http://www.permies.com/forums/forums/f-39/fungi JForum - http://www.jforum.net http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14673/130459 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14673/130459 It appears to be a Boletus of some form, although the stem does not have that bulbous appearance, their is no staining blue-green and the top does not appear to be dark enough for slippery jacks.
Anyone have some help, they were found in Hunter Valley of NSW, Australia in case that has an impact.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14620/130025 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14620/130025 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14540/129401 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14540/129401
Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture Chapter 4 Part 1

Here's the blurb...

Paul Wheaton and Alex Ojeda continue reviewing Sepp Holzer‘s Permaculture, chapter 4, on cultivating mushrooms. Paul shares about symbiculture. Sepp mentions how Chernobyl affected his mushroom sales, and Alex talks about mycoremediation. Paul talks about Paul Stamets, and his ways fungi are saving the world. Sepp writes about the symbiotic nature of fungi helping other plants. Paul talks about innoculating logs with mushrooms. Since mushrooms take up harmful substances and retain them, you should not eat mushrooms grown on a tree close to a road, or straw grown using pesticides. In the long run, hardwood generally gives higher yields than softwood. Paul talks about using fresh wood, and starting your own spawn. Paul talks about finding morels. Sepp writes about bringing back dormant logs by soaking them and pounding or shaking them.
Discussing the podcast.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14407/128305 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14407/128305 The Mycelial Network Collective is excited to officially announce plans for the 2nd ever Radical Mycology Convergence (RMC) and we want you to come! If you haven´t heard of the RMC before, you can read about first one (in 2011) at the link at the bottom of this email. Following up on the success of last year´s RMC we have hopes to expand the event this year to include even more events and we want you to participate!

What: As with the first RMC, we envision this unique event to be a volunteer-run gathering of mycologists, fungal enthusiasts, and Earth healers coming together to share skills and information related to the benefits of the fungal kingdom in terms of remediative properties as well as human uses. This weekend-long event will culminate in a remediation project (putting theory to practice) and will also be a unique chance to build community with like-minded mycophiles (aka mushroom lovers) from around North America. We are hoping to hold this years´s RMC in October or November somewhere along the West Coast. We are currently on the search for a location. If you have ideas or leads, please read the “Help Us Find A Location” section below.

Why: Because these skills need to get shared! We want to make information on fungi and their helaing powers accessible and tangible for as many people as possible without making it overly-heady or technical. By creating an encouraging space we hope to “bemushroom” all who attend.

Who: The Mycelial Network Collective, organizers of the RMC, would like to cordially invite anyone interested in participating in this event to come and learn, help out, or teach!

http://radicalmycology.wordpress.com/
Digesting the toxic wounds of civilization, feeding the roots of ecological sanity]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14223/126869 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14223/126869 Lepista/Clitocybe nuda) spawn on the way. anyone have any tips on these? I've got a goodly sized pile of mostly conifer chips, some alder chips, and some maple leaves that I plan to use as substrate. that sound at all reasonable?]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14181/126587 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/14181/126587
http://www.ecovativedesign.com/

Pretty cool concept - growing a replacement for styrofoam and other packaging, insulation, etc... by inoculating a waste product as substrate for mycelium to colonize, then baking it.

