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  • From: Harvey Ussery <huboxwood@earthlink.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Don't forget the fungi (was: Soil building)
  • Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2006 12:40:46 +0000

I'm working on beds for next season with Materials On Hand, and would
like suggestions on whether there is anything in particular that is way
out of balance.

I'm layering:

Cardboard
Feed Sacks
Fresh Horse Manure
Composted Goat Manure
Wood Chips
Last year's compost
Leaf mould Hu-more (a commercial product containing humate) Plastic sheet over all

Am I missing anything obvious for getting the best soil in the shortest
time? ~Laurie Ann

One thing you might consider, Laurie Ann, is to add some fungi to the above mix. Depending on species chosen, time of year inoculated, and other factors, mushroom mycelium could do with the above materials what it so much loves to do--slurp it up as nutrients (and producing edible/medicinal mushrooms for you as byproduct) and converting residue to rich soil.

See Paul Stamets' latest book MYCELIUM RUNNING--I'm really fascinated with some of his ideas for using mushroom species as decomposers of things we have all too great a tendency to regard as "wastes." If you go to PS's website

www.fungi.com

you can find a source for a number of different species, and order his "mushroom patches" for spawning in different habitats/substrates in the homestead. This spring I ordered spawn for blewitts, king or wine-cap stropharia, coprinus comatus, and elm oyster mushroom--spawned into garden, woods edge, etc. Just a start on what I anticipate is much experimentation with fungi here.

~Harvey
--
Harvey in northern Va
www.themodernhomestead.us



  • [Livingontheland] Don't forget the fungi (was: Soil building), Harvey Ussery, 08/03/2006

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