Growing Edible Mushrooms - from kits, spawns, and plugs

[applestar]

Actually, I'm not quite ready to describe what I've started with the "Espresso" Oyster Mushroom spawn from Fungi Perfecti, but I will be adding to this thread very soon. In the mean time, I've been casting around for additional info, and I came across an Event Calendar -- I can't go , but thought others be interested:
(the way they're listed, I suspect the Dec one is a typo and is actually 2009 not 2010)

# November 7 - 8, 2009: Stamets Seminar, Olympia, Washington, USA

Participants learn tissue culture, spawn generation techniques, substrate preparation, inoculation techniques, and strategies for maximizing yields. Each seminar participant receives seven select mushroom strains for their own personal use. The cultivation of Shiitake, Oyster, Enokitake, King Stropharia, Reishi, Maitake and many others are covered in detail.
Contact: Fungi Perfecti
PO Box 7634
Olympia, WA 98507
Phone: 1-800-780-9126
WWW: http://www.fungi.com/seminars/
Email: info@fungi.com

# December 13, 2010: Grow Edible Mushrooms at Home, Berkeley, California, USA

10 a.m.-2 p.m. Take a slide show tour of mushrooms of the Bay Area and learn how to grow edible mushrooms at home. Bring newspaper, cardboard, sawdust, wax, cordless drills, drill bits, and leave with mushrooms of your own. Enter via garden entrance on Peralta.
Cost: $15 sliding scale
EcoHouse
1305 Hopkins St.
Berkeley, California
Email: ecohouse@ecologycenter.org
Phone: 510-548-2220, ext. 242

[!potatoes!]

i actually started their 'espresso oyster' back in april or may, and have a dozen or so plug-spawn-inoculated logs for shiitake waitin' in the wings...not soon enough for the shiitakes yet, don't know what's up with the oysters.

[applestar]

After recent comments about reputable mushroom kit sites like Fungi Perfecti, of course I went over there and browsed around, AND ended up buying their "Espresso" Oyster Mushroom Spawn.

(I mentioned in the Compost Forum that a couple of area Starbucks said they don't have anyone picking up used coffee grounds now, though there were many pick-ups during the summer.)

I "planted" the Oyster mushroom spawn on Sunday (11/1) in three different substrates -- used coffee grounds, brown and newsprint paper, and steam pasteurized rice straw. Caveat: I'm not sure how successful this will be as it's my first experiment with this.

I've been trying to find out if dividing the substrate into smaller masses than the single 5 gal bucket as described in the instructions was a bad idea, but so far, I haven't found any solid description of minimum substrate mass Oyster mushrooms need. FP DOES sell what looks like 1 qt containers of Enoki mushroom kits. So far, my readings seem to indicate that small mass substrate is really how commercial growers increase the volume of spawn -- i.e. I can always use the smaller mass to inoculate a larger mass substrate -- so I should be OK as long as contamination (mold, etc.) doesn't set in. Also that Oyster mushrooms are "aggressive" growers that can grow in a wide variety of substrates. (... and I just remembered last night that I still have part of a bag of corncob bedding left over from when we had gerbils and I have a 2nd block of Oyster mushroom spawn to "plant" )

I ended up using glazed clay orchid pots (I thought the holes in the sides may allow the 'shrooms to grow out of them) and Italian red clay pots rather than plastic buckets, although I had managed to score 3.5 gal food-grade pickle buckets from a deli for the purpose. They were covered with the supplied hole-punched plastic "humidity tent" and I've been misting them 2~3 times a day, but, at this point, I'm thinking of devising a better humidity tent to maintain higher humidity level since it's gotten cold around here and the forced-air heat is kicking in more often.

So far, no obvious sign of change in the surface substrate of the pots (maybe a possible "growth" to one of the spawn chunks o the surface). As moist as everything is in there, there's a little voice inside me that keep saying "They're going to get all moldy -- especially the one mixed with paper." So I'm almost surprised that there's no sign of that. Hopefully, this means that the mushroom spawn is viable and is keeping mold from growing. (FWIW, one of the Hallowe'en Jack-o-lanterns that was on the stairs has started growing spots of mold -- same timeframe -- so I think it's a good sign.) I'll have to remind myself that when and if I do see white thready filaments, they are most likely the mushroom growing and not panic.

I wanted to mention this link at FP for the article Permaculture with a Mycological Twist, and point out this part under Oyster mushrooms:

Soaking bulk substrates in cold water creates a residual "tea" that is a nutritious fertilizer and potent insecticide. Submerging the bulk substrate in hot water produces a different brew of "tea"": a naturally potent herbicide.

