PowerSwitch

This is non-scientific, but I've been watching the relationship between the weather and the fruiting of autumn fungi for 30 years, professionally so for the last 5, and I've never seen anything like the current situation.

During the autumn, provided there is enough moisture in the top 3-6 inches of soil (and other substrates fungi live in, like old logs), then there is a sequence of species that fruits throughout the autumn. As the temperatures fall, the sequence progresses.

This year there were plenty of fungi around in August and September - every year is different, but it was a typical selection of stuff for that time of a decent year for fungi. Then we had a dry period for 3 weeks and all the new stuff stopped coming through. Since then I have been waiting for a recovery that simply hasn't happened. I was walking around the Ashdown Forest today and the there was pretty much nothing, regardless of the fact that there has been no shortage of rain. There is only one reasonable explanation for this, and that is that the average (or more likely, minimum) temperature has been so high that it has prevented nearly all of the later autumn fungi from deciding it is time to fruit. It is hard to explain what "nearly all" really means to somebody who doesn't watch fungi. There are whole large groups of fungi that are entirely missing, and many groups where there are just one or two where you'd normally expect hundreds. In a dry autumn this is understandable. In a wet one it is very weird. A wet autumn without fungi? Doesn't happen...until now.

The latest I have ever known there to be a glut of fungi was November 18th, which was in 2011, after 6 weeks in late September and the whole of October when the weather was what you'd normally expect in August (very dry and considerably warmer than this year). I am actually quite curious to find out what is going to happen next. The temperatures have finally started to drop in Sussex in the last couple of days, and I saw hints of a recovery in Northamptonshire last weekend. In Southern Europe the main mushroom season extends into December and even January. Maybe we are headed that way too.

In my garden, I have a massive proliferation of mushrooms and/or toadstools the last couple of months. I mean I'm talking the whole garden full of them. On the plus side, I have seen 3 hedgehogs knocking about, which is probably to do with all slugs we've had

What part of the country do you live in?

Anecdotal is what matters, after all. We've experienced lumpy weather for several years now, little is predictable.

As with you, UE, only in the last couple of days has the temperature started to drop. Lots of trees have yet to shed their leaves. I predict that, for Ireland at least, October will turn out to be the warmest, driest on record (I must look it up). November will be the wettest and warmest on record, just wait.

I saw dandelions flowering four times this year, never seen that before.

UndercoverElephant wrote:What part of the country do you live in?

South Essex UE. What I've also noticed is that the fungi that has come up on the lawn is not coming via a ring-like pattern; they've come up in large clumps - the fungi looks the same as it always had but the pattern is very different.

I've been in the garden over the weekend, and it looks a bit of a strange picture.

It looks as though everything is growing at once. The mushrooms and toadstools seem to have finally finished growing and are rotting merrily, the daffodils look like they are trying to come through, leaves on the trees have fallen all of a sudden in one go, the wild onions on the lawn look like they are growing (normally see these around March), still seeing some insects.

To top it off, we've still got dandelions growing on the lawn. Grass is still growing, might mow it tomorrow if it's dry enough.

Can't say I've seen this kind of activity before - how is everyone else fairing?

AutomaticEarth wrote:wild onions

That common name refers to at least 4 british Allium species. Do you mean ramsons?

I picked the last of the autumn raspberries today.

UndercoverElephant wrote:

AutomaticEarth wrote:wild onions

That common name refers to at least 4 british Allium species. Do you mean ramsons?

Just looked at some images and they look like ramsons.... but you're not talking to a connoisseur of wild plants

AutomaticEarth wrote:Can't say I've seen this kind of activity before - how is everyone else fairing?

We can't do much outside because of very heavy rain but the temperatures are ridiculously high for December (between 15º and 20º C during the day, a little less at night). This is known in this area as being 'fierce mild'.

The grass grows all the time but is too wet to cut, the last leaves have fallen, insects abound and we humans tend to get over-dressed. At least we save on heating.