Happy New Year to all of my fungal friends! It was a great year for mushrooms, and I am looking forward to another great year ahead. Here are some of the pictures from last year!
Stayed tuned for exciting things to come thi year!
Tag Archives: Food
Happy New Year cont.
Happy New Year to all of my fungal friends! It was a great year for mushrooms, and I am looking forward to another great year ahead.
Along with wild mushrooms, last year was a great year for growing mushrooms!
The oyster mushrooms proved to be aggressive and versatile again this year. We grew, harvested and consumed oyster mushrooms growing on cornstalks, coffee grounds, wood chips and garden waste. I even had oysters growing out of the bottom of my compost bin. They flushed at different times and were a treat each time!
New projects last year were interesting,
The garden giant outdoor kit was planted in the spring. The fungus consumed half of the wood chips and spread all over, but they did not flush before fall. I know they will flush next spring.
I ordered reishi and shiitake plugs early in the year. The summer slipped away and the plugs didn’t get plugged until late fall. I look forward to spring to see if they grow.
A close friend of mine received a shiitake growing kit in late fall and so far has had 1 small flush. We are hopeful for the next flush. The kit will be put to good use this spring after it is done producing.
My mom planted her morel mushroom patch. It is in a good spot so it should produce. We have seen this one work in Oregon, so we are excited to see it work closer to home!
All in all, it was a productive year for a budding mushroom farmer!
Shiitake Growing Kit
I just got to check out the shiitake growing kit from Fungi Perfecti. This was an indoor growing kit and looked like it is ready to go.
http://fungi.com/kits/indoor.html
Some lucky guy in my family got it for his birthday! He is a budding mushroom farmer so it was a great gift. I will keep us updated on the site as it grows. I hope to report on the eating of these mushrooms also. Shiitakes are great for us and another way to eat your medicine and like it too!
You can find more kits like this one from the people at Fungi Perfecti on the link on the main page of this site.
Attention Mushroom Farmers!
Mushroom growers and farmers…now is probably our last chance to complete fall projects for spring flushes! I still have some plugs to put in logs and will get them completed soon. From what the mushroom growing literature says, October is the last month to inoculate outdoor projects in this area.
I will make sure my mushroom beds have have plenty of cover and are well watered. The Garden Giant mushroom bed has not flushed yet, although I know the mycelium is distributed throughout the wood chips. It will flush next spring when waterd well, unless I get a surprise flush before then! The Oysters continue to flush off and on from the coffee grounds, mushroom bed with woodchips and they even flush out of the bottum of my compost bin.
So if you are like me, you have to get these things in order before the snow REALLY settles in.
Tree Ears
When hunting for mushrooms, you never know what you will find!
I found these Tree Ears, Auricularia auricula, or Wood Ears awhile back and was excited to add them to my jar of dried ones. They weren’t what I was looking for, but a welcome find anytime.
As you can see from the last picture, they shrink up when they dry. The nice thing is they rehydrate to look almost the same as fresh. This mushroom is related to the crunchy mushroom in Asian soups and dishes.
This is a good mushroom to learn because it can be eaten raw in the woods and is a good survival food. Most mushrooms should not be eaten raw and can make you sick. The way to know this one from look alikes is to shake it real hard and it will not fall apart. The main look alike will fall apart with this test. They grow on dead trees, when the weather is wet. All the rain promises me…