Curious to see how it evolves and if it gains any widespread market acceptance. ]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13899/124357 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13899/124357 1) put your grains n wood chips or dowels in a pot cover em with water after a few hours change the water let em sit for 12-24 (unless you plan to use popcorn if so let me know) if the water looks kinda scummy or gets that starchy skin on top change it
2)make you lids while the stuff is soaking you can get a bag of polly fil from walhell or a craft store for like 5 bucks it'll last years and the silicone is in the automotive section usualy sat RTV high temp on the package sometimes I've seen it marked as like liquid gasket or gasket filler using a drill you can make holes in a nice little stack for what your doing you only need 1 slightly bigger hole for the poly and 1 for the injector but if you decide to try cakes as well I'd say have 4 nocc points per lid. oh and also if you can try and use wide mouth jars much easier to clean after your done. i add a lil drop of silicone to each side of the lid and then stick it in a slit cut in the edge of a box for a drying rack or you could just set it on the jar
3) add a little dry as in un soaked grains to the bottom of your jar if your using wild bird seed then think just a couple layers enough to cover the bottom of the jar
4) drain your soaked grains well some people spread then out in a pan lined with towels and put a fan on em for a bit you want a decent amount of moisture inside but not much out side step 3 helps to give you a lil more leeway here as they will help soak up any extra moisture but to wet and you'll favor bacteria rather than fungi
5)fill your jars between 1/2 and 2/3rds the grain will expand and you want to have room to shake em later make sure to wipe the rims of the jar with a clean dry towel i usually put the lids on upside down( more important if your doing grain to grain transfers but more on that in a bit) go a head and sug em down doesn't have to be super tight but you don't have to leave em loose like you normally would when PCing since we have a good vent cover the lid with a bit of foil to keep your filters from getting soaked with condensation in the PC (a little gypsum can help to keep it from clumping too)
6)make sure you know your pc check that the vent is clear that the seals are good that it has a safety valve/plug of some kind and something to keep the jars up off the bottom a trivet a layer of lid rings bit of hardware cloth whatever you want the jars at least 1/2" off the bottom add plenty of water if you run out it can mess up your pc put the jars in and the lid on set it on the stove with the weight off until you see a good head of steam then drop the weight on once it starts rattling like crazy turn the heat down a bit so its just kinda ticking still rattling but not crazy like once its stabilized set your timer for 90min and hang around don't leave it unattended after 90min@15psi kill the fire and let it set DON'T pull the weight off while its at full pressure aside from prolly burning yourself it could explode your jars and will explode the grain kernels once its cooled down and vented slowly but is still warm to the touch carefully open it up and with oven mitts on take the jars out and give em a good shake leave the foil on settin the jars on a towel is a good idea as I've set hot jars on a cool counter or sink and the thermal shock shattered em
7) this kinda depends on how your house is and what space you have available if your ocd and have a closet or bathroom you could eat off any surface in you can skip the glovebox just give everything a extra cleaning taking out anything you can (like TP rugs toothbrushes soap that kinda stuff) tape over any vents oust/lysol bomb the room and close the door to let it settle go wash up put on freshly laundered clothes get your gear and bring it into your clean workspace you'll need your jars your spore or culture syringe a alcohol lamp (ever heard of a penny stove?) some paper towels a bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol(fill your little lamp with higher %alcohol it'll burn better but for wiping the 70%is better) light the lamp and set it to the side give your hands a good washing with acl then your jars the syringe with the cap on give it a good shake to mix up the spores or culture and pop the cap off the syringe and run it through the flames best if it glows just a bit with a fresh alc wipe down the injection site and give it a couple drops of spores if its a LC you can use a bit more but you don't want to throw off your moisture content some people shake the jar at this point i usually don't unless i used a lot of LC in each jar this way i see when the myc starts to form if you shake it it can sometimes start from the middle and you can't see it so you think your jars stalled out
8)set em someplace warm but not hot unless your someplace really cold don't worry about a incubator try not to mess with em to much wash your hands before you handel the jars and try not to shake em up till it hits at least 50% then if you want give it a good shake it'll take the myc a day to recover but it'll go faster after that when it looks like its 100% give it a few more days to a week longer ]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13865/124049 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13865/124049
I'm not sure if there's some policy on this forum about reposting things from elsewhere, but I haven't come across any, so I present to you an email I received with the instructions to 'Forward Widely!'

I went to the first ever Radical Mycology Convergence, and it was a totally amazing, inspiring, educational, empowering event. People traveled from as far away as south america and australia to come to our little gathering in Northwest Washington. Events included workshops and talks on mycoremediation, wild fungi forays, dye-making using mushrooms and lichens, sterile and non-sterile techniques for mushroom propagation, dialogues about culture, stories and jams around the fire, and plenty of good food. All volunteer-run, by amazingly dedicated people.

