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Wed, May 25, 11 at 11:44
| I watered the compost pile in the late afternoon yesterday. This morning I found hundreds or perhaps even thousands of mushrooms on my compost pile. I did a search and found that this is a good thing but still had a question. My compost pile is in full sun and the top few inches dry out completely every day. Should I go out and turn the mushrooms into the pile while its still cool before they all become crispy critters? |
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| I searched my "Teaming with Microbes" book for a specific answer, but didn't find one. It is certainly a positive sign that the compost heap has reached the mesophilic phase. I've been composting for years but am no expert--it was only this month that I learned there was "bacterially-dominated" and "fungally-dominated" composts. But I don't think you need to turn those mushrooms in--the fact that they are sprouting suggest the presence of mycellium (mushroom roots) in the pile. I would probably just monitor the temperature and turn it if indicated by that. |
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| The presence of mushrooms in your compost pile indicates that you have a large amount of woody material (fungi digest woody material) with maybe a really moist material mix (fungi need more moisture than do bacteria). There is no really good reason to have a compost pile in the sun unless that is the only place it can go, because sunlight is not needed for digestion. Also, most of the bacterial activity that is digesting the compost takes place toward the center of the pile, not at the edges, so the top "few" inches could be dryer and would not need daily watering. A cover would aid in moisture retention also. |
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