Laying or filling the compost to carry out phase 3 (tunnels, shelves, containers, bags)

The optimal filling consistence of compost with a standard humidity for mycelium growth is about 0,5 tons per cubic meter. That is, per one cubic meter of mushroom cultivation area, at a layer height of 20 cm, about 100 kg of compost is filled. Most likely, the parameter of compost filling consistence is placed into the memory of mycelium by the natural conditions for mushroom growth in rich organic soil. This consistence is conductive to the creation of necessary water-air balance in the layer of compost for the growth of mycelium. The effort used for filling the spawned compost into the area where mushrooms will be cultivated depends on the quality of this compost. And most importantly, on its humidity. Obtaining the necessary consistence of dry compost is not very easy, and conversely, using overly humid compost can have a negative effect on mycelium growth in the future.

Bags with spawned compost
The uniformity of filled compost consistence has to be maintained in the whole volume of compost. It's especially important when using a shelf system of mushroom cultivation. Often, on the shelves there are areas left, where this consistence is too little. These areas cause serious problems later on.

A mushroom yield from one square meter is related to the amount of nutrition, that is, the amount of compost in this square meter. Basically, the more nutrition there is in an area unit, the bigger yield it brings. But in reality, we can't continue increasing the amount of compost on a square meter to infinity. A rise in the compost temperature during mushroom growth is one of the problems caused by excess amount of compost. If a compost layer is too big, it will be practically impossible to cool it down to optimal temperatures. Mycelium might die.

At the same time, this ratio is used while cultivating mushrooms in bags, shafts and caves. Taking into account the low temperature in these places, the bags are filled with more compost then when cultivating at normal conditions, in order to maintain a high temperature in the bags and to accelerate mycelium growth in the compost. The second reason for the limitation of compost amount per area unit – is the time limitation of mushroom fruiting. We can't harvest mushrooms to infinity, because of the culture's deterioration, the buildup of metabolism products and various diseases and pests in the growing room. The compost will have to be thrown away before it could perform all its abilities.

The surface of compost should be as even as possible. This will considerably ease the application of casing material on grown compost and economize the time and effort while carrying out this technological operation.