growing mushroom

Should anyone be interested:
http://www.garden.org/ediblelandscaping/?page=december_shroom

I bought my son a Portobello mushroom kit for Christmas last year. He was delighted. He told me that he had two huge flushes of mushrooms and two medium flushes.

If you don't want to pay for the kits, there are many places that sell the plug spawn which you put into holes you've drilled in a fresh hardwood log. Making up your own mushroom log with the plug spawn is much cheaper than the kits. This is on my to-do list as soon as I get a chance to find some logs. We love mushrooms but can't afford the pricier types. I've also seen kits and instructions for making your own Morel mushroom patches. I think trying to grow Morels is definitely for the more adventurous of us, though.

Karen

Was hoping that this would trigger more information from our own DGers. I had never considered it before. Thanks for the information.

Christi

I would love to try mushrooms.I had asked on the Texas forum and didn't get a single nibble. I wasn't sure with our extreme summer heat that they would survive. But found a shitake farm listed in East Texas so I'm guessing it's possible. From the bits and pieces I've gather off the web is that I need to cut fresh logs and plug in the spring. I hope to get some done this year...we'll see, at this time I have a hundred irons in the fire :0)

So how is the ginger bread house coming?

There are several web sites with very detailed growing instructions, including how to put the plugs in the log. The log does need to be a hardwood one and fresh. I've read quite a bit on the web about growing your own, and I don't remember heat being mentioned as a problem if the log is kept in a shady place.

Karen

Should the fresh cut logs with the plugs be placed in a moist area? Or is a shady area fine? We have alot of chipmunks in our area I wonder if they eat these?!

Saanansandy, I think the moisture inside the log is what keeps them alive. Rainfall or dipping the logs in water is what forces the 'fruiting'.

This was a good site on shitake.
Edited: Sorry, I can't get the hyperlink to work. It can be found by searching "Growing Shiitake Mushrooms in an Agroforestry Practice"

I don't know about chipmunks, sorry.


Christi, not done, yet :0) I lost count at nine dough batches, the baking part is done, over fifty pieces! I'm doing four houses and three are for the kids. I think we will have time to decorate theirs this weekend.




This message was edited Dec 6, 2008 10:54 AM

Goodness, the energy of the young. My mother made gingerbread houses and baked from Thanksgiving till New Year's. I just go to Costco.

Christi

Sorry my link threw the thread out of whack...I'll correct it.


Christi, I've never been to Costco. My family brings me things from there all time, I know I would love it! It was funny, I took my oldest son into Dallas running errands. We stop at a grocery store and both started oohhing and aahhhing over all the good stuff available. My son stopped me and whispered out of the corner of his mouth "act natural, I think these people are used to all this good stuff". LOL Our grocery stores are sad. Everyone thinks we have the best produce living in the country. We do....only if we grow it ourselves or get it at a roadside stand.

MIL lives not too far from you. On Lake Tawakoni just out of Wills Point. She has a wonderful home right on the lake. Will be 91 in January and all she thinks about is our living there when the "time" comes. No thank you. I love having all the best of the city.

"Her" grocery lacks a lot. So does the Dr., hospital, drug store, etc. etc. etc.

Christi

Here's is a good source for the spawn. Different types to grow at home are shown here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for instructions:

http://www.gmushrooms.com/Plugs/index.htm#inst

They also sell the spawn for morels and instructions for making a morel habitat.

http://www.gmushrooms.com/MHK.HTM

Karen

Thank you, Karen. I had no idea it could take a year to get the first mushroom. Lot's of good information.

Christi

That surprised me, too. The mushroom kit I bought for my son only took a couple of weeks to get started, but that was packaged in a box, etc. so no doubt was different from grow them on the logs.

Karen