Fascinating.

...OK, OK! I also bought a Shiitake mushroom patch (spawn inoculated sawdust in a bag). I'm going to start that one today or tomorrow

[applestar]

!potatoes! you posted while I was writing up mine!
So are you saying your oyster mushrooms never grew? (getting worried here) Did you see this link they posted at FP? http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/11 ... coffee.php Instructions that came with my spawn included the bit about drilling holes just above the substrate to let the CO2 out. I leveled the substrate to the top of the pots so as not to have to worry about that. Also, the porous clay pots could supply air exchange, and the orchid pots has those holes in the sides. ...or are you growing yours in an outside patch?

Now I'm feeling a renewed interest in the Shiitake logs.
I had the impression that it gets too cold (freezes too hard) around here for outdoor Shiitake culture, but that's not the case?

If so, I have a Willow Oak tree with a too low branch that is hanging over the kid's swingset that really needs to get cut, and will be this winter....

[gixxerific]

Alrighty Applestar, I'm excited to see what comes of this project. As you know I have been interested in growing mushrooms for a while, but alas I'm broke at the moment. As you have already stated it is something very different from growing veggies, so there is an air of mistrust and worry about them.

I'm gonna let you be my guinea pig I hope you don't mind.

I'm sure you will do fine, I can't wait to see your results. I think I would like to try them in logs someday. We always have shroom's popping up all over the yard so I would think that growing them here 'should' be fine.

Good luck.

[applestar]

Not at all. I'll be happy to share my successes (hopefully) and/or spectacular failures (knock on wood).

I kept the white popcorn-looking shiitake patch in the cold garage until Thursday, then soaked it in the leftover rainwater that I used to soak the worm bedding coir block (not positive this was a good idea - possible contamination? is coir fungicidal? It IS supposed to be pH neutral.). After 24 hours (yesterday), I turned the bag containing the patch upside-down to drain, and up-ended the Shiitake patch on 3 wooden chopsticks resting across a small clay saucer, sitting on a oval serving plate. I did need to cut the bag since the patch swelled from soaking in the water. I took off the heavier clumps of the coir fibers, but left the rest on the surface rather than rubbing them off and possibly damaging the patch. Misted it with rainwater for good measure, covered the patch with the humidity tent supported with long bamboo skewers, and misted some more through the vent holes.

The Shiitake patch is supposed start blistering and forming mushrooms in 5~10 days. With the Oysters patches, the coffee ground patch should be covered in white mycelium (this is the state Shiitake patch is already) in 2~3 WEEKS and start producing, the paper patch should form mushrooms in 3~6 WEEKS, and the straw patch -- the instructions say increase watering after a month for outdoor patch but doesn't provide any time frame for an indoor patch, except to say water 2~3 times a day. (I guess I'll have to find out).

Yesterday, I cleared a space next to the shed that might be a good all-day shaded spot for keeping the Shiitake logs (if I decide to do this in early spring).

Happily, when I went to see my Dad for his birthday, I recovered my older edition Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms by Paul Stamets, so I have some (more) reading material. (They have terrific comparative mushroom book reviews here.) Also purchased Mycelium Running....

[gixxerific]

Sounds good, again good luck, oh and don't forget the pics.

[!potatoes!]

to clarify, applestar, i used sterilized coffee grounds mixed with shredded newspaper as a substrate, i did drill holes above the substrate...my oysters myceliated nicely, started growing, but did the 'antler' style growth - long stems, with little or no caps...tried to get them into a better spot (more light, more air movement), and they fell and rotted...never had any regrowth like i expected, but i was fighting against summertime high temps at that point...i've occasionally watered, but i've seen no movement in there in quite some time (though i've seen what seemed to be proof of mats of mycelial stuff in there)...

edit: oh yeah, and here in the nc mts, outdoor shiitake growing is becoming a sizeable little cottage industry...winter temps down to 10 or 15 or so (F). the logs freeze but they produce again when it warms up (even during little warm spells in jan/feb)...don't know for sure how that compares to your jersey winters...

oh yeah, one more thing: i was warned by a (seriously) old-timer mushroom-grower that the ONLY wood that can be harvested for shiitake-growing year-round is white oak, all others have to be cut while dormant in winter - sounds like that's your plan anyway, but had to throw that out there.

[applestar]

You might want to try mixing with fresh batch of coffee grounds, etc.?
From the Espresso Oyster Mushroom patch instructions:

Another way to bring about further fruitings is to use the colonized material from your first fruiting to inoculate other materials. Simply break up your "first generation" mushroom bed and mix it into a new batch of substrate."

