Solved: How to Use Spent Mushroom Substrate as Eco-Friendly Soil in Your Garden

Summary

In this episode of 'Just Grow with the Podcast,' host Big City Gardener explores the benefits and various applications of spent mushroom substrate (SMS). He explains how SMS, a byproduct of mushroom cultivation, can enrich garden soil, serve as compost, mulch, animal feed, and even has potential in biogas production and bioremediation. The host encourages listeners to connect with local mushroom growers to obtain this valuable resource and creatively repurpose it in their gardens and farms.

Takeaways

• 🍄 The podcast episode discusses the use of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) in various gardening applications.
• 🌱 Spent mushroom substrate is a byproduct of indoor mushroom cultivation, which can be repurposed in gardening.
• 📈 The medicinal and gourmet mushroom industry has significantly grown in the past five years, partly due to online content creators.
• 🏡 Mushroom blocks are used for indoor mushroom cultivation, and common substrates include oats, straw, wheat, and soybean hulls.
• 🌳 These substrates have garden benefits, making SMS a powerful resource for enriching garden soil.
• 🚮 Indoor mushroom growers often discard the bags after one use to prevent contamination in their growing facilities.
• 🌱 Listeners are encouraged to collect spent mushroom waste from local growers for gardening purposes.
• 🍄 SMS can be used as a fungal-dominated compost to improve garden soil and plant growth.
• 🌳 It can also serve as a mulch, providing organic benefits and potentially growing additional mushrooms in the garden bed.
• 🐔 The substrate can be repurposed as animal feed, particularly for livestock that naturally consume the components like oats or soy.
• 🔁 The concept of using SMS for biogas production or energy is introduced, though not detailed in the podcast.
• ♻️ SMS has potential use in bioremediation, helping to absorb and break down pollutants in soil, improving the quality of farmland.

Q & A

What is the main topic of discussion in this podcast episode?

The main topic of discussion in this podcast episode is the various uses of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) in gardening and other applications.

What is spent mushroom substrate (SMS)?

Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is the material left over after the mycelium has colonized and mushrooms have been harvested from it. It is rich in nutrients and beneficial microbes.

Why is the medicinal and gourmet mushroom industry growing rapidly?

The medicinal and gourmet mushroom industry is growing rapidly due to increased awareness and the ease of cultivation, often promoted by YouTube content creators.

What is a mushroom block and what is its purpose?

A mushroom block is a substrate-filled plastic bag used for indoor mushroom cultivation. It is sterilized and inoculated with mycelium to grow mushrooms.

What are some common substrates used for growing mushrooms?

Common substrates used for growing mushrooms include oats, straw, wheat, soybean hulls, and hardwood pellets.

Why do mushroom growers typically discard the spent mushroom substrate after one use?

Mushroom growers discard the spent mushroom substrate after one use to prevent the introduction of pests like fungus gnats and diseases like trichoderma into their growing environment.

What are five ways to repurpose spent mushroom substrate mentioned in the podcast?

The five ways mentioned are: 1) Adding it to a compost pile, 2) Using it as a mulch, 3) Feeding it to livestock, 4) Potentially using it for biogas production, and 5) Utilizing it for bioremediation.

How can spent mushroom substrate improve garden soil?

Spent mushroom substrate can improve garden soil by increasing the fungal content, which is beneficial for plant growth and overall soil health.

Why is fungal-dominated compost or soil considered beneficial for gardening?

Fungal-dominated compost or soil is beneficial for gardening because fungi help break down organic matter, improve soil structure, and promote nutrient uptake by plants.

What is the potential use of spent mushroom substrate in bioremediation?

In bioremediation, spent mushroom substrate can absorb organic and inorganic pollutants, and the microbes within it can break down these pollutants, helping to restore life to polluted areas.

How can listeners get their hands on spent mushroom substrate according to the podcast host?

Listeners can get spent mushroom substrate by contacting local mushroom growers at farmers markets or through online searches, offering to take their spent blocks for free.

Outlines

00:00

🍄 Introduction to Spent Mushroom Substrate

The host, Big City Gardener, introduces the topic of spent mushroom substrate (SMS), explaining it as the material left over after mushrooms have been harvested. He shares his personal experience with mushroom cultivation and the various substrates used, such as oats, straw, and soybean hulls, which are beneficial in gardens. The host encourages listeners to collect spent mushroom substrate from local growers, as it's typically discarded after one use to prevent contamination. He promises to reveal five different ways to utilize this material in the subsequent parts of the episode.

