch circles on the lawn. There are several reasons: poor nutrients, sandy soil, if nutrients remain in the grass cover that did not have time to decompose, and insufficient soil aeration. Unfortunately, today there are no universal means or methods that can 100% protect your lawn from the appearance of such unpleasant and scary circles. But there are some small recommendations for soil care to avoid or reduce such circles. If you add nutrients to the soil, make sure that there are no surpluses. Otherwise, the soil will not be able to overpower them and then undecomposed residues will remain on the lawn, which will be an ideal place for the appearance of witch circles. At the end of the season, in the fall, it is advisable to add fertilizers that will contain potassium.

The presence of potassium will help strengthen the grass and increase the plant's hardiness. But keep in mind that witch circles are very stable. If you decide to use a chemical agent, it is important to remember that along with harmful fungi, you can also destroy beneficial fungi. The method of loosening and abundant irrigation of the soil, which was attacked by the witch's circles, helps well against the witch's circles made of mushrooms on the lawn. The best prevention of the appearance of such "guests" is very simple. Do not leave cut grass on your lawn. Remembering this advice, you will be able to avoid seeing "mystical" witch circles on your site for a long time.