[applestar]

OK, this is a COMPLETELY "no expectations" experiment. I had some excess rich brown, coffee-smelling water that drained out of those Oyster mushroom pots. I left it in a watering can to re-water the pots with, covered with a plastic bag to keep outs stuff, and this white film of "something" started to grow on the surface (looks very much like a vinegar mother). With all the misting, I haven't needed to water the pots, so I've decided to see if indeed anything interesting is growing in this water.

I boiled some brown rice with chopped pieces of rice straw and extra bits of wooden chopsticks (I cut up some to raise the pots a little bit in the saucers so they're not sitting so much in the excess water.) I put this mixture in a 1 qt canning jar, put the lid on and let it cool (the lid popped down), then poured the above solution with the floating white film in the jar (it just fit) I plant to leave it loosely covered for 24 hours, then pour out the excess water, and see what happens. (where's that "shrug" emoticon -- is it Kisal that uses one?)

I feel like a mad scientist....

BTW, like the book review said, in the earlier edition of Growing, PS was pretty clear that you need to work in a sterile environment to grow mushrooms, especially spores and running spawn, but in Mycelium Running, he makes it sound like mushrooms, especially Oysters, will grow on anything. Also, I found a website that lists Oyster mushrooms as Zone 4~10 and Shiitake mushrooms Zone 5~10. I'm expanding my interest to include Chicken of the Woods (Zone 4~9) and King Stropharia (Zone ?), too.

[!potatoes!]

i think the main point re: sterility is that while mushrooms like oysters can indeed grow on anything, they need to be able to completely colonize the growing medium - and the best way to insure that the desired mushroom gets a head-start - enough to beat out the competition - is to let it have the playing field to itself for as long as possible. or, in condensed form, you won't get efficient conversion of nutrients-to-desired-mushroom if half your medium has been colonized by some other mold.

[applestar]

That's for sure. After some more reading and research, I came across rather intriguing descriptions for using canning jars and steam and pressure canners: I'm finding that I'm pulling out all my canning equipment. Will be doing more experiments and will post as I go.

That jar of rice and straw is not looking too good. I'll be reviewing the grain spawn techniques and trying again. In the mean time, I'm trying to make a small "cardboard towers" out of shiitake spawn bits and scrapings. I also came across the idea of introducing a small amount of a new substrate to the spawn BEFORE fully inoculating the substrate WITH the spawn, so I'll be experimenting with that idea with the other bag of oyster spawn.

It occurred to me that the Shiitake patch, which I upended *might* be forming more mushrooms on the bottom (which was originally the top) -- so I turned it back over, and I was right. The Shiitake patch is DEFINITELY growing mushrooms. I'll post photos soon.

[applestar]

OK update photos. Not much to look at until recently.
Of the 3 different substrates - straight coffee grounds, steamed rice straw, and soaked cardboard/newsprint, the steamed rice straw is the WINNER as far as "hey, something's happening" award. These are from 11/8 and 11/9:


I took a new photo this morning but camera upload failed, and the fix is to reboot the computer, so I won't be posting it now. That white patch on the side of the pot has grown and turned solid white in the last two days. Also, white mycelial mass is starting to grow out of most of the side holes in this orchid pot.

The coffee substrates are not showing much except a couple of original spawn pieces that are visible on the surface:


The paper substrate is not doing anything as far as I can see. Not even in the side holes.

Now, the instructions didn't say anything about sterilizing or pasteurizing except for the straw. It's possible that the straw, which was pasteurized and the coffee grounds, which are "steam pasteurized" at brewing time provided a more pristine ground for the spawn to grow on.

Here are few photos of the Shiitake patch:
11/8.........................................................11/9 after turning it upside down (right side up):



As it turned out, leaving the coir in place was the right thing to do -- provides a mulch to hold moisture (apparently called "casing" though usually the material used is non-nutritious medium like vermiculite) In this case, Shiitake mycelium is liking the coir, and today, there are filaments starting to grow on top.