Anyway, without further ado here's the callout that I received, and hopefully some of you will take interest in it.

---

Hello friends, fellow mycophiles, and fungal enthusiasts!
The Mycelial Network Collective is excited to officially announce plans for the 2nd ever Radical Mycology Convergence (RMC) and we want you to come! If you haven´t heard of the RMC before, you can read about first one (in 2011) at the link at the bottom of this email. Following up on the success of last year´s RMC we have hopes to expand the event this year to include even more events and we want you to participate!

What: As with the first RMC, we envision this unique event to be a volunteer-run gathering of mycologists, fungal enthusiasts, and Earth healers coming together to share skills and information related to the benefits of the fungal kingdom in terms of remediative properties as well as human uses. This weekend-long event will culminate in a remediation project (putting theory to practice) and will also be a unique chance to build community with like-minded mycophiles (aka mushroom lovers) from around North America. We are hoping to hold this years´s RMC in October or November somewhere along the West Coast. We are currently on the search for a location. If you have ideas or leads, please read the “Help Us Find A Location” section below.

Why: Because these skills need to get shared! We want to make information on fungi and their helaing powers accessible and tangible for as many people as possible without making it overly-heady or technical. By creating an encouraging space we hope to “bemushroom” all who attend.

Who: The Mycelial Network Collective, organizers of the RMC, would like to cordially invite anyone interested in participating in this event to come and learn, help out, or teach!

We are also asking for as much feedback from people to help us build upon the success of the first RMC. If you can, please take the time to fill out the short interest survey linked below. It will greatly help guide our planning process and to make this year´s RMC as successful as the last.

Survey address:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C52D9JN

Lastly, we are seeking help with our current top priority: securing a location for some time in October or November of this year. As you can see in the survey, we are looking for suggestions and leads for free or cheap locations somewhere between San Franciso and the Seattle area. The ideal site would be able to host several hundred people, have good foraging sites in the area as well as potential areas for mycological remediation work.

As a fruiting body of all of our mycelial efforts, it will be through our combined efforts that we envision, organize and co-create this year's RMC, and we would love to have your input and involvement! We are especially in need of people to help organize and promote this year's event, lead workshops, and create promotional materials. If you interested in helping in any way or if you have ideas or leads on locations, please contact us at radmycology@gmail.com.

For more information and to stay in touch follow the links below.

The official website for the 2012 RMC is here:
http://radicalmycology.wordpress.com/radical-mycology-convergence-2012/

You can also join our (low traffic) email list to stay up to date on the RMC here:
http://lists.actforclimatejustice.org/listinfo.cgi/radmycology-announce-actforclimatejustice.org

Of follow us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/mycology.convergence

Please consider donating to the RMC via Paypal to help make this event possible:
http://tinyurl.com/78czqs7

To read about the 2011 RMC, see our reportback here:
http://radicalmycology.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/reportback-on-the-first-ever-radical-mycolgoy-convergence/


In sporidarity via ourcelium,
the Mycelial Network Collective, organizers of the Radical Mycology Convergence
www.radicalmycology.com]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13861/124040 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13861/124040 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13543/121549 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13543/121549 you can see here but no with morels. I was just wondering if anyone knows if there are any mushroom producing fungi that can be pests to plants? If there are are these them?
Right now there are no plants in the area (other then weeds volunteers) I am just working on improving the soil.

