Mushroom compost
I just started a new garden in my new home in NW, Fl. Small, 8'x8', and I used cypress to surround it. I put mushroom compost I got from the local nursery. Is this good for starting my new garden? I asked for top soil, but this was the closest they had.
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ButterflyLady29
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applestar
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NW Florida... do you have sandy soil?
I think of Mushroom compost as a really good addition to in-ground garden bed. Good ones have no weed seeds so I incorporate in to tope layers. I tend to sheet mulch so I fill the lower layers with unfinished compost, bulky stuff like rotting woodpile branches and pulled weeds, hay, turned over sod, weedy soil, etc. as well as mineral amendments like lime, rock phosphate, greensand, etc. then put down layers of paper then top with weed-free bagged top soil, garden soil, mushroom compost, sand, used coffee grounds... top with mulch like grass clippings, leaves, straw, wood shavings, etc.
What are you thinking of growing?
I think of Mushroom compost as a really good addition to in-ground garden bed. Good ones have no weed seeds so I incorporate in to tope layers. I tend to sheet mulch so I fill the lower layers with unfinished compost, bulky stuff like rotting woodpile branches and pulled weeds, hay, turned over sod, weedy soil, etc. as well as mineral amendments like lime, rock phosphate, greensand, etc. then put down layers of paper then top with weed-free bagged top soil, garden soil, mushroom compost, sand, used coffee grounds... top with mulch like grass clippings, leaves, straw, wood shavings, etc.
What are you thinking of growing?
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ButterflyLady29
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rainbowgardener
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I love it! When I was making my own potting soil (which I hope to get back to, but having harder time finding my ingredients here in the rural South), I used mushroom compost as the nutrient ingredient along with some worm castings when I had them. The mushroom compost has a very nice texture for potting soil you will start seeds in, very fine, it doesn't have weed seeds, and stuff grows like crazy in it. You might look on line. These days some of the big hardware and dept stores have order on line and pick up from your local store with no shipping fee.
(In case you are interested, my eco-friendly sustainable potting mix recipe is one third mushroom compost (left over from growing mushrooms), one third coconut coir (outside fuzzy stuff from coconuts) instead of the peat moss that people often use, one-third rice hulls (left over from milling rice) instead of perlite or vermiculite. All of this is agricultural by-products and all but the coconut coir can be fairly locally sourced. None of it is mined, heated to high temperatures or otherwise environmentally destructive to produce.
(In case you are interested, my eco-friendly sustainable potting mix recipe is one third mushroom compost (left over from growing mushrooms), one third coconut coir (outside fuzzy stuff from coconuts) instead of the peat moss that people often use, one-third rice hulls (left over from milling rice) instead of perlite or vermiculite. All of this is agricultural by-products and all but the coconut coir can be fairly locally sourced. None of it is mined, heated to high temperatures or otherwise environmentally destructive to produce.
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ButterflyLady29
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Some Lowes stores nearby sell mushroom compost but even those are over an hour drive. I have no Idea where to buy rice hulls, couldn't find any place in the state in a google search. Coir fiber I can get. I know of a couple hydroponic shops that sell it. I love coir fiber, it keeps the "soil" in large outdoor containers from packing down.