Understanding The Composting Process for Button Mushrooms.

Mushroom cultivation is an art and science. When it comes to fungi cultivation basic techniques behind this science must be understood and adopted for a successful crop. Compost making for button mushrooms cultivation is one of the key areas that highly determines the success or the failure of the project.

Understanding levels of nitrogen needed in the compost, levels of carbohydrates, Ph levels, greasiness of the compost, and availability of minerals in the compost are some of the basic information that a cultivator must be equipped with for the success of the project. This article discusses most of these factors and the reasoning behind them.

Why Do We Compost?

Button mushrooms are compost loving mushrooms. This mean they will only thrive well if good quality compost is provided. By-products used for mushroom cultivations are structured with cellulose and lignin components.

Button mushrooms can’t utilise the cellulose and hemi-cellulose but can use lignin and proteins. By composting we convert cellulose and hemi-cellulose to microbial proteins. Lignin is not used by these microbes during decomposition process hence the final output is microbial proteins and lignin which can be utilized by button mushrooms mycelium.

Carbohydrates in the compost

The agricultural by-product used provides the compost with carbohydrates. Although these by-products are used, they take time to release the carbohydrate due to their complex form. To initiate decomposition and provide the microorganisms responsible for decomposition with sugars, wheat bran, molasses, or rice bran are supplemented. The supplementing material must have simple sugars, which dissolves in water rapidly to initiate the decomposition process.

Proteins In the Compost 

Animal waste, specifically horse or chicken manure are highly preferred due to their high level of nitrogen. Normally, manure used only contains 2-3% nitrogen, which is utilized at the being of the composting process. To maintain a steady supply of nitrogen in the compost, supplementation with nitrogen based fertilizers is done. Urea, C.A.N, or Ammonium nitrite are some of the fertilizers used. The nitrogen content on these fertilizers is 23-46%, which enough to complete the decomposition process. The nutrients in this synthetic fertilizers are quickly released than those in animal manure, which are complex and released slowly.

Minerals in the compost

Muriate of potash and superphosphate are used to provide minerals in the compost. Animal manure contains lots of minerals and if used, supplementation is not necessary. Minerals help correct deficiency during mushroom growth. Most of these minerals are what a consumer is after when feeding on a mushroom meal.

Conditioning the compost

Compost conduiting means providing suitable conditions for the button mushroom to be spawned in the substrate, by adding conditioners like calcium carbonate and gypsum. The conditioners are preferably added during the last days of turning. Gypsum helps aerate the compost by removing the greasiness and excess water in the compost. Sulphur and calcium are also essential nutrients that are supplied by adding gypsum.

Calcium carbonate regulates the Ph of the compost providing perfect conditions for the mycelium to thrive.