Oooh, yes, please...current info, if anyone has it. I want to go soon, too.

Marcia

naomi, where are you? for $24 you can get a bed full of nice, dry, well-decomposed mushroom compost from volusia shed, right off I4 in deland. the stuff you get at monterrey, while free, is still very hot and very wet (so i'm told). at volusia shed, they also offer a potting mix that i think is better than the compost -- it's a mix of mushroom compost, pine fines, and peat. great stuff to till in.

don't drive 20 miles out of your way to save $20 bucks...

Ill, can you send me directions to this spot? I'm thinking it would be closer for me, too, than Zellwood, and I NEED some compost for sure. My neighbors would be happy if it didn't smell.

Thanks!
Marcia

"...mushroom compost, pine fines, and peat..."

That sounds perfect! I'm certain I need LOTS. Could you just top dress your garden with that, kind of like a mulch?

Agreed- That sounds great! It looks like it would be about the same distance for me, 30 min or so. I'm 5 miles from I-4 in Sanford. I would certainly prefer the dry to the wet considering we will be shoveling it and then cleaning the truck afterward. LOL I don't mind spending $20. Are they open on Saturdays? I googled it and it came up w/ 2 different addresses- can you tell me which one is correct-
West Volusia Shed Co - maps.google.com
3030 S Woodland Blvd, Deland - (386) 775-8676

West Volusia Shed Co Inc - maps.google.com
3030 S Volusia Ave, Deland - (386) 775-0041

I guess I could always call tomorrow and just ask! :-)

Thank you!

Maybe I'll see you there Marcia!

Naomi

marcia -- see link below.

kate -- i think in fact that the "potting mix" would make a perfect top dressing, tho other people prefer straight-up mushroom (incl castorp). i find that mushroom compost tends to cake and form clods. the fines and peat prevent that.

let me add that i've read here how people like to buy 20 yards of compost and till it in. maybe i'm wrong, but my reaction to that approach is, well, it's not quite flushing it down the toilet, but...

organic material breaks down SO QUICKLY HERE. rain plus heat plus excellent drainage... equals a waste of money. i'm very conservative with my compost/potting mix. think about all the times you've dug up plants -- they basically root in the top 3-4 inches of soil, in about a six inch diameter area. (that's not true of trees or woody perennials, but it's true of veg and many annuals.) i dole my compost out very sparingly -- a top dressing around a cuke, or maybe i'll dig a hole, toss the sand in a low corner, and fill it with compost.

but my approach emphasizes a lot of top dressing right around the plant. then mulch mulch mulch.

mixing it into the sand is just a waste of money, imho.

Here is a link that might be useful: directions to Volusia Shed

Thanks, Ill. I can see that it would be MUCH easier for me to get up there than go to Zellwood from here. Naomi, I live less than 2 miles from Seminole Towne Center, so you and I are fairly close, it seems like.

Ill, do they sell the potting mix by the bag?

Marcia

naomi -- craziness of craziness, it's the same address -- street is called two things at the point, since it's on the border btwn orange city & deland. they are open saturday, but close at like 2pm. give them a call. it is right south of the i4 exit -- you'll probably drive past it the first time.

marcia -- they don't sell it by the bag, but they sell it by the bucket... when my hellish month is over, i might be enticed, with the promise of some cool plants and a beer, to bring you down a load...

Let me throw in my vote as a Volusia Shed mushroom compost convert. I have not tried the potting stuff yet but that will be next. Once spread, the dogs seem to like to pick through the bigger chunks of the compost for a snack but I figure if I am not kissing them on the mouth, I don't really much care.

Marcia, if Ill man can't get to you by the time you need it, let me know and maybe I can bring you a load instead. I would love to see your garden. I think you can buy a half yard for one half the cost of a yard plus a dollar if you don't need a whole yard. You do NOT want to ride back to Sanford with some of the compost in the back of Victor Willie. It can be some stinky stuff depending on the pile.

Naomi, I would also add that make sure that your truck bed is completely empty since they use a front-end loader to dump it in. It cleans out pretty easily when emptied though. I can vouch for the ease since Tim does all the work! :)

Melissa

Hahahaha...sorry, Melissa, but just thinking about putting the compost IN Victor Willie makes me laugh. Mark would KILL me, first. (He still lives in a fantasy world where that old van is going to be restored!) He has a tow bar that fits on back, and I was planning to rent a utility trailer and tow it to the place.

