Snarkie

So I decided to grow mushrooms. Edible mushrooms, before anyone comments. I ordered two bags of mushroom spawn from North Spore up in Maine. These are really best grown in wood chips, but since I haven't located a free source yet, I decided to go a different route which will actually get everything going faster.

I picked the maple tree in the front yard, and put down heavy cardboard which I get for free, as it comes on our pallets of newspapers. On top of that, I put down a heavy layer of newspaper and soaked everything down. Not just wet; saturated. Someone was kind enough to put out a bunch of straw alongside the road, so I filled up 4 bins when I finished my route and brought it home. Soaked it overnight and the next morning started the bed. Ran out a little over halfway, so I drove 20 miles back up to get the rest and brought it back. I inoculated the straw layer, and since this spawn was fresh (it was still damp), I spread it like grass seed instead of the typical clumps. I went over this with a nice, thick layer of wood shavings from Dad's lathe and spread a second spawn, then another layer of Dad's shavings. I then sprinkled what was left of the straw on that.

When I get my wood chips, I'll put a nice layer on top, but in the meantime, this stuff is smaller and will feed them very well over the winter. I still have the other bag, so once I get the chips, I'll spread them under some dogwood and redbud for a second bed. This went much further than usual, since the spawn was fresh and not all dried out and clumped together like it usually is. They literally made this batch, bagged it up and sent it to me.

I'm looking forward to getting the other bed going, and then making Morel beds for some side cash. My yard is so shaded, that almost all of it can be turned into Morel beds.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

subsonicdrone

look up "chip drop"
for leads on the woodchips

Snarkie

Yeah, I have heard of that service, it's just that I don't need an entire load of chips. Two yards; maybe three tops, is all I need. I see arborists in the subdivisions at times, but Heartwood has a satellite location in the storage place where we get our papers. I may drop by and talk to the guys one morning before they head out, and see if they have a partial load they want to get rid of.

My second problem is getting a truck into the yard. It's a tight fit and the road is only sixteen feet wide. I'm better off meeting them onsite with my trailer and having them put what I need directly into that and bring it home. I'll figure it out, I just need a little time to get the right components to fit together, LOL. Thanks for the suggestion.

__________________
Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

smeash

Ive heard recently of winecap mushrooms, just curious what their flavor is similar to? Are they something that can be bought in stores? Im considering growing some also.. Thanks!

Akula

Can edible mushrooms be grown under the banana canopy?

My banana plants run along my privacy fence so there is very little sun between the front line of the canopy and the fence from about April to the the first freeze in say December. Seems like the shade would be a good spot to grow mushrooms.

Snarkie

They are similar to portabellas, from what I understand, and grow in shade. You just have to make a bed of new materials for them to grow in. They eat new wood only, so no chips over a few months old, and you'll need fresh straw if you go that route.


Akula, they will grow underneath your banana canopy, but they may languish in the Florida heat. If you're up north, they will probably flush in the spring and fall, and go dormant during the heat of summer, as they don't like temps over the eighties or so.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

smeash

Thanks for the info! I have brought in over 200 yards of woodchips this year, and have a large area of my yard, including my bananas, covered in chips. I bring in a a truck load every few weeks because the chips rot down so quickly in our climate. I could easily choose the area with new chips to try the mushrooms.. if they are successful, i could innnoculate each new batch of chips.. sounds like a win win.. faster decomposition, and a side crop of mushrooms!

Snarkie

Oh yeah! My only concern would be that it may be too warm, but it's certainly worth a try! There are a ton of vids on YouTube on how to get going, so I would recommend spending a couple hours watching and learning. That's what I did.

Again, North Spore out of Maine seems to be a really good source. As I said in the beginning, I spread the stuff from the first bag like grass seed; it was so new. I was on the list, so they literally bagged it and sent it out on the same day. In that short amount of time, I opened the second bag yesterday to hit the second bed, and it was already full of mycorrhizae. In like, a week! It was still damp, yet even after breaking it up, I was already casting marbles.

Keep this in mind as you cast your spawn: I've seen many vids where they literally toss it out in clumps and get one bag per a 4x4 or 4x8 area. That is just stupid. I got 65 SF in a DOUBLE LAYER out of the first bag. This stuff is going to spread, so keeping it in clumps just wastes it. Using my method, if you want to start out with a shallower bed, but you will have to add chips twice in the first year, you can get 120 SF out of a bag if you broadcast it evenly. It'll take a little longer to establish, but you have just quadrupled your planting area.

If you do go with the single layer approach, lay down as much cardboard and newspaper as you can (realistically. Don't put down a foot of the stuff), as it will be a good layer to feed off of. Spread a thin layer of your chips, straw or shavings and seed. Then put your top (third) layer on. The spawn will germinate in the second strata, but also go down and eat all of that paper. If you have access to a lot of cardboard and newspaper as I do, then use that as a heavy layer to feed off of. In your case, you have more chips, so that is the way you should go.

__________________
Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Snarkie

With that much wood mulching down, look at Morels. IDK if they'll grow there or not, as it may be too hot. If they will, those things sell for $50 a pound fresh, and $337 a pound dried. That's what's next on my list.

__________________
Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Akula

Hey Snarkie!

Thanks for that tip about Northspore and this post about mushrooms. I ordered a couple grow kits from NS and grew some mushroooms (lions mane and golden oyster) in my guest bathroom. It was a cool pilot project and got me interested in mushroom growing as a new hobby. Looks like fun!