Another sign of spring - preparing fields for planting. Fortunately for these nei9ghboring homes. this time the manure spreader is distributing used mushroom soil which does not have anything like the pungent aroma of cow manure fresh from the dairy barn.

Mushroom soil is a composted product derived largely from horse manure, much of which is supplied from racetracks as far away as Saratoga, New York. The composted soil is sterilized with steam before the mushroom spores are planted. After use, some of this material goes to nurseries and garden centers where it is sold to the public in small quantities for gardening, but the quantities are so great that much of it must be given away by the truckload to local farmers. One of my neighbors told me that he only used it in his garden one season because it was so potent it required more frequent weeding to keep down the undesired plants in his garden.

Berks County, where my home is, and Chester County, which adjoins it to the southeast, are the center of the eastern US mushroom production. We have one mushroom house here in Windsor Township. one in Tilden Township across the river and many others in the county, mostly near to Reading. Kennet Square is the center of mushroom production in Chester County. The mushroom industry is one of the leading employers of illegal immigrant workers in our area. This is partly a reaction to the increasing pressure from low cost Asian imported mushrooms over the last 30 years.