Sawdust as mulch and myco

svalli · July 21, 2009

I have used the MycoGrow soluble for all my potted plants, in my garden and flowerbeds. I planted new hostas early May and put MycoGrow directly to the planting hole. The area was mulched with coarse sawdust previous fall. I noticed now that there are mushrooms growing next to the new hosta. It could be from the MycoGrow or some local mushroom (I am not good identifying them), but anyways sawdust seems to be good mulch for mycorrhizal. We cut some trees for firewood this week, so I spread the fresh sawdust under my zucchini and over a flowerbed. I have read that sawdust is not good mulch, because it ties nitrogen from soil when it decomposes and that's why I hesitated earlier using it.

I hope I'm doing the right thing.

amideutch · July 21, 2009

I don't think your going to get mushrooms from the MycoGrow. But the sawdust mulch probably set up a favorable environment for mushroom spores to grow in. This past 2 weeks I've noticed mushrooms coming up in my grass, especially in the moist areas. Normally we don't get the mushrooms till the fall and attribute this to the wetter than normal July we are having. Ami

svalli · July 22, 2009

Our July has been quite dry and that's why I was surpriced to see mushrooms. Our grass is yellow and some flowerbeds got so dry that water just runs on the surface.

I found pictures of some of the myco species in the MycoGrow. Most of them seem to be such round globes, the ones by the hosta have stem and flat 'hat'.

dice · July 22, 2009

I used MycoGrow Soluble on all of my tomato, zucchini,
and some perennial seedlings. No mushrooms.

Fungi that produce mushrooms do like decaying wood
products, though. Growing on a decaying log is standard
practice for many of the edible mushroom kits that one
can buy.

If you mix sawdust into the soil, that can induce nitrogen
drawdown, because of the high carbon content in sawdust.
I do not know how much of that affect one would have
using it as mulch, though. It seems like that effect would
be restricted to a few centimeters of depth on top of the
soil.

habitat_gardener · July 22, 2009

If I had sawdust to use as a mulch, I'd use it under shrubs or trees, or on perennials (including tomatoes), not on annuals, since annuals prefer a bacterial-dominated soil, and wood products nurture a fungal-dominated soil. (Mycorrhizae are good for all, though.) But I'd probably mix it with other materials first, such as coffee grounds or ramial wood chips. The mixture would help keep water flowing through -- I've seen that coffee grounds spread more than a quarter inch or so form a hydrophobic layer.

I also assume the mushrooms are from the sawdust, not from the mycogrow. I often see a slime mold called "dog vomit slime mold" during the rainy season where I've mulched with ramial wood chips.

July 21, 2009	#1
svalli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63° Posts: 838	Sawdust as mulch and myco I have used the MycoGrow soluble for all my potted plants, in my garden and flowerbeds. I planted new hostas early May and put MycoGrow directly to the planting hole. The area was mulched with coarse sawdust previous fall. I noticed now that there are mushrooms growing next to the new hosta. It could be from the MycoGrow or some local mushroom (I am not good identifying them), but anyways sawdust seems to be good mulch for mycorrhizal. We cut some trees for firewood this week, so I spread the fresh sawdust under my zucchini and over a flowerbed. I have read that sawdust is not good mulch, because it ties nitrogen from soil when it decomposes and that's why I hesitated earlier using it. I hope I'm doing the right thing. __________________ "I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson

July 21, 2009	#2
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	I don't think your going to get mushrooms from the MycoGrow. But the sawdust mulch probably set up a favorable environment for mushroom spores to grow in. This past 2 weeks I've noticed mushrooms coming up in my grass, especially in the moist areas. Normally we don't get the mushrooms till the fall and attribute this to the wetter than normal July we are having. Ami __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!'

July 22, 2009	#3
svalli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63° Posts: 838	Our July has been quite dry and that's why I was surpriced to see mushrooms. Our grass is yellow and some flowerbeds got so dry that water just runs on the surface. I found pictures of some of the myco species in the MycoGrow. Most of them seem to be such round globes, the ones by the hosta have stem and flat 'hat'. __________________ "I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson

July 22, 2009	#4
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	I used MycoGrow Soluble on all of my tomato, zucchini, and some perennial seedlings. No mushrooms. Fungi that produce mushrooms do like decaying wood products, though. Growing on a decaying log is standard practice for many of the edible mushroom kits that one can buy. If you mix sawdust into the soil, that can induce nitrogen drawdown, because of the high carbon content in sawdust. I do not know how much of that affect one would have using it as mulch, though. It seems like that effect would be restricted to a few centimeters of depth on top of the soil. __________________ -- alias

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July 22, 2009	#5
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	If I had sawdust to use as a mulch, I'd use it under shrubs or trees, or on perennials (including tomatoes), not on annuals, since annuals prefer a bacterial-dominated soil, and wood products nurture a fungal-dominated soil. (Mycorrhizae are good for all, though.) But I'd probably mix it with other materials first, such as coffee grounds or ramial wood chips. The mixture would help keep water flowing through -- I've seen that coffee grounds spread more than a quarter inch or so form a hydrophobic layer. I also assume the mushrooms are from the sawdust, not from the mycogrow. I often see a slime mold called "dog vomit slime mold" during the rainy season where I've mulched with ramial wood chips.