There's a new hill that was built at a friends place, and since I'm into permaculture he asked me what type of mycelium I would recommend covering the hillside with before winter comes. He has also recently seeded it, so it's likely going to be a rough winter on the new hill. I've heard about water cannon sprinkling of mycelium, so I'm thinking along those lines for what I should tell him.
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1That is not what he needs for erosion control. I would sow cover crop seed such as annual rye, clovers, buckwheat. Think about water flowing over the surface of a sloped bank of soil...that water is powerful and will take soil, organics along in the physical flow of water. You need TOP GROWTH or something that slows the water down, changes the direction of the water. Mycelium will not stop erosion by water. Roots and vigorously growing plants will slow the water down enough to be able to soak into the soil instead of running OVER the soil. Staples, burlap webbing, speed bumps & grading. – stormy Sep 10 '18 at 06:47
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1What @stormy said. He doesn't want fungus, he wants trees and shrubs. Or a the minimum, really tough ground cover plants like brambles - but that solution would not be very "people friendly!" Of course he will also *get* mycelium, along with the plant roots, but on its own, with no dead plants to feed on, it wouldn't even survive, let alone stop erosion. – alephzero Sep 10 '18 at 07:29
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I've heard one type of fungi will essentially turn dirt into concrete that plants can live in. I'm looking for that solution. – black thumb Sep 10 '18 at 13:37
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1Fungus turning soil concrete? Unimaginable but heck if you find this let me know! I worked with grass spray companies, installing that burlap mesh with staples and 'bumpers' for swales. I think if there was a fungus that would do a better job turning soil into non erodible material, these erosion companies would have known about it. Water could easily erode a concrete like soil and get moving so fast that it will cause larger problems towards the bottom of the slope. Fungus will thrive even without dead wood. Remember how the Grand Canyon was formed; flowing water. – stormy Sep 10 '18 at 22:42
1 Answers
Paul Stamets talks about erosion control of old logging tracks using substrate inoculated with oyster mushroom spawn.
Our intention is to prevent further bank erosion as well as filter the flow of silt-enriched water. We arranged for the delivery of 'hog-fuel', a crude mixture of bark, wood chips, and fir needles, in 10-yard loads. North Mason Fiber donated the hog fuel while Fungi Perfecti paid for the trucking. Seven employees donated their time to spread material. The crew ('Team MycoForce') spread the wood chip matrix to a depth of 3 to 12 inches. After the hog-fuel was spread, we applied spawn of a native mushroom species, the Oyster Mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, on the top surface of the hog-fuel. Six bales of wheat straw were spread out over the top.
The straw acts as a protective layer, holding in moisture and preventing the spawn from drying out. We seeded the sites using a broadcaster filled with MycoGrow®, a mycorrhizal inoculum, and Regreen®, a non-seeding wheat approved for erosion control. Twenty pounds of seed and one pound of mycelial inoculum were broadcast over the straw. This site was inoculated over two days on the 11th and 12th of April, at the time of intermittent, heavy rainfall.
https://fungi.com/blogs/articles/mycorestoration-of-abandoned-logging-roads

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