Harte Casing Soil

Peat for Mushroom Casing Purposes

Harte Peat has been producing Casing Soil mixes since 1987. The success of our business has been built on meeting our customers expectations in relation to product quality, mix quality and freedom from disease.

We produce over 100,000m3 of casing soil each year and export up to 80% throughout the world. Wheather growing mushrooms on bags, trays, blocks or shelves Harte Peat can provide a mix to meet your requirements.

Harte Peat Mushroom casing Soil, depending on the growing system in use, is made up of a blend of Wet and dry Black Peat, wet or Dry Brown Sphagnum peat and either Limestone Flour or Spent Sugar Beet Lime (SSBL) or a blend of both to adjust pH above 7.0

Harte Peat own and control their own material resource, to minimise the possibility of disease or tramp materials from getting into the mix, peat to be used in the mix, is only extracted as it is required. there are four grades of peat used which are harvested separately and blended as required, dependant on customer growing systems and requirements.

At the extraction sites the peat is extracted separately and transported to the plant.

Deep Dug Black Peat: from near the bottom of the bog, this material is well decomposed tends to be of a sticky nature and provides the casing with a bonding ingredient. It is normal for this material to have a moisture content of 90%.

Drained Dry Black Peat: This layer of peat between the upper wet sphagnum peat and the lower Deep Dug Black is slightly less decomposed than the Deep Dug Black Peat, it provides the Fibre and structure for the Casing Soil. It is normal for this material to have a moisture content of 85-87%.

Wet Dug Sphagnum (Brown) From the top of the bog, once the vegitation has been removed, this material is what provides the casing Soil with its vast resivoir of water. The peat is relative young (5000 years) and has a huge capacity to absorb water. It is normal for this material to have a Moisture Content reading of 85-87%

Dry Brown (Milled Peat) Once used on its own to produce mushrooms, less than 10% of mixes now use this material. The peat is from the top of the bog and is essentially the same material as the Wet Dug Sphagnum but it is harvested using the surface milled method, allowed to dry in the air and harvested to stockpiles after air drying to about 65% Moisture content.

Irish Peat has a pH range at extraction of between 3.8 and 4.2. Mushroom casing needs to have a pH above 7.0. This is achieve by adding either Limestone Flour or Spent Sugar Beet Lime, a waste product from the sugar processing industry. Some Growers use a blend of both limes.

Spent Sugar Beet Lime cannot be used direct from the factory but must be stored and turned during a period of 12 months to allow it stabilise. It must also be certified free from a range of pathogens, including samonella and ecoli
before it can be incorporated into the casing soil. Harte Peat has a storage capacity under cover for up to 20,000 tonnes of this material

In 2001 Harte Peat installed a sterilisation Plant to heat treat spent sugarbeet lime.

During the production process samples are regularly taken for analysis in our own laboratory and for external verification of pH status Moisture Content and pathogens. Our raw materials are sampled and verified disease free by external laboratories.

The process area has controlled access and is subject to a HACCP plan with the production area subject to daily washing.

Harte Peat Ltd, has a policy of accepting unannounced visits from its customers to satisfy themselves of the levels of hygiene at the plant. Export customers should note that the company is a founding member of the Irish Code of Practice for Mushroom Casing Yards and is regularly audited by Bord Bia, (The Irish Food Board) for compliance with hygiene, HACCP and the Code of Practice standards.