Mushrooms and racing

Turn-To Fan · Postby **Turn-To Fan** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:40 pm

A good use for all that soiled straw...

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... dex=161694

Crystal · Postby **Crystal** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:56 pm

we have guys who hauls it to the farmers out of here by 18-wheeler. Anybody wanting some just let me know.. more then enough for everyone.

KBEquine · Postby **KBEquine** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 2:39 pm

We "share" ours with a neighbor - he also likes the sawdust-and-manure version (which he doctors with lots of lime) because it keeps the soil loose & his potatoes are easier to dig out.

Man's got the world's best garden & we get veggies in exchange for what we clean out of stalls . . .

Hold Your Peace · Postby **Hold Your Peace** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:49 pm

And there's the old joke that trainers should treat owners like mushrooms.

"Keep 'em in the dark and feed them a lot of sh*t."

majxmom · Postby **majxmom** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 11:00 am

The mushroom farm actually pays the Alameda County Fairgrounds to take all of the bedding out. We have a lot of rules, though. ABSOLUTELY NO shavings mixed in at all; big fine for that since the mushroom farm can reject the whole load. People have to be very careful not to put any trash in there, also.

going4stamina · Postby **going4stamina** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 7:00 pm

I'm using red wiggler worms to vermicompost stable waste for veggie garden amendments. The only concern is de-wormer. Ivermectin claims that sunlight inactivates it, so I let it sit in the sun for a while before giving it to the worms.

Lone Star Park's bedding goes to a regular composting company, a few years ago I was in Saratoga and they said theirs was going to a mushroom farm.

Tucumcari · Postby **Tucumcari** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 7:41 pm

Was there not a supplement not long ago that was made of mushrooms?
I am all for magic mushrooms in whatever facet we can use them lol

monicabee · Postby **monicabee** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:41 am

I havent got into large scale vermicomposting but using somewhat aged manure/shavings as a base and feeding kitchen scraps all winter produced the best tomatoes this year. - as opposed to straight composted manure with no worms or garden soil - the other options I tried.

I wondered about the Ivermectin too - but I think the feed through wormers are more of a problem.

Now I have a lot of worms and could do something larger scale - but not enough to cope with the output of 16 horses at my friends barn where I board. If they could I'd be a hero!

The Olympic facility in Hong Kong had a model vermicomposting system with misting and fans to keep the temperature optimal. Here in the Pacific Northwest no such care is required - though if you were interested in efficient production of worms or byproduct you would probably house the system inside.

Edited to add: That supplement you mentioned is probably Mushroom Matrix - I wrote about it before the Olympics last year:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/ar ... 141023.asp

I also wrote about the worms - I had no idea most earthworms were not native to America!

http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/ar ... 140601.asp

going4stamina · Postby **going4stamina** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:29 am

Monica--I am doing mid-scale vermicomposting. I am an organic gardener first--and others started asking why my gardens were going bonkers. They talked me into selling a product I call Worm Wine (TM), which is an organic soil amendment (Worm Compost Tea). I also sell worms. I started having way more demand than worms or vermicompost--so I have expanded my operations and ventured onto the web too.

Check it out...www.txwormranch.com

and most of you will probably get a kick out of this "horsie" blog I used to introduce the Texas Worm Ranch--you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the horse out of the girl

http://blog.txwormranch.com/2009/08/20/ ... ranch.aspx

There are some good resources for large scale vermicomposting using horse waste. If there is more interest, let me know and I will give some links. Would love to have others using this waste for good purpose!

monicabee · Postby **monicabee** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 12:32 pm

I got a kick out of the ranch concept - it reminded me of a joke told me by a Welshman, involving, of course, a Texan.

As he looked out at the rocky hillside farm in Wales, a visiting Texan boasted that it took him all day to drive across his ranch.

The Welshman responded that he couldn't even cross his in a day, and pointed down to the broken-down old truck outside the cow shed.

I am guessing I have a few thousand head of worms after a bountiful summer - but in vermiculture, that makes me like the Welshman!

Still, I for one would be interested in your links!

going4stamina · Postby **going4stamina** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:22 am

That's a good one, Monica!

Colorado State has a good PDF on managing large scale equine waste (and doesn't just one horse produce large scale equine waste!) by vermicomposting.

Here is the info:
http://equineextension.colostate.edu/fi ... osting.pdf

I plan on staying local until at least spring, but then might ship. If anybody thinks they might want to try this, PM me or email me through my website and I could recommend a worm supplier in your area. If you aren't a gardener or don't find a local market for your compost or can't use it on your own gardens, pastures, yard or landscape, (I bet you easily can) I could probably help. I could find a local community garden in your area that might be able to use it, or I might be able to find a larger scale organic farm that might be able to use it.

This is a fairly easy way to not only use your waste, but possibly make a little money on it. Now--This isn't like buying ostrich eggs and the promises of becoming a millionaire off of raising ostriches :roll:

, but even if you don't plan to sell vermicompost, most of us can use affordable soil amendments. Rather than thinking it is a get rich quick scheme (I wouldn't think that, if I were you), you can start with any quantity of worms that is reasonable, have reasonable expectations, and do something good for the planet at the same time. Oh yeah, and vermicomposting does not produce methane, so it also helps the air quality.

going4stamina · Postby **going4stamina** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:19 am

OK--the horse industry is in a downswing, but when life gives you horse manure, you can make compost out of it (or grow mushrooms!). Anybody seen what gourmet mushrooms go for--good grief!

Anyway---this morning, probably the most respected vermicomposter on the continent had a horse waste blog--with video from a large scale vermicomposting company:

http://www.redwormcomposting.com/reader ... omposting/