Cobweb mould
Greyish-white, thin, woolly threads that grow like a cobweb quickly over the casing, the substrate or even the mushrooms are usually cobweb (Cladobotryum). Cover small patches with a damp tissue and some salt, ventilate better and throw it away as soon as the mushrooms themselves are affected.
Horticultural Development Company (HDC, nu onderdeel van AHDB, VK) · BP-01North Spore (VS), auteur Will Broussard · BP-04Cobweb loves humid, still air. It mainly occurs in button mushrooms on casing, but also on kits.
Horticultural Development Company (HDC, nu onderdeel van AHDB, VK) · BP-01North Spore (VS), auteur Will Broussard · BP-04How do you recognise it?
Cobweb grows noticeably faster and looser than healthy mycelium and spreads over a large area within a few days, including over mushrooms. Where it overgrows a mushroom, the cap rots wet and brown. Later the haze becomes denser and powdery due to spores.
Horticultural Development Company (HDC, nu onderdeel van AHDB, VK) · BP-01North Spore (VS), auteur Will Broussard · BP-04What do you do?
Do not simply wipe it away: that spreads spores. Cover a small patch with a damp tissue and sprinkle some salt on it. Improve ventilation and lower the humidity a little. Remove affected mushrooms and casing and clean your tools with 70 % ethanol.
Horticultural Development Company (HDC, nu onderdeel van AHDB, VK) · BP-01CDC (VS) · BU-08When to throw it away?
Throw it away as soon as the mould attacks the mushrooms themselves or spreads beyond a small patch. On a kit with a single small patch you can cut it out with a wide margin and keep a close eye on the rest; if in doubt, throw it away.
Horticultural Development Company (HDC, nu onderdeel van AHDB, VK) · BP-01North Spore (VS), auteur Will Broussard · BP-04Source
- Identification and control of Cobweb disease on mushrooms (Factsheet 10/08) — Horticultural Development Company (HDC, nu onderdeel van AHDB, VK)
- Common Contamination in Mushroom Cultivation — North Spore (VS), auteur Will Broussard
- Chemical Disinfectants — Alcohol — CDC (VS)
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This is general growing information from the sources listed. Always follow the instructions of your kit or supplier. Only eat what demonstrably grows from your own culture of the bought, named species; if in doubt about colour, smell or shape, do not eat it.
Pick your species and your space; the tool shows what fits, with sources. No account needed.