I took the photos with my cell phone which doesn't have the best camera. I attached them to this post.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13283/119863 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13283/119863 They are spongy/rubbery with a woody stem. Slightly tacky/sticky to the touch.
Small round pores visible on top. Bruising an orange-ish color.
Young mushrooms appear pale yellow and somewhat bulbous... more mature ones have a bright orange color to rim and on the underside.
They remind me of varieties of Ganoderma... but so far I have not been able to make a positive ID.
Fresh odor, no bitter flavor.
Anyone?]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13150/118914 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13150/118914
I work in a print shop and book bindery in Mississauga, Ontario, and I was wondering if there are edible, marketable species of mushroom that would break down the inks, glues, laminates and the like in the paper waste of my trade. I would appreciate any advice as to research I should check out, species that will or could do what I'm talking about, what I should do and how I should do it to identify the best species and do a trial run, and anything anyone could think of that I would find useful. Also, if there are any places selling spore or cultures for this sort of stuff, I'd love to know where to go.

What I'm envisioning is a stack of large, flat tupperware that sit in a stack in the artificial light of my workplace. I will monitor the humidity levels and spray as needed.

I would also love to hear about any other projects focusing on the unconventional use of waste materials. Thanks!

-CK]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13068/118257 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13068/118257
Stay in trouble,
-A]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13031/117849 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/13031/117849
Seeing there are a few people on here who know a thing or two about mushrooms I thought I would ask for a ID.

I found this growing in my chicken run last year.




I dont know enough to really tell what it was but from searching the web I got a tentative identification of shaggy parasol, but I dont know enough to be at all sure. I'm interested because, after a little investigation, it seems the mycelium it came from is pretty big, a patch maybe 8" by 6" so they mite well come up again. And half of that runs under the chicken run so if its something less pleasant I mite need to keep an eye out to stop the chooks getting holed of them if they come up again. I put a bucket over that one as soon as I saw it to keep them off it but it was right next to the back door of the run and a real pain to get around :-P.

Many thanks,]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12704/115079 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12704/115079
Fungal Fantastic: The Spirit of Good

I tried to embed the video but looks like there's not an option for that since the recent forum changes.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12629/114225 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12629/114225
http://vimeopro.com/bioneers/2011conferencevideo/video/31616967]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12611/113966 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12611/113966 http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/growing-oyster-mushrooms-in-coffee-grounds.html

I want to do this, but I would have to put them in my sun room or outside so they would get enough light since my house is sort of dark. Would it be too cold for them, or does it not matter?]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12404/112545 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12404/112545
What mushrooms would you try with these types of tree?

Thanks!]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12213/110927 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12213/110927
Small batch medical factories

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/ps-mmm062207.php]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12084/109704 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12084/109704 I am trying to use a resource here with out getting into the the artificial side of things.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12034/109317 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/12034/109317 Thanks very much!
]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11914/108405 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11914/108405 I've learned a good deal and gathered much information on this forum, reading what is tucked here and there in threads and posts. Thanks for that.

I am getting things together, planning, wanting to germinate some spore, Oysters. I will try to post my grand success or if I fall on my face, I'll post that.

We are busy but I'll try to be back.

Please post what you have tried that didn't work, let us know what has. Thankyou

Richard]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11843/107865 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11843/107865 I thought I would poll the masses and get some opinions on my cleanup plans. I have a 24ftx40ft area of blackberries that I am clearing out. We have been cutting up the blackberry canes into small pieces (aprox 6-12 inches long) and putting them in 18 gallon round plastic totes that have drainage holes drilled in the bottom of the totes. The plan is to mix the chopped canes, shredded paper, and coffee grounds together and then inoculate the mixture with oyster mushroom spawn by mixing in chopped mushroom butts. I am going to moisten the whole mess and cover it with wet cardboard to seal in the moisture. The totes will go into the garage to overwinter and (hopefully) the spawn will eat up all the blackberry canes leaving my family with tasty mushrooms and good compost.
Has anyone tried blackberry canes as a source of food for mushrooms? Should I try to sterilize my substrate before inoculating it? Do you think there is a better species of mushroom to use besides Oyster mushrooms? An edible mushroom would be nice, but not necessary...as long as the spores do not make my family sick and it breaks down the blackberry canes into useable compost, I am happy. Thank you in advance! ]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11654/106311 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11654/106311
I just bought a couple of ounces of "MycoGrow™ Soluble" to play with, and I was thinking of sprinkling some on my compost pile, with the hope that it would become sort of a giant pile of inoculant that I can use all over my yard.

