Plant and mushroom growth medium

Abstract

A growth medium for plants or mushrooms, the medium comprising sugar cane mill mud and non sphagnum-peat material selected from the group consisting of a non-sphagnum peat and coconut fibre.

1 . A growth medium for plants or mushrooms, the medium comprising sugar cane mill mud and a non sphagnum-peat material selected from the group consisting of a non-sphagnum peat and coconut fibre.  
   
   
       2 . The growth medium of  claim 1  wherein the ratio of sugar cane mill mud to non sphagnum-peat material is between about 1:1.4 to about 1:2 parts by weight.  
   
   
       3 . The growth medium of  claim 2 , wherein the ratio is about 1:1.4.  
   
   
       4 . The growth medium of  claim 1  having a composition as defined in Table 1.  
   
   
       5 . The growth medium of  claim 1 , wherein the non sphagnum-peat material is a non-sphagnum peat.  
   
   
       6 . The growth medium of  claim 5 , wherein the peat is sedge peat.  
   
   
       7 . The growth medium of  claim 1 , wherein the non sphagnum-peat material is coconut fibre.  
   
   
       8 . The growth medium of  claim 1  which is in the form of a casing soil composition.  
   
   
       9 . The growth medium of  claim 8 , which further contains about 65 to about 75% wt/vol water.  
   
   
       10 . The growth medium of  claim 9 , which further includes an additive selected from the group comprising a fungicide, insecticide, a nematicide, a wetting agent and a pH controlling agent.  
   
   
       11 . The growth medium of  claim 1 , which further includes about 30 to about 80 wt % of an inert filler.  
   
   
       12 . The growth medium of  claim 11 , which includes between about 60 to about 70% of an inert filler.  
   
   
       13 . The growth medium of  claim 11 , wherein the inert filler is bagasse.  
   
   
       14 . A potting mix comprising about 1.7 parts by weight sedge peat, about 1 part by weight sugar cane mill mud and about 4 parts by weight bagasse.  
   
   
       15 . A top dressing material comprising about 1.7 parts by weight sedge peat, about 1 part by weight sugar cane mill mud and about 2 parts by weight bagasse.  
   
   
       16 . A method of preparing a casing soil composition comprising mixing about 6.25 parts by weight sedge peat or coconut fibre with about 3.75 parts by weight sugar cane mill mud, adjusting the pH to between about 6.7 to about 7.2 and adding water to adjust the moisture content to about 75%.