Re: Louisiana Seeds? Mushroom Compost?
- To: i*@rt66.com
- Subject: Re: Louisiana Seeds? Mushroom Compost?
- From: L* P* <p*@peak.org>
- Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 14:21:02 -0700
Donald Mosser wrote...(some deleted...)
>Third note: I just purchased some of that mushroom compost that I've heard
>some of you mention on the IRIS-L. This stuff must have gold dust in it
>considering the price. Is it primarily beneficial because of it's soil
>lightening and moisture retention properties, or does it have other benefits
>as well?...
>A visitor of a northern persuasion recently described my garden soil as
>"beach sand". I agree that my soil is sandy, but I've been adding all the
>compost and horse manure I can get my hands on. Nevertheless, with the heat
Our soil reverts quickly here also in the rainy northwest!
If your soil is extremely sandy, you might want to consider getting a load
of loam if it is available and not too expensive, but you want some "fluffy
stuff" (less decayed organic matter) as well.
Our local (Benton Co, Oregon) extension soil scientist once cautioned in a
talk that mushroom soil tends to have a high salt content. It is, if
"spent" (used in mushroom production) mostly rotted manure and decayed
straw. One of its best virtues is that it is quite weed-free, having (if it
is genuine) been thoroughly steamed and cooked. Many gardeners here use it
sparingly as a mulch or top-dressing for a mild shot of nutrition and weed
control. Because it is also thoroughly decayed, it does not tend to rob the
soil of nitrogen the way less-decayed amendments can. Thus it is an ideal
amendment for a new bed where you need goodies that are immediately
available to the plants and if tests do not reveal excess salt.
The longest-lasting organic soil amendments that I know of are shredded oak
leaves, sawdust, or peat. Extra nitrogen may need to be added to counteract
the nitrogen consumed by organisms during decomposition. The ideal
situation is a balance of fiber such as the cellulose from woody things with
the other goodies that are the product of decomposition.
For this reason I like to use varied amendments. The mushroom soil used to
be dirt cheap (eek, bad pun!) here until it got to be popular. Now I use
rotted sawdust, mint straw, thieved oak leaves, and all my own junk from
pruning and weeding. In the fall I go around the oak tree neighborhoods and
pick up the leaf piles that people leave out in the street on special days
for the garbage. Shredded with my mower and allowed to decay a bit, this
oak leaf mold lasts longer than anything else.
Another aspect for rainy areas: a generous top-dressing can prevent the rain
from compacting your soil excessively or in the case of sandy soil
percolating through it too quickly. Bearded iris, however, can rot more
easily if there is too much moisture retention and do best in a mineral soil
relatively free of organic matter. They thrive in sandy or silt-loam! The
soil used in the production fields at Schreiners and some of the other big
growers of TB's nearby is silt-loam with no organic amendment, but they do
rotate the iris with other crops and grow them on slightly raised ridges for
enhanced drainage.
Louise, the leaf-thief
Louise H. Parsons <parsont@peak.org>
listowner, Alpine-L,the Electronic Rock Garden Society
Corvallis, OR USA USDA zone 7 , Emerald NARGS, AIS, SIGNA, SPCNI,
"A Sensitive Plant in a garden grew,
And the young winds fed it with silver dew." Shelley
http://www.peak.org/~parsont/rockgard/
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