However the MycoGrow came with no instructions, so I have the following questions:

1. When would be a good time to put it on my compost pile? The weather is getting fairly cool now (a little below freezing), and also my pile is more wood chips than compost at the moment. I am worried that if I put it on now, the freezing may kill off the bacteria & fungi in the MycoGrow. Or, because the pile is still cooking (inside), the heat may kill them?

2. Will the chlorine in my tapwater kill the bacteria & fungi when I mix them with water? Should I let the water "outgas" for a couple of hours before I use it?

3. How should I store the MycoGrow? What temperature?

I don't know much about fungi but I am reading "Mycelium Running".

Thanks!]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11574/105694 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11574/105694 http://www.hostdefense.com/pvalue/
So I understand the P value system as it applies to growing out a strain in a petri dish. My question is should one follow this system if producing from existing mushrooms? Let me better explain: So assume I order a strain of mushrooms from Paul designated as P2. I directly use this strain to produce spawn and grow mushrooms. Next I use stem butts from the crop just produced to start a new batch of mushrooms. Would this then by his system be considered P3? If I did this again would that be considered P4?

I am interested in outdoor growing so I will not most likely be constantly returning to an original strain as you would in indoor culture and I am having a hard time understanding where if ever I should consider cutting my losses so to speak and returning to an original young strain. Obviously if I get a mushroom bed growing and can successfully keep it producing I would not be interested in tilling it all up to start again with a younger strain.... so I guess I am thinking how this applies more towards log cultures etc. Sepp mentions he will inoculate logs originally, but then will allow the inoculated logs to inoculate more logs in an endless cycle. Would the P value system apply here? Might you still want to periodically go back to an original strain every so many years?

Thanks for any insight.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11526/105164 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11526/105164 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11459/104660 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11459/104660
I welcome any comments or thoughts. Thanks.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11450/104586 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11450/104586 A neighbor uses green grass looking indoor outdoor carpeting in as a weed barrier/walkway in her greenhouse. For the last two years at seasons end she removes the carpet for cleaning and has had truffles growing under where the carpet covered the ground. They don't grow anywhere else in the greenhouse just under the carpet. Has anyone heard of this before? The walkways are comprised of the pumice pine duff that is common here.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11444/104540 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11444/104540
Think I might have to experiment with drying some at the rate they're bringing them home...

]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11440/104517 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11440/104517




]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11326/103562 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11326/103562 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11325/103556 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11325/103556
I've read that shaggy mane also often grows in compacted soil. Does compacting the soil actually encourage them?

Rachel]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11314/103498 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11314/103498
Fungi For the People llc.
Education and supplies for sustainably
harvesting & cultivating mushrooms.

Upcoming Workshops :

November 6th or 20st February 5th or 12th Making Mushroom Logs - Cost: $50 Limit 15 approx. 3 hours
Learn new skills on mushroom cultivation and create a reliable supply of
food and medicine. As a small group we will work together selecting and
preparing the right wood for growing a variety of fungi. Everyone will take
home a living log culture of either Reishi, Lions Mane, or the Elm Oyster
with the ability and supplies to create more.

November 13th Fungi 101 - Cost: $20 Limit 15 approx. 3 hours
Basic training on fungi life cycle and an introduction to mushrooms of
the city and forest. You will also learn how to identify and harvest over
20 species of fungi.
NOTE: We will be traveling around Eugene by bike so please dress appropriately!

November 27th or December 4th Intro to Culturing Fungi - Cost: $125 Limit 10 approx. 4 hours
Learn to capture fungal tissue from the wild and nurture healthy mycelia for
use in the garden and for growing mushrooms using low-tech lab techniques.
NOTE: This is an advanced skills class, so an established awareness of various
Fungi and some if their virtues is helpful prior to enrolling.

