Worm Castings or Mushroom compost?

use both.best mix is 1 part black hen 1 part black cow 1 part mushroomcompost 1 part worm casting.that should be 20% of soil mix.i got my awsome mix on another forum.ima make a thread.peace

Mushroom Compost.

Certain mycorrhizal companies use mushroom spore inoculants for their products. It would be interesting to get a collection of the spores from the same species they use and make pure compost with coconut coir as the base and make the compost in a similar method. Then create some kind of airating bin to put it in and compost it with seaweed, natural rolled oats, dolomite lime and leaf scraps, rock phosphate, greensand, neem seed, diatomaceous earth etc. And then do another run of mushroom composting to it with thoe same spores.

Yeah it's funny how everyone believes the myth that worms are good for the garden. In reality they actually compete for the same nutrients and rob your soil. Thats what my horticulture teacher at the college says anyways. I don't know what you mean by mushroom compost. Spent substrate? Your better off adding solluble mychorrizae to your soil. The best living soil there is. Mushrooms give off nitrogen and turbo boost your plants and also help to retain moisture. Alot of potting soils are jumping on the bandwagon nowadays but if you go to Paul Stamets (the leading mushroom expert in the world) site, Fungi Perfecti, you can order some mushroom soil additives for cheap.

[QUOTE="Bea.r, post:
Vermiculite for me helps keep the soils from compacting, which they love to do after lots o water.

Forest Humus, mushroom compost, and earthworm castings are the 3 main items in my soil. Dr. Earths soil amendment is added among other things as well.
I think the main benefit with the mushroom compost is how alive it is with the micro beasties herds. The mushroom compost I get has a slight "methane gas" smell to it which tells me that the compost is alive.
My 2 cents...
TMB-

Earthworm castings are the backbone of a good soil....theres really nothing better for your plants than high quality castings. I definitely would not consider growing without it. Mushroom compost on the other hand varies depending on who is making it and I dont think you could just substitute mushroom waste for EWC's without seeing problems.

VirginHarvester said:

So I finally found a place that carries bags of pure Worm Castings and when I went to get it the knowledgeable sounding guy asked what I wanted to grow. I told him "tomatoes, cucumbers, cantelopes, etc".. He said the best things he's ever used especially for tomatoes was Mushroom Compost. It's measurements are something like .5, .5, .2. He said it's amazing and was far better than Worm Castings.

Sooooo, does anyone have any experience with Mushroom Compost or know if it is perhaps too strong or contraindicated for MJ?

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I read an article from a mushroom compost company. In order to grow the mushrooms the sterilize the compost before they plant their mushrooms. They plant them gather the caps, leave the stems and ground them in. Then they take this compost that had been extremely sterilized and let it set a sterilized barn for 2 years to allow the chemicals they use to sterilize it to leave the compost. Then it's ready to sell. I've heard people swear by it even using it 100%no extra soils added. Others say it's terrible and have several reasons they don't use it. I am using it mixed about 73/30 with vermiculite. My plant is really healthy. So I have no complaints.