05:01

🌱 Utilizing Spent Mushroom Substrate in Gardening

The host discusses five innovative uses for spent mushroom substrate (SMS) in gardening and composting. The first use is adding SMS to the compost pile to create a fungal-dominated compost, beneficial for garden health. The second is as a mulch, which can also produce additional mushrooms. Thirdly, SMS can serve as animal feed due to its components like oat husk and soybean hulls, suitable for livestock. The fourth idea is converting SMS into biogas or energy through bacterial digestion, a concept the host has not personally witnessed but finds plausible. Lastly, SMS can be used for bio-remediation, absorbing and breaking down organic and inorganic pollutants in the soil, potentially restoring life to over-fertilized or chemically treated farmlands. The host emphasizes the importance of thinking creatively about mushroom cultivation by-products and encourages listeners to explore local resources.

10:02

📣 Engaging with the Podcast Community

In the closing paragraph, the host invites listeners to engage with the 'Just Grow with the Podcast' community. He asks for comments on the episode's content and thoughts on the podcast itself. The host provides his contact information through his website and social media platforms for further interaction. He also encourages listeners to like, comment, subscribe, and share the podcast with friends. Additionally, he opens up the floor for suggestions on potential interviewees, asking listeners to submit names via email or comments. The host signs off with a reminder of the podcast's mission to grow and improve, both literally and metaphorically.

Keywords

💡Mushroom Substrate

Mushroom substrate refers to the material on which mushrooms are grown. In the context of the video, it is a carbon-rich source like oats, straw, or soybean hulls that are filled into plastic bags for indoor mushroom cultivation. The substrate is sterilized and then inoculated with mycelium, which colonizes the material. The video emphasizes the benefits of using mushroom substrate in gardening due to its nutrient-rich nature.

💡Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS)

Spent Mushroom Substrate, or SMS, is the used growth medium from which mushrooms have been harvested. The video discusses how, after a single flush of mushrooms, many indoor growers discard the substrate. However, it is highlighted that SMS is a valuable resource for gardeners due to its nutrient content and ability to improve soil health.

💡Mycelium

Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a network of fine white filaments (hyphae). In mushroom cultivation, mycelium is introduced into the substrate to colonize it, eventually leading to the growth of mushrooms. The video mentions the process of introducing mycelium into the mushroom substrate as a crucial step in indoor mushroom gardening.

💡Fruiting

Fruiting in the context of mushroom cultivation refers to the stage where mushrooms are induced to grow and produce fruiting bodies (the part we eat). The video describes how mushroom bags are placed in a fruiting chamber with specific temperature and humidity conditions to encourage this process.

💡Fungal Dominated Compost

A fungal dominated compost is a compost pile that has a high level of fungi, which is beneficial for soil health and plant growth. The video suggests using spent mushroom substrate in compost piles to create such an environment, as mushrooms are a fungus and their presence enriches the compost with beneficial fungi.

💡Mulch

Mulch is a material applied to the surface of the soil to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and improve soil health. The video proposes using spent mushroom substrate as a form of mulch, which not only provides these benefits but also potentially allows for additional mushroom growth in the garden.

💡Animal Feed

In the video, the spent mushroom substrate is suggested as a potential animal feed due to its components like oat husk or soybean hulls, which are part of the natural diet for many livestock animals such as chickens, pigs, and goats. This repurposes the substrate into a valuable feedstock.

💡Biogas

Biogas is a renewable energy source produced by the breakdown of organic matter by bacteria in an oxygen-free environment. The video mentions the theoretical possibility of using spent mushroom substrate to produce biogas, although it acknowledges that this is an unexplored idea by the host.

💡Bioremediation

Bioremediation is the process of using organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from a contaminated environment. The video discusses the potential of spent mushroom substrate to absorb pollutants and, through microbial action, break them down, thus cleaning the soil and improving its quality.

