Mushroom Fertilizer? Where to get it? any success with it?

[LodiLapp]

have seen some plants that look amazing that had mushroom feertilizer mixed in the soil and was curious where to get it and if anyone has had any luck with it, I plan on planting toms/peppers/beans/cukes and thats probably all this year. thanks for any info

[Dillbert]

perhaps "mushroom soil"?

mushrooms are often grown in a mix of composted horse manure and straw.

after the mix is "spent" it's removed from the mushroom house.

cost wise, local is everything. you may want to look for local mushroom growing operations and inquire as to "where does it go?"

[tomc]

Enquire on your local Craigs-list?

[LodiLapp]

Now i have never grown mushrooms but what you said dillbert was exactly what I thought. And yes tomc I will try craigslist right now see what I come up with.

[rainbowgardener]

Is this the same as "mushroom compost"? I bought some of that to be one of the main ingredients of my homemade potting soil.

So far, I can say that my homemade (HM) potting soil (coconut coir, mushroom compost, perlite, a bit of worm castings) is not as nitrogen rich as the Miracle Gro potting soil. The cabbage plants in HM are smaller than the MG ones. They have the same number of leaves, but the leaf size is smaller. Both look quite healthy, same nice green color, sturdy looking, perky. Both of them are getting water with worm bin leachate in it for extra fertility. If I gave the leachate just to the HM one, maybe they would catch up a little, but that seems too complicated.

[applestar]

Oh! Oh! You reminded me!
I read somewhere that the best way to use alfalfa pellets as nitrogen source in soil mix is to soak, squeeze out excess moisture, then let them sit for a month. I don't know if it's been a month and I don't know if this works in sometimes freezing cold temperatures, but I have some alfalfa cubes that I soaked, squeezed, and left in a covered bucket out in the garage. I'll have to go look at it.

I was going to use that for uppotting....

[rainbowgardener]

Thanks, applestar! Great idea for adding some extra N to my HM potting soil. I should start bringing home more coffee grounds to add also. The coffee grounds we make are a precious commodity - some go in compost pile, some go in worm bin, some go in the watering can...

[Tonio]

call the mushroom farms to ask if they give away spend substrate - California Mushroom is just north of you.
http://www.yellowpages.com/stockton-ca/mushroom-farms

Most Mushroom farms down here give away the substrate.

[LodiLapp]

thanks tonio for the info, much appreciated, if I have any success I will post the info for others.

[rainbowgardener]

Re the alfalfa pellets. I decided to try that, in my sort of slapdash way. I soaked them in water for a few days and then skipped the squeezing and drying step and mixed the resulting slurry in my latest batch of home made potting soil.

Whew! Stuff has quite a pungent smell that way. It calmed down once mixed as a minor ingredient with all the other stuff, but I can see why someone might want to dry it out.

I didn't do any control group, so I don't know if I will be able to tell if adding the alfalfa slurry makes a difference or not. Doesn't seem like it could hurt, though. What I got was guinea pig food, and it has other nutrients in it as well.

[Bobberman]

I have used mushroom manure for years. The last time I got it I had them mix one shovel of mushroom manure with a shovel of top soil on my pick up. wHEN i SHOVELED IT OFF i MIXED IT TOGETHER AND THE SOIL WAS THE BEST.. May need a little nitrogen added since most has been taken up by the mushrooms. The manure has alot of mushroom roots mixed in it and usually you will get a few good mushrooms from time to time! Great stuff and cheap by the cubic yard about $30!

[Tonio]

thanks tonio for the info, much appreciated, if I have any success I will post the info for others.

You're welcome Lodi. Hope you can find some. Please keep us posted on how you do- some other may benefit also ! If you do get some, be sure work into the soil, I would use it @ 10-40% mixture with your native soil, depending on what your current soil is like.

As Bobberman says, some nitrogen does help for balance. Perhaps using it mixed in fall would be best, or mix in the compost pile, and use as amendments through the year or even mulch .

T

[PHONETOOL]

I found 40 pounds of mushroom compost for $3.49

You can have this shipped free to the nearest do it best networked hardware store for pickup.

http://www.doitbest.com/Mulches+and+pea ... 750574.dib

[dustyrivergardens]

most mushroom compost has a lot of diatomaceous earth in it to keep the worms from eating the mushrooms. With that said I would think its great stuff except for the worms.

[veggiefan]

Hi, there! You can use mushroom compost. I use it every summer with great results. I use it usually 2-3 times. When I plant the plants in the ground and between 2weeks to a month 1-2 times more. The plants are growing great after putting the compost around them. I buy them mushroom compost at Home Depot-$4/40lbs bag.

