The EPA is killing the environment?!?
As we speak environmentalists are helping to kill backyard gardening one mushroom farmer at a time. First let me start by giving you a little background…
Did you know mushrooms are Pennsylvania’s largest cash crop? So much so that PA is the leader in mushroom production for the entire United States. Pennsylvania mushroom growers dominate the industry so much that they consistently account for more than half of total mushroom production nation-wide.
Mushrooms grow in ‘mushroom houses’ in soil that is normally a mix of peat moss and some type of manure. After the mushrooms have been grown in this soil the spent soil or “mushroom compost” is then put into piles near the mushroom houses which is then sold off to garden centers who in turn sell it to backyard gardeners. Us gardeners will then buy this mushroom compost as it’s extremely nutrient rich and usually very cheap. It’s a great way to help a gardener get started.
Now for the fun…
Last night I met with a mushroom grower in south eastern Pennsylvania. For the last 85 they have been ’staging’ their extra mushroom compost behind their mushroom houses on THEIR land that THEY OWN. They stage it there until they sell it to gardeners like myself or other customers(their largest customer is actually scotts, the people who make miracle gro soil, a little fun fact). NOW however, the EPA has come in and said, “you can no longer stage your mushroom soil, you now have to pay to have it hauled away and ‘properly disposed of’”. This is absurd, they have been doing this for EIGHTY FIVE years. All of a sudden it’s a problem? They were selling their compost to people who would then use it to GROW THEIR OWN FOOD. Are these environmentalists really helping the environment by making it harder and more expensive to grow your own?
All for what? because they think think this mushroom soil might be leeching excess nutrients into the ground. OH NOES, mushroom farmers are leeching fertile nutrients into the ground!
Every business is hurting in this economy, way to kick them while they are down…
Mushroom compost is GREAT for your garden. It’s a wonderful way to get started with good loose fertile soil. If your interested in any mushroom compost contact me. It won’t be long before it’s MUCH more difficult to come by.
Filed under: Freedom and Liberty, Homesteading
Do you purchase it by the pound?
It’s usually purchased by the bag at places like Lowe’s or Home Depot. If your lucky enough to know a mushroom grower you can get it by the truckload for the same price that you would buy a bag from the store. I find it interesting that they make miracle gro soil out of the stuff. That shows you how good it is for your garden.
I’m my area they charge around $3 for a bag, but I’ve heard of places further away from mushroom country charging about $8 a bag.
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I know someone who has been recently in trouble with the EPA - they have been dishonest and unethical. Who do they answer to? Who is their watchdog? Do you have other stories or information on them? I’d love to see someone go and test the run off from their offices - I’d bet they’d find enough toxins to slap them with a few violations. When did they go from being the good guys to the gestapo that no one can question?