anybody grow Mushrooms?.....

[Lonesomedave]

howdy....I am not sure where this belongs, or even if it belongs on this site at all, but here goes....

anybody ever tried mushroom gardening?...I don't mean the kind they do in the mines in PA or anything like that...there are species of mushrooms that are grown in a garden environment and some are very good to eat

I have ordered a couple of starter packs of mushrooms called Garden Giant, and have prepared a bunch of containers for them, according to directions I got from the supplier

made up some containers with a combination of wheat straw and hickory sawdust (that I got from a bar B Q supplier)....mixed it real good and packed it in good...watering twice a day, according to directions....containers feel full, but by using the wheat straw, it provides a way for the container to "breath"....the containers have slits along all sides

I am real curious to see how they do, and, with permission of the site, will make progress reports...( of course, if this is an inappropriate topic or belongs elsewhere....I bow to the mods decision)

just thought I would pass it along

[JayPoc]

I'd be interested in this project. Where did you get the materials?

[Lonesomedave]

this will get ya started...I actually didn't buy the "three amigos"...I went with all garden giant...but from that link you can get into the site...call them up if you have questions....very helpful, very nice people.



https://www.fungi.com/product-detail/pro ... -pack.html

[rainbowgardener]

Here's a thread where one of the mods, applestar, described growing oyster mushrooms from a kit:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=20130

[hendi_alex]

I'm growing shiitake from oak logs. Has been very easy and so far has yielded several pounds of great mushrooms far better than grocery store shiitake. We used infused dowels.

[Lonesomedave]

Here's a thread where one of the mods, applestar, described growing oyster mushrooms from a kit:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=20130

yep....although he did it back in 2009, the company he dealt with is the same company I bought my kits from....Fungi Perfecti....absolutely wonderful people to deal with

I recommend anyone who is even considering this to give them a call

[Lonesomedave]

well...my kits came a couple of days ago, and the insructions said to wait around a week, keeping them at room temp, before planting.

in the process of doing that now....the packs look really streaked with white, from what I take to be mycelium

will keep you all posted

[Gary350]

When I lived in Murfreesboro TN I use to grow mushrooms under the house it is cool, dark and very high humidity perfect for mushrooms. Middle TN has on average 300 days of rain every year according to Ron Howe Channel 5 TV News. I bought a mushroom kit. I planted in bags of composted cow manure $1 each at Farmers Co-op. Lay the bags under the house then cut off the top side with a razor knife. Spray the manure with a little water then wait. The top of the manure turns white in several spots then.....poof next thing you know like magic you have mushrooms. Mushrooms will come up for weeks. New mushrooms drop spores and the cycle starts again. You can grow mushrooms for 6 months in the same manure. Stir it up mix it around and keep using it. Buy more manure bags sprinkle the old manure over the new and the cycle starts again. Soon you have more mushrooms.

My kit had starter dishes. Once the dishes turned white cut it into tiny 1/8" strips then rotate 90 degrees and cut it again to make 1/8" cubes. Sprinkle cubes on the soil then the soil turns white then you have mushrooms. After that all you do is sprinkle some of the old mushroom soil on new cow manure and you have more mushrooms.

[ElizabethB]

I have not yet tried growing mushrooms but it is on my "bucket list". I love cooking with mushrooms - shitake, oyster, morels, porcini. They are available fresh from specialty markets but I use dried. I keep an assortment in the pantry because I do not want to have to run to the market every time I want to cook with mushrooms.

I have to give this some more thought. I would really like having fresh mushrooms in my yard.

Thanks for the topic and the links.

[bryce d]

So maybe this is a dumb question. How does a person know if they are good mushrooms or not. I have a shady space in the grass and mushrooms grow there all the time. You would never dare to eat one of those mushrooms. I don't mean to cast a dark shadow.
Is looking different good enough to tell. What if something else is growing with the mushrooms?

[Lonesomedave]

So maybe this is a dumb question. How does a person know if they are good mushrooms or not. I have a shady space in the grass and mushrooms grow there all the time. You would never dare to eat one of those mushrooms. I don't mean to cast a dark shadow.
Is looking different good enough to tell. What if something else is growing with the mushrooms?

yeah.....obviously you'd NEVER eat any mushroom you had the slightest doubt about

you'd never eat any mushroom if you did not know what you are doing...

I have collected wild morels and wild oyster mushrooms because I KNOW what they look like and can pick and consume them without fear....also, wild puffballs that spring up in our yard from time to time...perfectly safe

these are, frankly, the ONLY wild mushrooms I would even dream of eating, because I know them and I don't know the others

if you are into that, I hope you can get with someone who knows and can show you....otherwise....leave all wild mushrooms alone

with the kits, you can feel safe that the suppliers know what they are doing and will send what they say they will send...this is true of Fungi Perfecti or any other commercial enterprise

get a book on mushroom ID, but, again....NEVER eat any mushroom you are not 100% sure is safe

[Susan W]

I saw this post again, and thought I'd pass on this info FWIW. We have a regional grower, Dickey Farms out of Potts Camp (N Miss). They have mushrooms fresh, dried and some starter stuff. I tried to copy/paste their info, and missing. Anyway, just google that info. They are often at our market, and I did see them today (Cooper-Young, though didn't see it on their info). Dave, as you are regional, may want to check on any classes & seminars they may have.

As a side note, one day asked the woman about mushroom compost. She just smiled, and kinda on her to-do list maybe. Just in brief conversation said it needs heated etc to sell. She allowed as how they use it as they have it, and can dig from bottom of pile, but didn't see it as the miracle compost.

[ElizabethB]

Bryce - DITTO Dave - NEVER eat wild mushrooms unless you are absolutely positive about the identification. A good ID book is helpful but you still have to be very careful. There are many mushrooms that look very much alike - some are edible - some are toxic.

Dave and the other posters are talking about growing mushrooms from starter kits/spoors. Wild mushroom hunting is an entirely different subject.


My husband hunts in the Tensaw Federal and Big Lake State management areas in north east Louisiana. He found a mother lode of lion's mane/beard mushrooms in the woods. He brought some home. I was 99.99% sure that they were lion's mane but I did not want to take any risk. We have a Mycologist on staff in the botany department of our local university. I contacted him for verification before cooking and eating those lovely treats from the woods. G saved the coordinates of the mushroom tree on his GPS so every fall we have a supply of lion's mane.

Please don't eat wild mushrooms unless you are 100% positive that it is indeed edible.

Good luck

[Lindsaylew82]

(Pinterest junkie here....saw it there...see a lot of junk there...)

Has anyone one tried putting mushroom stems into soil for producing mushrooms?

I've got to go find that pin...

Also I read something about chopping up mushrooms and putting them in soil...? Anyone tried that?

[Lindsaylew82]

Here it is!

Gardening with garbage!
https://www.earth911.com/home-garden/gro ... scraps/11/