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When the harvest is finished, farmers steam pasteurize everything in the growing room and dispose of the peat moss
and compost that remain. This product is sold as mushroom soil, spent mushroom compost (SMC) or spent
mushroom substrate (SMS). Mushroom soil is great for gardens as a slow release organic fertilizer (2-1-1, pH 6.8)
when mixed into soil or as a mulch one year and a soil amendment the next. With SMC there need be no concern
about heavy metals or pesticides since the compost ingredients have very low levels of heavy metals. Mushroom
farmers have used integrated pest management practices for decades and pesticides are rarely used on mushroom
crops. With steam pasteurization, all weed seeds are dead as are any insects and other pests that might be present.
It is best not to plant or transplant directly into SMC, mix the SMC with soil at 50-50. Many garden centers in southeastern Pennsylvania have SMC available by the truckload or bushel.
Visit our new SMS website http://mushroom-sms.com/ for more information
You may also click on one of the links below:
Industry Suppliers/Sources
Spent Mushroom Substrate: Scientific Research and Practical Applications
Color SMS Brochure
www.mushroomcompost.org
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