February 19th or 26th March 11th or 18th Mushrooms in the Garden - Cost: $50 Limit 15 approx. 4 hours
A hands-on course for integrating fungi into the garden and greenhouse. We will
create a perennial mushroom garden bed, make mushroom logs specific to garden
plans, and establish a mushroom growing plan for a greenhouse. No prior
cultivation knowledge required, this class is all about getting to know fungi and
learning to interact with them.

February 10th, 11th, and 12th : 3 Days of Mushroom Workshops Cost $250 Limit 15
We will take 3 sessions to work though Fungi morphology (identification) lifecycle and life styles,
along with more in-depth cultivation techniques, making medicinal extractions of
Reishi and Turkey tail, along with a primer on fungal ecology of the urban Eugene
environment. We will apply appropriate techniques for using these new found
skills to remediate damaged soils and prevent future damage and toxification of
our environment through the use of mycofiltration and digesting toxic materials with fungi.
We will begin Friday evening with a Mycology 101 session, and then
do 6 hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday. All materials and lunch will be provided.

These workshops are lead by Ja Schindler of Eugene, Oregon, an amateur mycologist who has been dedicated to studying fungi for the past 8 years. With a background in commercial mushroom harvesting, working on a production farm, initiating mycorestoration projects and developing new low-tech mushroom culturing techniques Ja has many skills to offer. He has also recently hosted workshops at gatherings such as the Radical Mycology Convergence and the NW Permaculture Convergence, and is available for consultation and custom tailored workshops at your place.
Contact by phone/text at (586)321-9727 or email fungiforthepeople@gmail.com
visit www.FUNGIFORTHEPEOPLE.WORDPRESS.com for more information]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11280/103195 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11280/103195 Toad-stooly amazing! Gardeners stunned by mega mushroom which weighs the same as a small baby



[img width=634 height=422]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T2rU5C_80E0/TkeiRGK6dmI/AAAAAAAAAjs/z5P0AZKyVak/s1600/Giant+Mashroom+01.jpg[/img]


They are normally picked up in the supermarket in trays or bags you can easily fit in your fridge - but not this mushroom.


The giant fungus has sprung up at the Trentham Estate, Staffordshire, were stunned gardeners watched it grow and grow - to a mammouth 18 inches wide.


The Giant Puffball now weighs in at a hefty 5lb - the same as a small baby - and mysteriously appeared in the estate's Italian Garden last month.


http://pakagri.blogspot.com/2011/08/toad-stooly-amazing-gardeners-stunned.html
]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11192/102300 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11192/102300 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11160/101958 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11160/101958
• To supercharge the decomposition of mulch,  check logs and hugel beds to rapidly build soil and decompose nutrients.  No off farm nutrition is being used in the project, the entirety of the forest garden nutrition will be derived from decomposed mulch,  dynamic accumulator and nitrogen fixing plants.  All of the mulch is derived from waste products originating on the property, primarily small chipped trees from thinning.

• Year round self sufficiency of edible mushrooms with minimal work and self sustaining in that no further spawn needs to be purchased after initial establishment.  To ensure this is sustainable from a genetic  perspective  minimum three strains of each species will be introduced in close proximity.  To minimize workload bottlenecks and supply continuously overlapping harvests multiple strains are used and multiple wood species within each strain. 

Other than shiitake I will be sticking to species that are native to our area (or very close) and fairly mainstream as far as edibility goes;  shiitake, oyster, maitake, lion’s man, King Stropharia, turkey tail, reishi,  shaggy manes, shaggy parasols and morels.
In my view saprophytic  fungi are also a highly neglected aspect of agricultural systems from their role in plant protection.  Aside from protecting plants from parasitic fungi (ones that kill trees) via exclusion some species actively kill virus’s, nematodes, insects, etc.  Pretty much whatever a chemical pesticide does fungi do better and do it proactively.

