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Post by Alan on Sept 16, 2009 23:26:29 GMT -5
Not this fall, next spring, money is tight so it's gotta wait, but I've got my trees picked out for logs, my strains selected and the equipment prepared. This is going to be the next major step in attempting to make this farm profitable. I have procrasinated long enough, this winter I will devote myself to the study of "the mushroom cultivator" book that was sent to me a couple of years ago.
I encourage those of you into cultivating these staple food crops to please start using this forum big time as I am going to need your advice and help and coming here to research is why this site was started.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Sept 17, 2009 6:26:14 GMT -5
Your talking shiitake right? We just got the first flush of the early fall variety. PASTY TIME! Prolly gotta make some chicken soup as well.
The drill depth is important, but you can rig a good stop without purchasing a special bit. Have you decided how to stack your logs? Ours are "house" stacked and at the very edge of our forest where our property drops off to the creek. We did our "planting" in November. You'll need to allow about 15 to 30 days after ordering as that is how long it will take to get your order "prepped". Logs will give you longer growth, we feel it's the best way to go for the money.... any thing else?
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Post by bunkie on Sept 17, 2009 9:30:56 GMT -5
alan, we also have 'The Mushroom Cultivator' and i'm readying to get serious about studying it too this winter, and preparing to 'go for it' next spring. any help from this thread will be appreciated.
jo, thanks for the info. keep it coming!
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Post by Jim on Sept 17, 2009 18:14:55 GMT -5
Spud who frequents this board and idig got some logs from me this spring for this purpose. He may be a good resource as well.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Sept 17, 2009 21:14:26 GMT -5
hmm... Bunkie, I'm not sure you should wait for spring? We did ours in the fall. But then we are a mere 4,000 miles away from you. So maybe I should keep my mouth shut? ;o) Verify the correct time of year for your area... There is a gentleman in Oregon who sold us our spore and he was a wealth of information particularly with regard to the best species for our needs.
We have 2 strains. One strain which put on a HUGE fruiting which will last a few weeks and a second strain which will slowly come on over a period of several months later in the fall and the beginning of winter. I suggest you do a brain scan to discover who I'm talking about and call him! ::smiles brightly as a long pale hair pops out the top of her head::
ok ok... It's been 3 years now so I don't remember his name. I'll try to figure it out and give you some REAL info. hmmm...
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Post by Alan on Sept 17, 2009 22:15:42 GMT -5
Shitake is one variety I'm planning on but I am also looking at some others at the moment, In time I would actually enjoy learning the technical and laboratory side of culturing spores myself too, that whole obsessive compulsive "self sustainable" thing that sometimes helps and sometimes hinders you know.
In regards to logs, I have read that in the area in which I live I can inoculate in either the fall or in the early spring like March and be fine either way, for the moment the project will probably get underway in March as there will be more time for that project then as well as the capitol to purchase the necessary equipment.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Sept 18, 2009 8:14:22 GMT -5
The only equipment we purchased was the drill bit. Even that could have been rigged from what we have at home. It just needs a stop at 1" cause you want the plug to fill the hole completely and snugly. You don't want air space. We have our logs stacked on a "table" with a base made from a scavenged pallet. However, in countries of origin, they run a rope between trees and lean the logs sorta like this /\/\/\/\/\ along the rope so they make a sort of "X". Replacing the rope or wire is feasible during dormancy. The pallet is higher off the ground so easier to gather from the back point of view. However you get "stuck" fruit at the crossings. The rope method means the logs can be shifted if need be to get fruit out of the cracks, but then you would have to bend over to gather fruits at the bottom. I also have visions of animals peeing on the base of the logs.
It's the peeing thing that drives me nuts about people asking if "organic" produce needs to be washed. My response, "Wash everything, you either have chemicals or bug waste on everything. Just pick your poison then wash it before you eat it or prep it."
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Post by Alan on Oct 15, 2009 21:17:24 GMT -5
I've got all the basic equipment, the drill, the drillbit (both also used for maple syrup), and the mallet, but I gotta get some money saved up to buy the actual cultures and then in time set up a small lab to culture my own.
I plan on reading a lot this winter.
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Post by clarkfoodfarm on Oct 28, 2009 1:37:43 GMT -5
Very cool stuff, Alan. Paul Stamets' outfit, Fungi Perfecti, is about the best resource for all things mushroom related that I know of. Always wanted to attend one of his cultivation seminars... www.fungi.com/ |
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Post by Alan on Nov 17, 2009 21:22:03 GMT -5
Yeah, I just got their catalog, looking through it over the past few days thinking about where I want to take this project, at this point it's going to have to wait until spring, but I'm making a list and even checking it twice so to speak. LOL
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Post by oldfatguy on Dec 18, 2009 22:49:01 GMT -5
I've had amazing luck with stumps and half dead trees. People think I am a crazy guy going around town drilling into stumps then pounding on them with my wood mallet. I have innoculated every spot within 50 miles of my house. I have oysters all the time. P. pulmonarius is a spring mushroom and P. ostreatus is a summer to fall mushroom. The ones growing outside on trees and logs just taste better than the ones from my grow room on straw and sawdust. They are firmer and richer in flavor.
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Post by ceara on Jan 26, 2010 13:08:15 GMT -5
Over at the Shroomery forum in the edible section (they have a lot of "magic" mushroom cultivation discussion there, but a superb edible shroom section not to be ignored) used a burlap sack with scrap wood from the forest floor and other bits and pieces like paper and cardboard. He put all that stuff in the burlap and "inoculated" with oyster mycelium cloned onto cardboard from oysters he got at the grocery store. The oysters quickly took over the sack and produced some large oyster mushrooms. I saw the photos he posted. The funny thing is when he moved the bag, he found more oysters growing in the ground. If you have fast growing mycelium strains, you don't have to worry so much about contamination from what I understand. It will just "eat" through the contaminants and keep it under control. And from what I understand, is if you already had some growing on logs and the logs begin to fall apart, you take that and sandwich it between new logs, or toss it into the burlap sack idea with more wood/cardboard/paper "garbage" and it will take off again. I love Stamets too and often recommend his video from TED "6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World" on YouTube. Fascinating stuff! www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tYAnd hey oldfatguy, good job! You're doing what I've always wanted to do - Guerrilla mushroom gardening! hehehe |
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