Mushrooms- peat free?

[hamamelis]

I'd really like to grow my own field mushrooms, and got hold of some spores a bit ago cheap- problem is, I don't want to use peat, and every instruction I can find starts by telling me to get some.. Is there something else I can use?
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Alison]

Don't know about that but do know that mushrooms are very temperental and will only grow where and when they want to regardless of what you want. At times they'll crop up when not expected but you can't easily force them. We've pretty much given up cultivating them and rely on wild foraging instead.

[Snadger]

Mushrooms are a fungus and usually grow on part rotted vegettation like peat. Other peat substitutes like soil conditioner made from refuse should work just as well.

If you think about it, the field mushrooms aren't grown in peat but well rotted horse muck seems to be their favoured medium?

[Two_Sheds]

I got mushrooms growing out of my bark-chipping path

You can make your own mushroom compost if you like a challenge (scroll to the end of the article to see the basic recipe) : How to Make Mushroom Compost - Mushroom Compost Part 3

[hamamelis]

Thanks! I'd say I'll give that compost mix a go, but it's clearly not going to happen, as it's far too complicated... I might just try with some horse muck, see what happens.

[planetologist]

Commercial mushroom growers don't use peat, so of course it's possible. My undergraduate thesis says straw+horse manure, chicken manure and gypsum in the ratios 1:0.13:0.03. From memory only, I think the chicken manure is used because it has a higher nitrogen content, and gypsum to decrease the pH. Presumably if you leave out the chicken manure you might get a lower yield, but it's possible that if you leave out the gypsum you won't get a yield at all.