i've been using mushroom compost for about 5 years now. for nursery pots i put plain ground bark (southern pines) in the bottom. then i put some shume compost in, then either potting mix, or the waste material from my friend. the waste material is some of everything there. it looks mainly like rich dirt. i then put the bulbs or rhizomes.in, and depending on depth, more waste and then plain ground bark on top. i use this on all my bulbs / iris in pots - which is most of them. so far, so good. i have arthritus and fibromalagia, so pots are easier on me. the m. compost doesn't seen to help roses grow. dissapointing. lamon ready in cairo, ga. > Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:25:07 -0700 > To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > From: janemcgary@earthlink.net > Subject: Re: [pbs] Fertiliser-mushroom compost > > I use very aged, screened steer manure in the garden and vegetable > garden but not on my bulbs or alpines. > > The organic component of my bulb planting mixture is topsoil that I > dig up in my woodland, preferably under alder trees (deciduous and > nitrogen-fixing) and put through a fairly coarse sieve. I pick out > any visible live insects, centipedes, etc. There are, obviously, > microorganisms of many kinds in this humus (and seeds, but there are > few introduced weeds in the woods), but I haven't noticed any > mushrooms coming up in the pots or any rotting. I also use a soluble > chemical fertilizer 4 times a year on the potted bulbs. This has been > effective and seems safe. I repot the bulbs every other year into > freshly mixed soil. > > One thing that I avoid is using any kind of bark with bulbs. The > microorganisms that break down bark and wood chips also appear to > attack the tunics of bulbs, and probably other tissues when they're > dormant in summer. You can see the white filaments (mycelia) in the > bark and also on the non-growing underground parts of plants. Bark is > the main ingredient in commercial potting mixes in this region > (Pacific Northwest), meaning that I can't just order a truckload of > mixed soil and, every summer, have to mix some cubic meters by hand. > > I will now be told that lilies grow fine in bark mix, and they do. I > think this is because (a) they don't have tunics, and (b) they are in > growth in summer, when the bark-eating organisms are active, and do > not attack the actively growing lilies. Most of my bulbs, however, > are dormant in summer. > > I stopped using chicken manure in the garden because a couple of > loads I bought had dead chickens in them, to the disgusting delight > of my Malamutes. I've never used horse manure because of the > well-known weed problem. Mushroom compost was the preferred amendment > when I started the garden, but when we got more information about its > drawbacks, I quickly stopped using it. > > Jane McGary > Northwestern Oregon, USA > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/