Spent mushroom compost is the soil-like material remaining after growing a crop of mushrooms. The compost is high in organic matter, making it desirable for soil amendment or conditioner use.
Compost, which is prepared specifically for growing mushrooms, is a blend of natural products. Common ingredients are wheat straw, alfalfa straw, poultry manure, cottonseed meal, alfalfa seed screenings, cottonseed hulls, and gypsum. Later in the process, grain and protein are added, and before harvesting, the 8-inch layer of compost is covered with a 2-inch layer of peat moss and lime.
During the composting process, water is added, and temperatures will often rise to about 170 degrees. After the compost is made, it is pasteurized at 140 degrees, and later, after all mushrooms have been harvested, the compost is sterilized at 160 degrees for several hours. Spent mushroom compost will be free of weed seeds and insects.
Spent mushroom compost will vary depending on how long it has been stored in our field. What type of soil you are applying it to is also important.
There are many uses for mushroom compost. Spent mushroom compost is excellent to spread on top of newly seeded lawns. Since some plants and garden vegetables are sensitive to high salt content in soils, avoid using fresh compost around those plants. You may use spent compost weathered for 6 months or longer in all gardens and with most plants. Obtaining mushroom compost in the fall and winter, allowing it to weather will make it ready to use in a garden the following spring. Spring and summer are the best time to use weathered material as a mulch.
As a soil amendment, spent compost adds organic matter and structure to the soil. Mushroom compost improves soil structure and its ability to hold water. It also provides a few nutrients.
For more information, call us at (435) 767-0050, option 3.
SPENT COMPOST
TURNED COMPOST*
Pick-up Truck
N/A
$80
Dump Trailer
N/A
$120
10 Wheel Dump Truck
$250
$350
10 Wheel with Pup
$350
$450
18 Wheel
$550
$750
18 Wheel with Pup
$625
$850
Sold As Is – No guarantees or warranty implied.
Since we don’t have truck scales, We cannot guarantee tonnage. We will do our best to load as full as we can.
Turned compost is generally lower in moisture, so you get a more concentrated compost.
This is loaded at our facility. You must present yourself to our front office for payment and a receipt Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, except for holidays.
Spreadable Pellets
Beginning January 2024, we are rolling out Spreadable Compost Pellets. We will be selling the pellets in 25-pound and 50-pound bags. The pellets are made so that you can enjoy the benefits of mushroom compost on your lawn, garden, flowers, and trees using a common fertilizer spreader.
To begin the process of growing mushrooms, beds must be filled with the compost. During a process known as “spawning,” natural materials such as rye grain, wheat, millet or other small grains are used as the host for mycelium to be introduced into the substrate-filled beds.
Improving Soil Quality: The underground network of fungi, known as mycelium, improves soil structure by creating channels that enhance aeration and water retention. Nutrient Providers: They play a pivotal role in converting organic materials into nutrients that plants can easily absorb.
Using mushroom compost has numerous benefits for your garden. It improves soil quality, provides essential nutrients, increases microbial activity, helps control pests and diseases, and is environmentally friendly. It's also a versatile, odorless option to increase the health of your plants.
Mushroom compost can supply nutrients and increase water-holding capacity of the soil. But mushroom compost can also be too much of a good thing for seeds, seedlings and young plants.
Lawn clippings, used as a substrate, appear to be suitable for oyster mushroom production. Additional work is needed to determine whether changing the volume of components of the lawn clippings will affect the suitability of the substrate.
Mushroom compost is unsuitable for fruit crops (which prefer neutral to acid conditions), and it is not recommended for use as a lawn top-dressing, except where the soil is very acid and a definite need for lime has been established.
Mushroom compost is also high in salt, which can be problematic for some plants such as blueberries, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas. These soluble salts along with other nutrients in fresh mushroom compost are too concentrated to germinate seeds or plant young seedlings.
Mushroom soil also contains more calcium than regular compost due to the addition of chalk. Plants like tomatoes do well in a calcium-rich soil which helps tamp down blossom-end rot.
Q: Can I plant directly into mushroom compost? A: It depends on what you are planting. Direct seeding of wildflowers, turfgrass, radish, carrots, herbs, lettuce are known to do quite well. Transplanting of hops, tomatoes, peppers, kohlrabi, cucumber plants have also been possible.
Sold in bags, mushroom compost is generally a type of composted manure which was used to grow sprout mushrooms. After the mushroom harvest, the soil gets sold as mushroom compost. It is rich in nutrients but may have a strong smell.
If you have a lot of acid-loving plants like blueberries, azaleas, and rhododendrons, cow manure may be better. If the idea of having to compost manure turns you off, then perhaps mushroom compost may be more your speed. Whichever you choose, both are solid choices!
Sunlight : Onions grow best in full sunlight as it is needed for proper growth and development of the onion. Soil Preparation: Add manure, mushroom compost, and/or sand to area several weeks before planting. The soil should be loose, fertile, and have adequate draining with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.
High Salinity (Salts) — High salinity may be the most frequent cause of compost problems. Plants obtain nutrients from soils in the form of dissolved salts, but too high of a concentration injures plant roots. Symptoms of salt damage include rapid wilting of the plant and yellowing of leaves.
Ideally if you have composted horse manure, cow manure, any kind of organic matter like mushroom compost, it makes no difference. Use it. Then cover it up with two inches of mulch or something to preserve moisture.
The best way to compost mushroom blocks is to add them on top of an existing compost pile. However, used mushroom blocks can also be used as a top dressing over a garden to protect germinating seeds and seedlings, while breaking down and providing newly forming plants with nutrition.
Simply mix cow manure and straw. Eventually, naturally occurring fungi and bacteria will arrive on the scene to break down the ingredients. Keep moist and mix regularly until the pile cools down.
For instance, additional materials like gypsum, peat moss, lime, soybean meal, and various other organic items may be added to the compost as well. Once the mushroom spawn are mixed into the compost, it is steam pasteurised to kill weed seeds and any other harmful agents.
It's perfectly fine to put moldy food into most composting bins or piles. In fact, it can even be beneficial, as it introduces additional fungi that will travel to other ingredients in your compost and help break them down even faster or more efficiently.
Introduction: My name is Van Hayes, I am a thankful, friendly, smiling, calm, powerful, fine, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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