I've been lurking in a couple of mushroom forums where Culinary/Gourmet mushrooms are relegated to sub-forums and the main discussion areas are dedicated to "other kinds" of mushrooms. Most of the serious cultivation threads appear to relate to the other mushrooms and all kinds of "proven" methods are labeled "teks" and listed there. I've been borrowing from those but mostly from Stamet's two books to experiment. With the 2nd Oyster patch/spawn, I've pasteurized coffee grounds mixed with some corn cob bedding, oak twig clippings, and a bit of oyster shells for one patch, and appropriated the perforated inside pot of the pasta pot to grow in. Lined it with pasteurized cardboard so the coffee ground don't fall out. For my "Oh why not? I already have a lot of patches started" experiment, I made a "cardboard tower" inside a cardboard box, and nestled it inside a corrugated cardboard box in more spawn and pasteurized (in the coffee ground mix pasteurizing water) cardboard. I set this box outside for what Stamets calls "cold incubation". I'm not sure if this will work since it's getting rather cold around here already, but for the next wk or so, it'll be 50/60 high and low 40's low, so it will still be within the right temp parameters, PLUS it rained today and is supposed to rain for the next two days.

[applestar]

Can you tell I'm obsessed with this new project?

Here's link to a tiny article on Mushrooms in Permaculture* Design If you scroll up and down on the same page, you'll see more info there as well.

As regards outdoor cultivation, I'm having second thoughts about King Stropharia and Chicken of the Woods.
(Following quotes from Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms)
King Stropharia: "The stem is also edible although it is often permeated through with maggot holes, nearly invisible in young specimens." "...should not be eaten for more than 2 or 3 days in a row" Stamets emphasizes how much of a fly-magnet this mushroom is and describes how he uses overgrown mushrooms (filled with maggots) to feed his aquaculture salmon. It sounds like a good mushroom to grow if you have chickens to take care of the maggoty ones.
Chicken of the Woods: First of all there are West coast native Laetiporus conifericola and East coast native L. sulphureus. (Midwestern variety is L. cincinnatus) Since FP's strain is L. conifericola, I'd like to stick to the East coast variety and find another source for my spawn if I decide to grow this one. BUT! "Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus (Polyporus) sulphureus) has been reported to contain alkaloids similar to those found in plants know to be psychoactive, like Kava Kava (Lincoff & Mitchel (1977))." Also that that "edibility dramatically declines as the mushrooms age" and it needs to be cooked in high heat "One mycologist I know served a chicken-of-the-woods soup... and it sickened all who ate it. ... [due to] resident bacteria."

I do want a "garden" mushroom -- a variety that can be grown in the vegetable garden. So now, I'm looking at Hypsizygus ulmarius. -- Garden Oyster or Elm Oyster mushroom.
(Following quote from Mycelium Running)
"H. ulmarius is an excellent edible whose texture and flavor rank it, in my opinion, above all other oyster-like mushrooms, with the possible exception of Pleurotus eryngii. This mushroom is friendly to many garden vegetables, unlike its cousin Pleurotus ostreatus."

P. ostreatus is the one I'm trying to cultivate an outdoor spawn culture in the cardboard box. I guess, if successful, it's going to need a bed of its own. While tempting, so far, P. eryngii sounds somewhat harder to cultivate, and it hasn't naturalized in N. America.

[applestar]

OK, OK. I'll stop after this until I have some SIGNIFICANT developments to report.

Here are some more photos of the Rice Straw pot from yesterday and today -- sorry about the lousy quality, it's been drearily rainy and dark around here. You can see the mycelium is even growing on the bamboo chopstick (and YES! this is one of the 4 Smith&Hawken orchid pots I got at their store-closing sale ):


The coffee ground substrate in orchid pot is also showing signs of growth, some in the side holes too, though I didn't take a picture:


It occured to be that if, by some luck, ALL of these "patches" eventually become colonized and produce mushrooms, I'll have a sufficiently staggered production for quite some time....

Here's one photo of the Shiitake. I didn't want to take the humidity cover off today, but you can see the primordia (the lumpy stuff) starting to darken, and, though it might not be obvious, starting to split at the top:


Also, I didn't want to report it after the abysmal failure of the first rice/straw jar, PLUS I was feeling that the substrate might have been too dry, but I made a pasteurized corn cob/oak branchlets/rice/oystershell "grain spawn" jars two days ago (11/10) and the pint jars are showing signs of growth, though the 4 oz jars are not (pretty sure it's the lack of moisture in these). If I can successfully make spawn cakes out of these, I'm hoping to eventually culture vigorous spawn that will be able to innoculate logs for outdoor culture (this is the back-up/alternate to the "cold incubated" cardboard mycelium tower).

I also want to try an outdoor bed of straw/sawdust/wood shavings with buried oak logs for longevity. These will be my late winter/early spring project. By then I should have "spent" oyster patches from the ones I'm growing now that I can use as well, though depending on how fast they develop, I may have to try to leap-frog the spawn one or more times.

I'll work out a plan to utilize the spawn to innoculate logs once the Shiitakes grow out too so hopefully I won't have to buy any more Shiitake spawn either.