Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Fungus in the Compost
Hi All,
Two weeks ago I began composting for the first time, and I have two questions about fungus in the compost: 1. Can I throw poisonous mushrooms (i.e. Amanita virosa) into a compost pile? 2. Can penicillin from citrus molds slow down decomposition by killing microorganisms? Thanks, C.W. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Fungi are one of the mechanisms of a compost pile.
|
#5
|
|||
|
|||
wrote in message oups.com... Hi All, Two weeks ago I began composting for the first time, and I have two questions about fungus in the compost: 1. Can I throw poisonous mushrooms (i.e. Amanita virosa) into a compost pile? 2. Can penicillin from citrus molds slow down decomposition by killing microorganisms? Thanks, C.W. Interesting question about the poisonous mushrooms. I don't know the answer. Do you know how long the toxins last after the mushroom decomposes? Do you use the compost on edible plants eventually? Might be worth a call to your cooperative extension. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Doug Kanter wrote:
wrote in message oups.com... Hi All, Two weeks ago I began composting for the first time, and I have two questions about fungus in the compost: 1. Can I throw poisonous mushrooms (i.e. Amanita virosa) into a compost pile? 2. Can penicillin from citrus molds slow down decomposition by killing microorganisms? Thanks, C.W. Interesting question about the poisonous mushrooms. I don't know the answer. Do you know how long the toxins last after the mushroom decomposes? Do you use the compost on edible plants eventually? Might be worth a call to your cooperative extension. Toxin from poisonous amanita is a protein, but I'm not sure how long it takes to break down. On the other hand, the poison may be a good souce of nitrogen for plants. I plan to use the compost for fruit trees. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
In article .com, wrote:
Toxin from poisonous amanita is a protein, but I'm not sure how long it takes to break down. On the other hand, the poison may be a good souce of nitrogen for plants. I plan to use the compost for fruit trees. According to one source http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/...roscopy-uk.org. uk/mag/artjun00/jpfungi.html the typical amanita cap contains 30 to 90 milligrams of toxin. You'd have to have thousands of them before the toxin would provide enough nitrogran to measure, except with laboratory instruments. -- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com) It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
wrote in message oups.com... Doug Kanter wrote: wrote in message oups.com... Hi All, Two weeks ago I began composting for the first time, and I have two questions about fungus in the compost: 1. Can I throw poisonous mushrooms (i.e. Amanita virosa) into a compost pile? 2. Can penicillin from citrus molds slow down decomposition by killing microorganisms? Thanks, C.W. Interesting question about the poisonous mushrooms. I don't know the answer. Do you know how long the toxins last after the mushroom decomposes? Do you use the compost on edible plants eventually? Might be worth a call to your cooperative extension. Toxin from poisonous amanita is a protein, but I'm not sure how long it takes to break down. On the other hand, the poison may be a good souce of nitrogen for plants. I plan to use the compost for fruit trees. Good luck. Let us know how that goes! :-) |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
(Doug Kanter) says... Interesting question about the poisonous mushrooms. I don't know the answer. Do you know how long the toxins last after the mushroom decomposes? Do you use the compost on edible plants eventually? Amatoxin is a long chain polypeptide that could not be incorporated into a plant without decomposing first. Unless you plan on eating shovels full of compost, it should be safe enough. I think the question was if the mushroom would grow in the compost. Since amanitas are not saprophytes, it is highly unlikely. Amanitas are mycorrhizae, literally "fungus root", that live in symbiosis with tree roots. Compost piles are inhabited by saprophytes, which live by breaking down concentrations of vegetable matter. I once got two years of agaricus campestris, many many pounds, by spreading a manure pile one foot thick and plug inoculating spawn every 3 feet. Every time it rained, they fruited. After a year, lepiotas took over the fruiting, so I spread the compost on my garden and rototilled it in. Every time I watered the garden, I got another crop of meadow mushrooms and lepiotas. -- http://home.teleport.com/~larryc |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
"Larry Caldwell" wrote in message k.net... In article , (Doug Kanter) says... Interesting question about the poisonous mushrooms. I don't know the answer. Do you know how long the toxins last after the mushroom decomposes? Do you use the compost on edible plants eventually? Amatoxin is a long chain polypeptide that could not be incorporated into a plant without decomposing first. Unless you plan on eating shovels full of compost, it should be safe enough. I think the question was if the mushroom would grow in the compost. Since amanitas are not saprophytes, it is highly unlikely. Amanitas are mycorrhizae, literally "fungus root", that live in symbiosis with tree roots. Compost piles are inhabited by saprophytes, which live by breaking down concentrations of vegetable matter. I once got two years of agaricus campestris, many many pounds, by spreading a manure pile one foot thick and plug inoculating spawn every 3 feet. Every time it rained, they fruited. After a year, lepiotas took over the fruiting, so I spread the compost on my garden and rototilled it in. Every time I watered the garden, I got another crop of meadow mushrooms and lepiotas. -- http://home.teleport.com/~larryc Interesting. Thanks! |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
|
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Purple Fungus In Compost? | Gardening | |||
Last year, fungus fungus everywhere | Edible Gardening | |||
Small white/silver worms in potting compost - fungus gnat? Help plse | United Kingdom | |||
Small white/silver worms in potting compost - fungus gnat? Help plse | United Kingdom | |||
funny fungus on compost (passion flower) | United Kingdom |