You guys make me laugh about wanting to see my garden. I swear to you (I'm NOT being modest, here) there is nothing to see right now. I think in another three or four months, it will start to look much better, but I really DID pretty much destroy everything with six months of neglect. My roses are bare...no leaves at all on most. My coleus are GONE. My beds are either empty, or overrun with weeds 3 and 4 feet tall. I'm working like mad to whip it back into shape, but for the time being, there isn't a thing here I'd be proud to show y'all.

I sincerely appreciate the offers to bring me some compost, and if Mark doesn't help me get some next weekend, I just might throw myself on your mercy. I will need a couple of loads at least to build the berm beds in my front area, which brings me to another question: If I want to build up a large berm bed, maybe 18" high or so, can't I just dump the compost right on the spot, and plant directly in it?

Marcia

Monterey Mushroom farm is currently selling a truckload of compost for $5. They are open 365 days/year and you get pick up the compost between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.

According to the literature, it is supposed to consist of cottonseed meal, chicken manure, peat, gypsum and hay. They pasteurize it before and after they use it, which neutralizes the weed seed.

Despite their literature,I believe they are using other types of manure than chicken based on the size. Those would be some big-butt chickens. Well, that and the horseshoe I found in the last batch.

Marcia, you probably can plant directly in it. Remember though, it isn't broken down real well, but will over the summer. If you are planting shrubs and perennials, the level of the compost will drop as it decomposes.

Nancy

Marcia - I thought that might give you a chuckle. Tim complains about it even being in the bed of his pickup. He is a convert though and has become an expert at shoveling the s**t. Actually, I am, too but only figuratively.

Mark already has plenty of practice shoveling s***, as far as I'M concerned! ;o) So he should be good to go!

Nancy, I may end up trying both places to see which product I prefer. My sense of it is that the one in Deland is selling compost that is much more "decomposed" than that from Monterey, so it wouldn't settle as much. But $5 a load is sure a savings over $24, especially if you want to get several loads. Perhaps I might want the stuff from Deland for the berm beds out front (and thus, closer to my neighbors), and then a load of the cheaper, wetter stuff could go in the far back corner of the yard to continue cooking.

Still thinking all this through, but I sure appreciate the input from everyone. Thanks for starting this thread, Naomi.

Marcia (horseshoe????? hahahaha)

I got half mushroom compost+ half something they were calling "black topsoil" (semi-mixed with the loader in the back of the truck) from Volusia Shed and had them deliver it; for the raised veggie bed I made in my front yard. They were very nice people to deal with, and honestly, I'd happily pay the extra to have it brought to my door. The driver put a lot of effort into dumping the load as close to the shell of the raised bed (I made it out of stacked 50 pound sand bags) as he possibly could, so I could just shovel it right in. Next year, I think I'm gonna do the same thing, only lazier - I'll just have them dump the pile of compost, build a wall around it, and call it done - no shoveling! :)
PS. I think it's true what they say about the stuff - even getting smacked down by a late frost and having to start over, the peppers and tomatoes and eggplants in that bed seem to be really, really thriving.

I never even thought about having it delivered. I think I'll have to give these folks a call. That would surely save time and effort on our part. Thanks for the tip,
Karen.

Marcia

Hi all, The cost is $10 for a Pickup or small trailer. The hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 7AM - 1 PM. Come early- it's spring and they sell out each day! Call ahead @ 407-905-4022.
Unless you age it for a few weeks, it is best to turn it in or till, so it isn't full strength. It may be too strong for baby plants!

Babs

Hi I'm in Gainesville and work for a non-profit and one of our programs is building raised bed vegetable gardens for low income families. We go through a lot of soil a year and I am looking at getting mushroom compost from Monterrey but need to find a shipping company to deliver it. I know trucks go in there and pick it up but I am having a heck of a time getting contact information for any of them. Does any have any leads, and does anyone have any opinions about using the compost to fill raised beds? Thanks, Travis.

Can anyone who bought mushroom soil from Monterey before share how big their "bucket" is? I was told by the clerk that is was 5 yards, but given that two different nursery men I dealt with last month had no clue what 1 cubic yard is, I'd like to to get some confirmation from you guys. A standard pickup truck can fit one or two cubic yards while a small dump truck can do 5 or 6. It's quite expensive to hire a dump truck so I want to make sure the trip is worth it. Thanks in advance.

Also besides Monterey, is there any other mushroom soil/compost/manure place closer to Windermere?