A few parts of the project:
Logs (shiitake, oyster, lion’s mane, turkey tail, reishi), the shiitake will be cultivated via traditional log culture however the others will be incorporated into various aspects of the garden as check logs, hugel beds and log stacks which fresh logs can be added ever few years to keep the colony going. 
A few of the logs laying up off the ground out of reach other fungi species in the incubation area…

[img width=765 height=1024]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6033/6310388369_339aa90d0f_b.jpg[/img]
shiitakelogs by pv_agroforest, on Flickr

[img width=800 height=597]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6098/6310908892_81d2d37ff2_b.jpg[/img]
oyster logs by pv_agroforest, on Flickr

Maitake bed – combination of stump inoculation, wood chip bed and log raft.  Once established this will be “fed” fresh chips, logs and partially composed spent shiitake logs.

Maitake bed ..

[img width=800 height=597]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6226/6320777706_6f324ff915_b.jpg[/img]
maitakebed-4a by pv_agroforest, on Flickr

Area excavated about 4” deep and covered with soaked cardboard with the top ply torn off the upper face.  Mycelium travels quickly on the torn face of cardboard hopefully forming a quick barrier to other fungi trying to enter.  Sawdust spawn is sprinkled evenly then lightly sprinkled with fresh honey locust and birch sawdust.
Fresh honey locust wood chips are soaked in non chlorinated water quickly and then laid about 3” deep and mixed with spawn at about 20% ratio.
Bottom and sides of honeylocust and birch logs scored with chainsaw then laid scored side down into the bed.

[img width=765 height=1024]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6212/6310385775_acf5e87571_b.jpg[/img]
maitakebed-log prep by pv_agroforest, on Flickr

Additional spawn packed between each log then covered with soaked wood chips, foot tamped and covered again..

[img width=765 height=1024]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6115/6310384155_07a55a6689_b.jpg[/img]
maitakebed-3 by pv_agroforest, on Flickr

Stump (in foreground of first pic) inoculation from below with inoculated oak branches, top of stump was innoculated with spawn dowels ..

[img width=765 height=1024]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6152/6196722453_5d3bf4fabc_b.jpg[/img]
maitake1 by pv_agroforest, on Flickr



Wood chip bed – This will be the entranceway to the forest garden in the spring it will be inoculated with King Stropharia, Morel and shaggy mane and used as a mother bed  which with luck will spread into the forest garden  via wood chip paths developing satellite colonies in the niches that suit them.
Wood Chip bed (primarily a mix of mulberry, cherry, birch, apple and soapberry)

[img width=800 height=597]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6054/6310903596_1fd99e1e1e_b.jpg[/img]
KingStrophariaBed by pv_agroforest, on Flickr]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11126/101608 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/11126/101608 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10923/99498 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10923/99498 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10922/99497 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10922/99497 this dude often shares some pretty cool things ... y'may wanna subscribe ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jof0fyUDSCw]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10464/95508 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10464/95508 Thanks
Mac]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10434/95284 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10434/95284 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10303/94217 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10303/94217 I plan on making some ponds (Sepp Holzer style) and will probably experiment with this. I wonder if a gley would be created from the decomposing bags. Anyways, I was wondering if any of you had any ideas or experiences that relate to this. Or if you've actually read the whole book then please tell of any missing info or important info?]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10242/93516 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10242/93516
Just put in an order through Fungi Perfecti for plug (dowel) spawn. Ended up getting some of each of the eight types they have available.
http://fungiperfecti.com/plugs/plugs.html

This should be enough to try out three to five 3-4 foot logs for each species, that way we can see what we like and what does well here.

I'll be taking down a dozen or so oaks and a couple of doug fir tomorrow that are in the right size range (6-12" trunks) which should give me more than enough wood for this round of experiments. I'll let the cut wood age a week or two and then innoculate with the plug spawn.

