Mushroom Compost The Hidden Killer

[Guest]

Mushroom Compost The Hidden Killer
I recently had a serious altercation with a big bag of mushroom compost. I won but the mushroom compost got a few good licks in. I purchased some mushroom compost a typical bagged variety with the word “organic” on all sides. I had purchased this assuming this was actual composted horse shit plain and simple. Its texture was coarse, the compost seemed to have lots of wood chunks in it. Pretty large wood chunks some being more than 5 centimetres in diameter. I screened out the wood chips dumped them in the outside garden and used the fines or smaller screenings to the indoor. The compost had almost no smell maybe just a little musty. I incorporated it into my soil mix and used some as top dressing for existing plants. Two or three weeks later the plants were so green and lush. I kept seeing black floaters in my field of vision and reminded myself to make an eye doctor appointment. Four or five weeks later it was painfully obvious to me that these were not visual problems but were fungus gnats. Everything was infested, mothers, daughters, flower room, and vegging area all were completely infested. BT, diatoms, pytherins lots of reading and 21 days later all bugs were dead. Reading up on the mushroom compost was a real eye opener this stuff wasn't just infested it was full of fungicides, pesticides, and antibiotics. Whatever the horse was exposed to plus whatever the grower used on the mushrooms. I will not be using this shit (no pun intended) again and will do a little more research before I buy. What exactly does that OMRI label mean anyhow?...sucker with more money than brains?

 

[Guest]

Bro mushroom compost does not have any horse shit in it at all. It's straw sprayed with some sort of chemical mix. Trust me I live right behind a mushroom farm and see how it's made everyday.

I've talked to quite a few outdoor growers around here and they say muchroom compost is the shit. The plants love it. I guess that's b/c they get it straight from the source in truck loads instead of the pre-bagged version?

Sorry to hear about the probs.
GCG

 

[Ganico]

I thought mushroom compost was just mycelium that they composted after it stopped putting out mushrooms?

 

[Guest]

Oddly enough there are different kinds of mushrooms that grow on different mediums. Here the mushrooms are grown on horse shit and straw. Looking at this stuff wood chips are also used. Some mushrooms are grown on wheat hulls and even wood piles.This was horse shit and fungus gnat larvae. The problems are gone. last time my wife saw a truckload of shit in the yard I slept on the couch until it was "gone"

 

[Guest]

What are the guidelines for OMRI label. I know the UL label. The OMRI label seems kinda like lip service.

 

[ElGato]

What are the guidelines for OMRI label. I know the UL label. The OMRI label seems kinda like lip service.

About OMRI
The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) is a national nonprofit organization that determines which input products are allowed for use in organic production and processing. OMRI Listed—or approved—products may be used on operations that are certified organic under the USDA National Organic Program.


OMRI's funding comes from a variety of sources, including sales of publications, grants, donations, and subscriptions. Mainly, however, the organization generates income through fees collected for the review of products intended for use in organic production or processing. Also, OMRI operates an organic seed information service to help growers find organic seeds.

companys have to pay to be "OMRI" listed.......there
are plenty of organic fertilizer manufacturers/suppliers products that are not "OMRI" listed
no pay....no listing
dosent mean the product is good/bad or indifferent....just means it has been certified organic by OMRI

http://www.omri.org/




Gato

 

[Poodo]

Octodiem so do you live by dinosaurs or something what poops a truckload in your yard?

 

[jaykush]

im not a fan of mushroom compost. never have been never will be. ive always seen it as a compost that is used up no real value to it. plus i know what some of the farmers put in it and the stuff is no way organic. stick to real compost youll be better off.

 

[Ganico]

Octodiem so do you live by dinosaurs or something what poops a truckload in your yard?

I'm pretty sure it was a truck

 

[Guest]

I've just gone organic in soil after salts in hydro and have heard mushroom farms spray heavily in part due to gnats. I guess to get rid of any gnats they would have to sterilize the compost...is that then 'organic'? There is some value in mushy compost but mainly, it seems, as a tea additive to promote a fungal dominant tea. I mean gnats are very easy to deal with. Nematodes to start, get some mosquito dunks and break them apart and put the small pieces on top of the medium and should give you a nice long lasting effect. Gnats should really not be a problem. I've learned to laugh at all pests...gnats, thrips and even mites...yawn.

 

[3BM]

Mushrooms and mushroom production vary greatly from company to company. The mushrooms they grow, and the choices of the farmers, impact the compost by-product they produce. Mushroom farming is about making money. If their compost materials cost more than the mushrooms they sell, they go out of business. This means that each farmer builds his business on materials that are available. Manure is a great medium for mushrooms, but may not be available. Restaurant, mill, and lawn waste are commonly used in mushroom production; in urban areas especially. Check with the compost producers to find out the source of their compost.

Raw compost materials are piled high and watered with a runoff of their compost bins (compost tea) along with urea and other fertilizers. Chemicals are often used as the basic nutrient to start the process and feed the mushrooms, however several weeks/months spent composting and then feeding mushrooms means that the remaining material will have gone through a host of chemical changes. Chemical compounds are largely digested by microorganisms and the mushrooms themselves. The heat from early composting largely sterilizes the mix, and after harvest of the mushrooms the medium generally gets processed again. They steam sterilize it and bag an inert product. During storage bags get ripped and contaminants may get in. Look for retailer that turns the bags over regularly, like a nursery supply.

Quality mushroom compost is most certainly nutritive. Because of the sterility concerns in mushroom propagation they toss the medium after every crop. Its not necessary depleted, just not worth the risk. Granted the mushrooms have taken out what they need, but they are by no means heavy feeding. Different organisms want different things, and .5-.5-.5 (the value of mush comp) will serve as a nice base. I personally can produce compost around 5-5-5 but that can be too hot for tender plants.

