In Brief: Is Mushroom Compost Good For Tomatoes?
Growing tomatoes can be difficult if the right components are not readily available. Mushroom compost easily makes up for these and allows for good tomato growth. It offers all the nutrients and minerals your tomatoes need to grow and thrive. Making your own mushroom compost is a great way to guarantee organic purity – we show you how below.
When ripe, tomatoes should be a bright red, attractive fruit without any blemishes.
However, getting such tomatoes could be difficult when certain conditions, such as good soil, the right amount of water, quality light, and good plant food, or nutrients, are not met.
To ensure good tomatoes are obtained, the conditions must sometimes be made favorable using other means.
This article discusses if mushroom compost is beneficial to tomato growth and highlights the reasons why this compost should or should not be used for growing tomatoes.
Contents
Is Mushroom Compost Good For Tomatoes?
Could mushroom compost be beneficial for growing tomatoes, or is this just a hoax being touted around to make sales?
Generally, mushroom compost is made up of a variety of organic materials, such as hay, straw, grains, peat moss, chicken, or horse manure, as well as potash.
It is great for some plants. When it comes to tomatoes, it has so much to offer that it is definitely a good addition if it is properly used when growing your tomatoes.
Mushroom compost tea is another great way to incorporate the benefits of mushroom compost. Here is a quick video showing you how to make mushroom compost tea.
How Does Mushroom Compost Help the Growing Tomatoes?
There are different ways in which this highly dense nutrient supplement helps a growing tomato plant, and we will be discussing them below.
Water Retention
The mushroom compost, firstly as an additive to the soil, aids water retention. This ensures that your tomatoes do not lack water at any given point in time.
In the absence of enough water, the tomato will dry out and will likely be affected by the blossom end rot disease, which deforms its appearance.
This is conveniently avoided with the water retention ability of the mushroom compost. The compost also ensures that, even when you may be unable to water the plants, they still have some water that they can use from the soil.
High Alkalinity and Calcium
Increased alkalinity is another benefit of mushroom compost to growing tomato plants. Some plants require highly alkaline soil to grow effectively, and the tomato plant is one such crop.
Being strongly alkaline in nature, it has a high calcium content, which the tomato plant needs for proper growth.
Lack of adequate calcium in the tomato plant will also lead to an unhealthy tomato. Thus, it supplies the plant with both alkalinity and calcium for strong, healthy, and beautiful tomato growth.
Care must be taken, however, when applying the mushroom compost to seedlings, as the high alkalinity may be a reason for inhibited growth or the death of the tomato plant at that early stage.
Extra Protection
Extra protection is also offered by this compost when it is used as a spray and sprayed on the tomato plants.
Because of its high nutrient capacity and the absence of bacteria due to the preparation process of the compost, the possibility of mold (which affects the leaves of the tomato plant) is completely eliminated.
This ensures that you have beautiful tomatoes at harvest time.
Summary
Mushroom compost is able to supply a good amount of water to the plant, provide highly alkaline soil, is rich in calcium, and offers protection from molds.
Thus, it is obvious that the mushroom compost is good for tomatoes. In addition, it is quite cheap and convenient to use.