Mushroom cultivation

[Blasfemo]

So i have been trying new setups that are sustainable in the months i have been out of this forum and i will post a topic i consider must and can be of great importance if you are one that can plan ahead.

I got this idea from something i saw at ted.com about the power of mycelium.

I had grown shrooms before but not in this fation. The idea is this you get some logs from a good hardwood and you inoculate the logs with plugs that are pre spawned with the mycelium of specific mushroom like shiitake, lions mane and rishii.

Once the mycelium expands and conditions are right the fruit = mushroom come from the log.

Not only are they healthy and tasty they can be dried up and depending on latitude and longitude and RH in your region you can get at least a pound a year per log.

So far the most competitive price i have seen is available for people in the usa at fungi.com im still waiting for a quote shipping to EU. I bought 100 plugs for twice the price you can get for 1K plugs in there but hey one has to start somewhere, i inoculated 3 oak logs and im now seeing the first pins coming out.

In a time we never know when emergency can arise some logs that produce something you can dry\store and that requires low maintenance and low investment can prove a lot of value imo.

The reishi mushroom can be used to make medicinal tea and extract and i will leave a link collection with references, its not really edible but still valuable cancer regression cases have been atributed to it in what was former terminal patients.

I wont get in a total A B C manual on out to do the stuff im leaving the word out and i hope you do due diligence and adapt a system that works for you and your surroundings.


Important links and references

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/mush...sh_farm_garden - Mushroom Cultivation and Marketing

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/...roducts/2487/2

http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php...ubcatid=159#07 - Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua-bAdvxEhg -Make a spore syringe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fNHT...eature=related - Taking a Spore Print

Reishi studys and papers

http://www.reishiessence.com/clinicalstudies.html
http://www.reishi.com/FAQ.htm
http://mycosource.com/medicine.htm

Enjoy guys

[hunter63]

Thanks for the links.
Over the years I have done the bags in the basement, best ones were directly from a local mushroom farm, and did do a shiitake log, have had it for a couple of years, still get a couple a year.

Got it at a farmers market, DW kidded me about buying a "stick", but she does like the mushrooms.

[canid]

This log culture technique is the standard method for the commercial, and some small scale and home cultivation of Lentinus edodes, the shiitake mushroom. It is suitable for many species which grow as primary saprobes on wood, such as Hericium, Agrocybe aegerita, Plurotus species, Flammulina velutipes, etc.

Two great books on mushroom cultivation (both by Mr. Paul Stamets) are The Mushroom Cultivator and Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. They are fairly comprehensive, and do a fine job of outlining the home implementation of laboratory technique without undue complication or fuss.

I have been a student of microbiology for some years, and cultivation of edible fungi is a field in which I have quite some practice.

[Blasfemo]

I have been a student of microbiology for some years, and cultivation of edible fungi is a field in which I have quite some practice.

Lucky you! i have no capacity to implement any of the sterile conditions demanded in some set-ups, what i have done i tried to do first small casings to work on spore prints of fruiting bodies, then mix then in a sterile syringe and use this to inoculate saw wood of hard woods sometimes elm and others i have access to in the wild, once inoculated i try to keep it stable in RH and temperature and after that inoculate the logs themselves with this mix. I have had mixed results in all 3 steps, some syringes wont colonize the saw dust, plus in a survival scenario one might not be able to generate the energy or temperature to sterilize larger amounts on sawdust even using a pressure cooker... i have eaten myself at least one kilo ****ake from the successful inoculated logs i count like 300 grms a lot a year at least. I think i will keep working on this until i improve the yield.

Sorry for the late reply and thanks for stooping by canid

PS: in this time i have also seen Paul Stamets work and i was amazed and moved with some of is points, fungi will prove very useful in a grim future imo...

[canid]

the preperation of sterile media and implements is as simple as operating a pressure cooker. in essence, these things function an miniature autoclaves.

even absent of a pressure cooker, there are methods which circumvent the need for positive sterilization of other high temperature sanitization protocols are followed. for instance, bleach water sanitation or boiling of implements can be sufficient, and for the suitably (though less than absolutely) reliable production of sterile media, you might google 'fractional sterilization'.

for non-sterile media (pasteurized substrates, or woody substrates, clean (and dust free) conditions, avoidance of prolonged wet conditions and avoidance of stagnant air conditions ( generally as much free air circulation as can be afforded by CO2 and humidity requirements) are required. failing this, and as long as climatic conditions are suitable, outdoor conditions allow for hetero-culture conditions as an equilibrium of organisms within the substrate suitable for stable and healthy growth of the target culture. nature has a way of balancing itself out in a way that is uncannily conducive to cultivation of plants and fungi when you don't mess with it more than necessary.

[dwarvenranger]

I took a mushroom cultivation class at the local UF cooperative extension, it was well worth it. Learned how to sterilize medium and innoculate. My two bags of oyster mushrooms gave me several harvests. The shiitake log took several months longer to produce than I was expecting, guess it was the climate here. I was just about to give up on it and chop it into firewood when it started to produce. I've gotten several fuits off it now, but it's very irregular. I can't wait to get some land so I can expand, I love mushrooms.

[hunter63]

On my third shiitake log...since we post on this 4 years ago......
Buy them at the farmers market for $20 bucks....soak them for a day or two in a water troth, then throw in the woods.
Last winter had a Portabella box......Discussion here.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ght=portabella