[rainbowgardener]

I found 40 pounds of mushroom compost for $3.49

You can have this shipped free to the nearest do it best networked hardware store for pickup.

http://www.doitbest.com/Mulches+and+pea ... 750574.dib

Thanks for posting this. I just ordered some on line to be shipped free to the do it best store right next to my work. The last batch I ordered I paid so much more for the compost and the shipping!

[veggiefan]

Thank you so much. I will definitely use your link and buy it there.
Vlad

[Jardin du Fort]

My local Menards has 40# bags for about $1.50.... Between that and the composted cow manure, I may be set for starting the garden this spring....... I hope.

[veggiefan]

You, probably, not talking about mushroom compost but about different compost. Here in Minnesota they don't sell mushroom compost at Menards-just at Home Depot and it is about $4/40lb bag. If I find it here @$1.50, I will buy a lot of it. Thanks.

[Jardin du Fort]

Menards doesn't even list mushroom compost, and yet three days ago I was staring at a pallet full of it at the local store, and yes, it was $1.50 a bag. I will be scarfing up a few in a day or two....

[veggiefan]

No doubt, it is an awesome deal! What state are you at?

[Jardin du Fort]

No doubt, it is an awesome deal! What state are you at?

I'm currently in a serious state of disrepair. Otherwise you might try looking below my avatar.

[Jardin du Fort]

Menards doesn't even list mushroom compost, and yet three days ago I was staring at a pallet full of it at the local store, and yes, it was $1.50 a bag. I will be scarfing up a few in a day or two....

Well, guess what! I was wrong. So was Menards. The price below the pallet said $1.49, but when I got to checkout, the price was $3.98. It was mislabeled on the shelf...

Anyhoo, they do indeed have a supply of it. I didn't buy 12 bags like I was planning though. I bought one each of Mushroom Compose, Composted Manure, Topsoil, and a bag of Perlite. I will mix them together for my seed flats.....

Progress.

[Bobberman]

Try Agway composted mushroom manure and also composted cow manure in 40 pound bags for $3.49 a bag. Its real nice fluffy stuff!

[rainbowgardener]

I think it is interesting. Whenever I plant stuff with my homemade compost, I get lots of volunteer tomato plants popping up. No other weeds, just tomato plants. So this season I've been planting seeds/seedlings in my homemade potting soil with mushroom compost. And guess what, lots of volunteer tomato plants popping up. No other weeds, but quite a few tomatoes. Some that I didn't spot in time, since my seed starting area is getting crowded and bushy, turned into quite healthy looking little plants. I was almost tempted to save them, but since I've got seven varieties of tomatoes going, and I have no idea what variety(ies) the volunteers might be, i just composted them.

Tomato seeds must be exceptionally hardy! They are never visible to the naked eye in the compost that I plant with that ends up sprouting them. By the time that compost is planted, the seeds have probably been in there six months or more, been through the whole winter, been through the whole composting process, complete with lots of earthworms, pillbugs, etc digesting things. And yet put the compost in the ground and bingo! tomato plants! Amazing!

[Jardin du Fort]

I've been reading "the No Work Garden" by Flowerdew, and he uses an interesting method to eliminate seeds in his compost:

Any seed bearing plant parts go into a bucket or barrel of water and are submerged by a weight for at least a month until they rot. After that they go on the compost pile.

This process is supposed to eliminate almost all of the viable seeds in the compost, not relying on "hot" compost, since some seeds might survive that too.

Just an idea

[applestar]

That's what I call "Drowned Weeds" and have been doing that for a while now. I cover the bucket with folded burlap tied on with a haystring to keep the bugs out but allow the contents to ferment (think sour dough). Fermenting process kills the seeds.

Result is a bubbling olive green sludge that smells remarkably like fresh from the horses behind manure, and REALLY heats up the compost pile.

[Gillybby]

Hi there!
I recently bought a huge bag of mushroom compost from my local hardware store.
I originaly wanted to go to a more local store that wasn't a huge chain, but they're such a long drive away from me :\ All I really did was type "-my city name- buy mushroom compost" into google and a whole bunch of stores came up.

[rainbowgardener]

That's what I call "Drowned Weeds" and have been doing that for a while now. I cover the bucket with folded burlap tied on with a haystring to keep the bugs out but allow the contents to ferment (think sour dough). Fermenting process kills the seeds.

Result is a bubbling olive green sludge that smells remarkably like fresh from the horses behind manure, and REALLY heats up the compost pile.

Per some of our discussions, I decided to try drowning some pulled ivy. Put it in a bucket of water with a few other weeds. I forgot the part about the burlap to keep the bugs out. So now a week later, I have a nasty scummy, buggy mess. I think I will throw it all on the compost pile and try again a different time WITH the burlap! I don't know if a week of drowning will be enough so that the ivy will now break down in the compost pile, but I will give it a try.