💡Medicinal and Gourmet Mushrooms

The video distinguishes between common recreational 'tripping' mushrooms and medicinal and gourmet varieties such as lion's mane, reishi, and oyster mushrooms. These types of mushrooms are grown for their health benefits and culinary uses, and the industry has seen significant growth, partly due to the ease of cultivation demonstrated by online content creators.

💡Fungus Gnats

Fungus gnats are small insects that are attracted to decaying organic matter, including mushroom substrates. The video mentions that discarding spent mushroom bags helps prevent the introduction of these pests into the mushroom growing environment.

💡Trichoderma

Trichoderma is a genus of fungi that can be detrimental to mushroom cultivation as it competes with the desired mushroom species for resources. The video points out that using spent mushroom substrate only once and then discarding it helps to avoid inviting trichoderma into the cultivation area.

Highlights

Introduction to the concept of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and its potential uses in gardening.

The mushroom industry's growth in recent years, attributed to the influence of YouTube content creators.

Explanation of what a mushroom block is and its role in indoor mushroom gardening.

Types of substrates used for mushroom growth, including oats, straw, and soybean hulls, and their garden benefits.

The process of fruiting mushrooms and the common practice of discarding the substrate after one use to prevent contamination.

Encouragement to connect with local mushroom growers to obtain spent mushroom substrate for free.

First use of SMS: Incorporating it into the compost pile to create a fungal-dominated compost.

Second use of SMS: Using it as a mulch, providing organic benefits and potentially growing more mushrooms.

Third use of SMS: Feeding it to livestock as a natural part of their diet.

Theoretical fourth use of SMS: Potential conversion into biogas or energy through bacterial digestion.

Fifth and final use of SMS: Bioremediation to absorb and break down organic and inorganic pollutants in soil.

The potential of SMS to improve farmland health by absorbing pollutants from overly fertilized or chemically treated soils.

The accessibility of mushroom growers at farmer's markets for obtaining spent mushroom substrate.

A call to action for listeners to leave comments and share their thoughts on the podcast.

Invitation for listeners to subscribe to the podcast and share it with friends.

Contact information for the host and social media presence under the name 'Big City Gardener'.

Final reminder to 'just grow it' as the podcast's motto.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

