Honestly, I have no real knowledge about mushroom allergies. But, most allergies are triggered by a protein in the allergenic substance - the protein is the allergen. If it were me I would avoid contact with the soil as I would suspect it of possibly containing the protein/allergen. The likelihood is probably low, but there is some level of risk. The food issue is not uptake (I don't know of plants taking in soil bound proteins), but if the offending allergen is soil resident then there is a risk of food contamination from soil contact. The greatest risk would most probably be with root vegetables, then low-growing leafy stuff (lettuce, spinach, etc.), then the higher growing fruiting stuff (peppers, tomatoes). If the produce was well washed I would guess that it wouldn't be a problem, but it's a guess. edit - meant to add. you sure are lucky to have a source of SMS. I used to live about 15 miles from a major mushroom center, and the spent stuff is incredibly good compost. This post was edited by TXEB on Tue, Apr 23, 13 at 19:10

Maybe he still is because he ordered all the ones I asked for! I have a feeling he'll consider it part of my bday present. I only picked out 8, maybe I should have chosen some more. lol Karyn

Yes, if the cats can possibly get into trouble they will! I am kind of paranoid about stuff like this, so I always unplug it if i think it's in a spot that might be vulnerable. As for cat trouble stories, we came home one day after being out for a while and found that one of the cats had been on the counter and had apparently got spooked or slipped and pushed the dish drainer into the hot water faucet and the faucet was running full throttle! We don't know how long it had been running, but when we go away for any length of time now I move the dish drainer AWAY from the fuacets!

" I hate to risk sending my plants into a growth spurt with winter bearing down. " If we were talking about synthetic fertilizer, that would certainly be a concern. Synthetic fertilizer (like Miracle-Gro Rose Plant Food) is in a form roots can use immediately and would jolt the bush. But two points: 1. This is compost, not fertilizer. Compost delivers minimal nutrition but great organic matter to improve the biology of your garden. There is no bad time to add compost. In nature it is added all year long. 2. What nutrition there is cannot be taken up by your plants. It needs to be further broken down by fungus into more basic compounds that roots can absorb. This is true of any organic fertilizer as well. There is no nutrition directly delivered - it takes many weeks/months before the roots get the nutritional benefit. And since the cold will slow down the process, spring is about when any N-P-K would be available. So there is little risk of delivering a nutrition bump, as far as I can see. I would add compost all year long - whenever it is available. As for feeding, if you are feeding organic amendments then get them in as soon as the ground can be worked at the end of winter so they can start breaking down. If you are using synthetics then wait and feed when you see the first signs of new growth.