The Flora World: The Farm Diaries: Part 2: Uninvited guests

These days the cosy nursery at 'The Farm' is secretly catering to some uninvited guests.....

Today I went to do some much pending clean up in the nursery for giving my veggie saplings bit of a space to grow and set fruit. So, there I was walking along the baskets plucking out the unwanted grass, amaranth and what not when I came across some fascinating mushrooms.

Little umbrella shaped white fruiting bodies with red spots, they are still as mysterious to me as when I was a little kid splashing across the little puddles in monsoon. Then I found some more cute brown coloured ones gossiping with the tomato saplings and I just couldn't find it in my heart to separate them from the little veggie saplings.

All this brought back a fairytale memory before my world became a Botanical world when mushrooms were some mysterious little umbrellas grown by mother nature for the tiny frogs hopping all over during the monsoon!!

That was not the only reason I let those magical mushrooms stay where they grew. One very fascinating fact about mushrooms is that they are more than just the umbrella shaped fruiting bodies we see above. Most vital part of the mushrooms, the mycelium is a cluster of hyphae(long thread like structures) which form an extensive network underground in unison with the plant roots nearby. This network increases the surface area of absorption for the plants. Also the fungi feeds on the organic matter in soil and converts it into some useful nutrients for the plants. The result...tomatoes and other veggies will grow healthier and faster!! So you see the cute looking little umbrellas although uninvited are very precious guests for any garden!!!