what's up world welcome back to another

episode of just grow with the podcast

i'm your host big city gardener and

today we're talking about different ways

you can use mushroom substrate

spent mushroom substrate or sms so when

you hear me say sms in this episode i'm

not talking about old school text

messaging okay so before we can get into

how to use

sms or spent mushroom substrate let's go

over what it is i've known this for a

while i've been lucky enough to meet

some dope individuals throughout my life

and they've all told me and taught me

different things

a good friend of mine used to be a big

time

medicinal and gourmet mushroom grower

yeah used to grow them on logs used to

grow them on coffee grounds he used to

grow them on soybean holes i mean this

dude has grown mushrooms on everything

so luckily i was able to see this and

learn a lot of this first hand because

i've also grown my fair share of gourmet

and medicinal mushrooms and i'm not

talking about the mushrooms that you pop

that have you tripping and have your

couch talking to you or anything like

that okay i'm talking lions manes

reishi's oysters things like that if you

don't know the medicinal and gourmet

mushroom industry has probably 10xed in

the past five years or so a lot of it

probably has to do with youtube content

creators just showing you how dope and

how easy it is to grow your own

mushrooms now

most mushrooms are grown on mushroom

blocks what is a mushroom block a

mushroom block is what you grow your

mushrooms on and i'm talking indoor

mushroom gardening

so with indoor mushroom gardening you

get these plastic bags you fill these

bags with a carbon rich source this is

your substrate you then sterilize the

substrate and then you

introduce your mycelium into the

substrate and allow it to colonize so

different examples of substrate that

people use include things like oats

straw wheat

soybean holes uh and even things like

hardwood pellets now as a gardener we

know that everything i just named from

the soybean holes to the oak to the oat

husk to the straw to the wheat to all of

that good stuff we all know that those

have benefits in our garden as well and

that's one thing that makes the sms or

the spent mushroom substrate so powerful

and so amazing a lot of indoor mushroom

growers after the mycelium has had time

to colonize these bags now your mushroom

grower he will introduce these bags into

an environment that will make the bags

produce fruit or produce mushrooms this

is called fruiting your mushrooms right

you put it into your fruiting chamber

that's usually a place with extremely

low temperatures in the 50s or so

depending on the strain that you're

growing and it has extremely high

humidity that's why mushrooms usually

pop up and appear after rainstorms

because it's the right combination of

the humidity and the moisture most of

these indoor farmers they will fruit

these bags one time they will throw it

into their chamber they will allow it to

produce or get one flush of mushrooms

off of it and then they will often times

throw out the bag why do they throw out

the bag well because if you leave the

bag in your mushroom garden you're

introducing or you're inviting things

like fungus gnats into your mushroom

garden or you're inviting something

called trichoderma

which is probably the worst thing that

you can have in

any sort of mushroom growing facility so

in order to keep their facility clean

they will often fruit the bags one time

and then get rid of them so what i need

every gardener to do

is to go and locate their local mushroom

grower and tell him that you will gladly

take all of his spent mushroom waste

i guarantee you he will thank you he

will be happy and he probably won't

charge you for it you're doing him a

favor now once you have this sms or

these spent mushroom blocks in your

possession i'm gonna tell you five

different ways that you can use them the

first thing we can do is we can get all

of these bags and throw them into our

compost pile we can allow them to break

down

since mushrooms are a fungus what we

will end up with is a fungally dominated

compost

and if you know anything about gardening

and if you don't let me tell you you

want fungal dominated soil and fungal

dominated compost you will have a much

better garden and get much better

results

if you have high fungus levels or high

fungal levels of soil or compost in your

garden another way the second way that

you could use

the sms the spent mushroom substrate is

by simply using it as a mulch

so get the bags cut them open and just

spread the one to two inch layer on top

of your soil not only will it give you

all of the benefits of organic mulch you

will probably end up getting a flush or

two of mushrooms out of your garden bed

so not only are we protecting our

tomatoes or our broccoli whatever it is

that we're growing we're also gonna get

mushrooms as well the third way that we

could use these mushroom blocks or this

spent mushroom substrate is as a form of

animal feed think about it if we have

things like oat husk or soybean holes in

our substrate

well a lot of animals whether it's

chickens whether it's pigs whether it's

goats or

yeah probably not cows whether it's

chickens pigs or goats these are all

things that are part of their natural

diet so we could easily take these spent

mushroom bags and feed them to any sort

of livestock that we have now i have no

first hand experience with using sms or

spent mushroom substrate as bio gas or

energy but the idea and the concept just

makes sense we could grow certain types

of bacteria that could ingest this

substrate and then convert it into

methane gas

so potentially you may be able to use

this as some sort of energy form i don't

know but like i said

i've never seen it done but like i said

the idea and the concept makes sense so

that means it probably could be done and

i'm sure there are universities that are

out there right now working on things

like this now the fifth and final way

that we can use this sms is in bio

remediation okay so

bringing back life

to an area that is

currently dead or by helping improve an

area that may be polluted or something

so the substrate if we were to apply it

into a polluted area this substrate this

sms has the ability

to absorb organic and inorganic

pollutants

now our microbes can eat the substrate

break down the substrate and in turn

they would be breaking down any sort of

organic or inorganic pollutants that may

have come in contact with that substrate

so let's say for overly fertilized row

crop farms and also for farms that have

used a lot of synthetic

chemical fertilizers and pest control

methods in theory we could take hundreds

and thousands of yards of this mushroom

substrate we should be able to lay it on

top of this soil the mushroom substrate

should be able to absorb the inorganic

and organic pollutants that are in the

soil the microbes should be able to

break down this substrate and we should

be left with farmland that is no longer

polluted again

i've never seen this done but i don't

see why it wouldn't work so

hopefully you listen to this episode and

has you thinking about mushrooms more

importantly it has you thinking about

how can i get my hands on some of these

mushroom blocks or this mushroom compost

with the explosion of farmers markets

all across america and all across the

world i guarantee you if you were to

spend one hour looking online or just

going to your farmer's market and

speaking to your local mushroom grower

he would be more than happy to give you

his spent blocks his sms that's it for

today folks i'm out of here but before i

go you know what i need i need you to

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you think about these episodes let me

know what you think about just grow with

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with me for any reason check me out at

i grow at

bigcitygardener.com that's how you can

email me or you can find me at big city

gardener across all social media

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we out oh almost forgot just grow it

[Music]