Apparatus and method for laying compost in a mushroom bed

Apparatus and a method for laying a uniformly thick and, hence, a uniformly dense bed of compost for growing mushrooms and the like are provided. In the shelf system compost is supplied via a conveyer belt from an external supply through the door of a conventional mushroom house to a transverse, variable speed, reversible distributor which distributes the compost uniformly across the shelf at one end thereof onto a moving belt or web, which belt moves along the floor of the shelf from the supply end of the shelf to the far end thereof. The compost which is distributed by the distributor at the supply end moves on the belt toward the far end on the belt, being passed under a rotating, bladed leveling member located in close proximity to the supply end. The blades are set at a height from the floor of the shelf corresponding to the desired thickness of the final compost bed. Any compost on the moving belt that is above the desired level is thrown back by the rotating blades as the loaded belt is passing under the leveler. Thus, the blades or the like level the compost to the desired bed thickness very uniformly across the entire width of the bed. This results in a bed of uniform thickness and density along its entire length and width.