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Sun, Jun 5, 11 at 17:18
| My compost pile was started with roughly 65 percent wood chips and 35 percent leaves. I keep it moist and continue to add greens. The greens have viable seeds in them. I have also broadcasted thousands of viable seeds from Flowers to Sunflowers to Squash. The pile is not hot and produces lots and lots of mushrooms. However no seeds no not even one has germinated.
Is this normal for a fungus dominated compost pile? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by TheMasterGardener1 none (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 11 at 19:13
| Yea. Fungus like wood rooting. You have way too much wood. I make compost from only kitchen scraps. |
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| thisisme, do you mean no seeds are germinating in the pile itself, or after you spread it? I'm quite possibly missing something in your post, but just want to clarify! Some seed doesn't germinate in 'fresh' compost, but squash loves growing in my compost heap... I don't think high ratios of carbon should interfere with germination; it'll break down slowly, but it will still break down. I'd rather have a slow, carbon-heavy pile than risk a stinky, ammonia off-gassing monster that makes the neighbours think compost's gross. |
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| Sorry feijoas, I will try to clarify. Nothing germinates in the compost pile itself. |
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| Nothing should be germinating in an actively digesting compost pile. If plant seeds do germinate in a compost pile it is not actively being digested. That your compost pile produces lots of mushrooms may indicate it it too wet to be actively digesting, either by fungus or bacteria and that can also keep seeds from germinating. If you are making a "fungal" dominated compost why are you tryin to germinate plants that prefer to grow in a bacteial dominate medium? |
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| kimmsr thanks for posting. What you said makes a lot of sense. I have heard a lot of people talk about how well some things have grown in their compost pile. Given that I decided to give it a try. I did not say I knew what I was doing. I guess things will have to compost down a lot more before anything will grow on the mushroom heap. |
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- Posted by tropical_thought San Francisco (My Page) on Fri, Jun 10, 11 at 11:53
| Do you want seeds to germinate in the pile? Normally if you use the compost on the soil, then the seeds will germinate if that is what you desire. |
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