composted manure question

[slummunky]

I live on a cattle farm we have around 50 head of cattle so I have all the manure I want...but my question is in the corral we use to feed out the calves there are years of cattle poop on top of poop and so on... the "dirt" in the corral is very dark and rich from feeding round bales of hay and the manure the cattle leave behind, so is this compost? Would the "dirt" be good for spawning...

[xxcportxx]

My FOAF says he may be wrong , but his thoughts on it would be no not to use the composted dirt from that stall.... he thinks that has been composted too long and would do at all or as well for spawning ...... maybe some used with other things for casing ..... but thats an thought..... your best bet I suppose would be to get some poop since you have a ready supply of and compost some.....

[ggod]

The manure enriched soil would be fine. Although I personally would recommend using manure from the pasture. Stalls poop tends to be high in urine and would need to be leached first. If you have any horses, I would also recommend that you use the horse poo instead of the cow poop. Cow poop is fine and will do well. But popular consensus is that horse is better than cow. Not to discount cow.... it will work just fine. Regardless of what you chose to use, be sure it has fully dried/cured first. You do not want to use fresh/green poop. After it is dried, it will smell like earthy soil. And do not use it as casing. Casing are for providing moisture, not for providing nutrients. Good luck, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

[slummunky]

Its not really stall poop its in an open corral out side, it gets rained on and drys out alot it also has leftovers of feild hay mixed in..Ill try to get some pics up..

[ggod]

If you are talking about the poop.... it will be fine. If you are referring to the soil in the coral it would probably be fine as well. BUT, it would be best to use straight poop. Again, if you have horses...... this would be better option. I have cow as well as horse poop. I have not used the cow for substrate but would in a minute if I did not have Hpoo.

Think of the shrooms natural environment. They grow well in poop *enriched* fields. They do not have to grow directly on poop. The only thing the poop does is provide the needed nutes. If you are certain that there is no fresh pee on it, it will be fine. Be sure to pasteurize the substrate for at least 60 minutes at 160*F.

[tbonus]

I've often wondered why hpoo is preferred.I grew up in central Fla and found MANY of shrooms in the wild but NEVER in or around pastures witn horses,only cows.If someone can explain this I'd appreciate it.Thanks

[slummunky]

could I cold water pasteurize for a week for a outdoor tek?

[ggod]

I do not know anything about cold water pasteurizing.

[Irishlion]

Originally Posted by tbonus

I've often wondered why hpoo is preferred.I grew up in central Fla and found MANY of shrooms in the wild but NEVER in or around pastures witn horses,only cows.If someone can explain this I'd appreciate it.Thanks

The reason Hpoo is perfered is because, its light, airy and fiberary, it allows for good moisture retention and its not nearly as dense as cow and cow unless very very well aged tends to be dense and harder to use.

Most cow manure subs unless like I said its very very well aged and field dried tends to end up like a thick muck, if one doesn't use a good amount of straw or coir. With hpoo is can actually be used by itself without straw, granted straw or coir also helps aerate it a bit, you can use it by itself if its nicely shreaded.

[Irishlion]

Originally Posted by slummunky

could I cold water pasteurize for a week for a outdoor tek?

No need to pasterize if using for a outdoor bed, but, it does help and ummmm wasn't aware that there is a cold water pasterization, as I understand it pasterization uses heat of apporximently 140 to 165 degrees. If useing cold water that would just be hydrating not pasterizing.


Pasteurization is a process which slows microbial growth in foods. The process was named after its creator, French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. The first pasteurization test was completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard on April 20, 1862. The process was originally conceived as a way of preventing wine and beer from souring.[1]


Unlike sterilization, pasteurization is not intended to kill all pathogenic micro-organisms in the food or liquid. Instead, pasteurization aims to reduce the number of viable pathogens so they are unlikely to cause disease



The term cold pasteurization is used sometimes for the use of ionizing radiation (see Food irradiation) or other means (e.g. chemical) to kill bacteria in food. Food irradiation is also sometimes called pasteurization.

[slummunky]

Well I guess what I mean is in the past swim has submerged straw and poo mix in water and put a rock on it to keep it down, after a few days under water a nasty flim forms on top its then drained and refilled with clean water over night and then spawned, any bugs or bad guys have been downed out at this point... may be over kill but has worked in the past.

[Soliver]

Well, that certainly is a solid hydration method, but nasty micros would still be in there,
overnight soak or no... all the same, for an outdoor bed, it's not as important and
definitely can't hurt

I frequently use corral poop from a local stable. It's a nice mix of straw and poop that
I shovel from behind the stables, use it in the garden and "other" projects, although
I don't mention those to the curator of the stable.

I've never had any problems with it - the straw is pretty much pulverized by the
horses, so there's no need to shred, etc., and the poop is right in there with it,
so it's into the pillow case, into the turkey fryer (filled with water), cooked, drained
overnight, then spawned. I don't like horses much, or anything that shits while it
walks in general, but I DO love the poo!



soliver

[calicyco]

Cold water pasteurization is the process of using chemicals or biological agents to partially sterilize the sub. There are recipes for this in GGMM, using bleach, soap, lime and yeast fermentation. Steam or heat is preferred, but you can do it cold. I've only done this on straw, but usually use heat.

[slummunky]

forgive my ignorance but whats GGMM?

[Soliver]

Hmmm.. if I recall, it's "Growers Guide to Magic Mushrooms." An old pdf that went around
for sometime... is there a newer version that anyone knows of?



soliver

[Irishlion]

Originally Posted by Soliver

Hmmm.. if I recall, it's "Growers Guide to Magic Mushrooms." An old pdf that went around
for sometime... is there a newer version that anyone knows of?



soliver

Yeah solvier there is a 2.0 of the MMGG (magic Mushroom Growers Guide)

Heres the link to download it


http://uploading.com/files/82JUOLQE/...guide.pdf.html

[greenmeanie]

GGMM is Stamets' Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms.

MMGG is the Magic Mushroom Growers Guide

[slummunky]

Ah yeah! swim remembers that it was swim's second grow guide after of course the origanal PF tek! Remeber that thin book you had to pay an extra 10 dollers for from PF!! ahh the old days!!

[calicyco]

Yeah I was referring to Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms by Paul Stamets. Chapter 18 has the section on cold water pasteurization methods. I always get GGMM and MMGG confused hehe.

Check it out:
http://books.google.com/books?id=jH-...inal+mushrooms

Chapter 18, the section entitled "Alternative Methods for Rendering Straw and Other Bulk Substrates for Mushroom Cultivation."

[slummunky]

Cool, if you read the last two paragraphs on page 177 it explains exactly what I do
"a few days under water a nasty flim forms on top " it calls it a microbial soup! same thing as a nasty film...LOL but thats cool Ill save this link.. Thanks

[Shroomette]

Originally Posted by Soliver

I don't like horses much, or anything that shits while it
walks in general, but I DO love the poo!



soliver

I agree with you ther Soliver. He's more or less just hydrating not pasturizing.

[Lazlo]

"could I cold water pasteurize for a week for a outdoor tek?"

There's no need to pasteurize it. Just get the dark compost from the middle of the pile and use it to layer a bed. Dig out a bed to size 12" deep and then put a layer of soil down on the bottom of the bed 2" thick. Then put a layer of spawn that covers the soil and so on and so on until the bed's full. The last layer should be compost. Don't be afraid of packing the substrate down as you go, as it will settle with time. Packed as you go and a lightly crowned finish product works good.

[slummunky]

Swim thsnks you all for the help and he will be starting this project soon waiting on spawn to finish!! Swim will keep you posted!!