Mushroom Soil

Hi All: The key here is not mushroom soil, but rather mushroom *compost*
When I first moved to Oregon almost ten years ago both George Shoop and
Bennett Jones took me aside and told me that the secret of their growth
success was mushroom compost and they have not led me astray. When Nancy
and I were preparing the guest beds for the '94 Portland convention we
applied to each of 17 fifty foot rows approximately 10 cubic yards of
mushroom compost along with 10-20-20 fertilizer and granular calcium
sulfate to break up the heavy clay loam soil. This was then tilled with
our 6 hp Troy Bilt to a depth of eight inches, allowed to settle for
about a week and then we planted the guests as they arrived. When there
were situations when tilling was not feasible, the mushroom compost was
applied as a mulch around the iris and any other plant, bush, shrub, etc
without any problem at all. 
When we moved into our new home 4 years ago and moved the 2000 varieties
to a 5 acre parcel we must have used at least 50 cubic yards of mushroom
compost. 
There is a mushroom "factory" in Salem, but they do not sell direct so
we buy it from a dealer.
The net result is that we have never had any problem with it causing rot
or any other problem. The product is still composting when we receive it
but if you work it in well you should have no problem. The compost
should be available from most large gardening shops/nurseries.

Regards
Dave Silverberg,
Molalla, Oregon
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