Well just thought I would add to the already fine discussion going on.

 

[Guest]

A dinosaur wouldn't dare shit here.

A dinosaur wouldn't dare shit here.

I had come to the conclusion that mushroom compost was too full of chemicals to use in anything I consume except mushrooms.

To answer the questions in no specific order:Yes. No. Dinosaurs are extinct here.It was a truck that brought the shit.

OMRI is a Paid for service with very little if any real testing. A promise to start using organic practices sufficient for a label. I guess a promise is better than a poke in the eye. I seem to get poked in the eye often and the damn thing is getting sore. The OMRI label must cost a large amount because products with it cost large amounts.

Fungus gnats suck(and chew) a heavy infestation is bad for the girls. The freezer kills them and the larvae. I don't know about the other potential threats. This mushroom compost may be OK for the flowers but not food or smoke.

 

[Suby]

I keep hearing bad things about mushroom compost.
It seem akin to collecting a greenhouses spent peat or soil, you never know what your going to get.
OMRI as most labels are not a garantee of quality, they don`t certify every bag or bottle so if the company decides to vary content then again it`s a guess at what`s in there at best.

Fungus gnats are always an issue with compost like ammendments, there are a few ways around it.
I for one like to use neem as a preventative step seing as I have had them before, neem took care of it in less than 2 weeks.
Neem foliars are great during veg and early flowering, then I use it lightly in plain water to get eliminate possible offspring from the soil.
If your looking for a better fungal count then resort to using leaf compost from forest soil, it seems pines create some nice fungal compost.

Suby

 

[Guest]

I freeze all my amendments sub zero for 3 days not many critters can stand a sub zero freeze. Fungus gnats will not survive.
Mushroom compost is an excellent fungi starter for soil.
Mycorrhiza fungi spores are readily available and cheap probably organic.
Mycorrhiza and actually works unlike many of the bottled plant additives. There is likely some type of mushroom compost that is free of pesticides and chemicals.
I have a fungus gnat phobia or ptsdd I hate them. Its not so much that they will damage the plants. Heavy infestations will damage your plants. It's the damn things fly up your nose.
I have been making worm castings. Worms are helping. They seem to carry a micro herd of good fungi and bacteria to satisfy the plants.

 

[Guest]

There are lots of safer alternatives to mushroom compost as suby pointed out. Many will not have fungus gnats.

 

[Ganico]

Here the mushrooms are grown on horse shit and straw.

I'd think that horse shit was probably dried, and "leached" of the urea (piss), and if the msuhrooms were for human consumption it would have to be pasteurized before they used it as a substrate to grow the mushrooms on.

Now, they could just be taking the spent colonized subtrate and composting that with horse shit and wood chips though. And selling that as "mushroom compost" But that'd be some shitty compost

I don't really see what the "benefit" of using properly composted mushroom substrate would be anyway. Or is there even supposed to be?

 

[SensimillaWolf]

Well there's obviously a benefit, its composted organic matter. The basic idea is to recycle what was life by feeding it to the soil. Regardless of what form the organic matter took, its usable once composted. To varying degrees based on what constitutes the composted matter, I would assume.

 

[vonforne]

Mushrooms and mushroom production vary greatly from company to company. The mushrooms they grow, and the choices of the farmers, impact the compost by-product they produce. Mushroom farming is about making money. If their compost materials cost more than the mushrooms they sell, they go out of business. This means that each farmer builds his business on materials that are available. Manure is a great medium for mushrooms, but may not be available. Restaurant, mill, and lawn waste are commonly used in mushroom production; in urban areas especially. Check with the compost producers to find out the source of their compost.

Raw compost materials are piled high and watered with a runoff of their compost bins (compost tea) along with urea and other fertilizers. Chemicals are often used as the basic nutrient to start the process and feed the mushrooms, however several weeks/months spent composting and then feeding mushrooms means that the remaining material will have gone through a host of chemical changes. Chemical compounds are largely digested by microorganisms and the mushrooms themselves. The heat from early composting largely sterilizes the mix, and after harvest of the mushrooms the medium generally gets processed again. They steam sterilize it and bag an inert product. During storage bags get ripped and contaminants may get in. Look for retailer that turns the bags over regularly, like a nursery supply.

Quality mushroom compost is most certainly nutritive. Because of the sterility concerns in mushroom propagation they toss the medium after every crop. Its not necessary depleted, just not worth the risk. Granted the mushrooms have taken out what they need, but they are by no means heavy feeding. Different organisms want different things, and .5-.5-.5 (the value of mush comp) will serve as a nice base. I personally can produce compost around 5-5-5 but that can be too hot for tender plants.

Well just thought I would add to the already fine discussion going on.

Great answer 3. As with all products ``Quality`` is the key.

V

I like MC.

 

[Duppy]

I use mushroom compost in place of worm castings in an otherwise soil-free mix. Would I rather still be using castings? You bet! But I cannot find them anywhere around here since my old supplier went out of business.

At less than 4 bucks per bag, mushroom compost is a decent if not spectacular substitute. I've never had any problems with pests.

I keep the amount pretty low - less than 15% of the mix. Otherwise it tends to make the mix way too heavy and clumpy.

I know what you're thinking, and you're right - I should get some worms and make my own castings. Maybe someday. But for now, I'll use what I can get.

 

[swampdank]

i cannot do with out my mushroom compost. ive tried alot of different types and found that the commercial black velvet brand is superb.