Has anyone here tried growing the Turkey Tail mushrooms?  This will be my first experience with them and I'm curious about others experiences.  The customer rep at FP recommended to keep them away from the other species.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10181/92978 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10181/92978 http://mysuperherotraining.com/inspiration/wilcock-avo-nick/ ]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10119/92509 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/10119/92509
I think it is one, if it is there is a funny story here about how nature will find a way.

At my work we have a company BBQ once a year for all the employees and vendors and all their families. Every year we make mushrooms in one form or another. Generally portobellos and shiitakes. I found these growing very near where we sometimes clean and wash them and definitely cook and serve them. So if these are portobellos they have naturalized most likely from spores but possibly from stems or bits and pieces that came loose from one or the other actions listed above.

Thanks,

Jeff
]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9985/91255 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9985/91255
If anybody else is interested, I am planning to do the following:

Set up an Inoculation Chamber where I will inoculate live cultures of Oyster Mushrooms (Pleuroteus Djamor) into agar media inside petri dishes.

I will isolate the best rhizomorphic patterns to transfer a wedge of the media to another dish until I get a strain that grows rapidly.

I will then transfer the best strain to a substrate medium and use various amounts of plastics shredded into the jars with woodchips.


some jars will grow better than others, I will use the best shrooms I see working off of the Plastics because SHROOMS WILL MUTATE AND THE NEXT GENERATION WILL EAT MORE PCB's.

S I will then start the system over and develop a strain of a better adapted mushroom... the plan is to develop a strain powerful enough to compsot plastics in a reasonable time for composting to become leisure.

I will continue to post my experiment and update with pics from time to time... stay tuned

I will be using the fastest growing Oyster mushroom:

Pleurotus djamor
Pink Oyster

________________________________________

This species encompasses a complex of brilliantly pink Oyster mushrooms. The pink Oyster varieties are the most common occurring wild Pleurotus in pan-tropical climatic zones of the world. Known for its speed to fruiting, ability to flourish on a wide variety of base materials, and high temperature tolerance, this species is so aggressive as to colonize unpasteurized bulk substrates before competitors can flourish. When growing this mushroom en masse, albino clusters sometimes form.

Mycelial Characteristics: White at first, casting a longitudinally linear mycelium, often over-run with long, diverging rhizomorphs, eventually cottony with maturity, and aerial. Most strains soon develop strong pinkish tones, especially as the mycelium matures, at and around the sites of primordia formation. Flaming pink primordia often form as cluster colonies along the inside periphery of the petri dish and/or around the site of inoculation. As grain (rye) matures, pink rhizomorphs and mycelia can predominate. A milky gray metabolic exudate collects at the bottom of the incubation containers.
Microscopic Features: From the same fruiting pink spores are collected from pink mushrooms, and light beige spores from mushrooms that were originally pink but faded to cream beige.

Suggested Agar Culture Media: Malt Yeast Peptone Agar (MYPA), Potato Dextrose Yeast Agar (PDYA), Oatmeal Yeast Agar (OMYA), or Dog Food Agar (DFA)
Spawn Media: Grain spawn for all three generations.
Substrates for Fruiting: Hardwood sawdust, cereal straw, corn waste, coffee residue, cotton waste, banana fronds, palm debris, and sugar cane bagasse. One formula employed be Brazilian growers calls for the proportionate mixing of 100 lbs. sugar cane/ 8 lbs. rice bran/ 3 lbs. rice straw/ 2 lbs calcium carbonate. The mixture is mixed, wetted, and pasteurized at 140* F for 2-4 hours. Bano et al. found that this mushroom (as "P. flabellatus") gave the highest yields when cotton seed powder was added at 132 g. per kg. or dry wheat straw. The total mass of the mushrooms grown was 85% over the yields from unsupplemented wheat straw. Interestingly, the protein content of the dried mushrooms also rose to 38%.

Royse and Zaki found that the dual addition of the commercially available supplements Spawn Mate II and Fast Break at a combined rate of 168 g. per kg. of wheat straw substantially enhanced yields of "P. flabellatus". In these tests, biological efficiency increased from 22% to 77% in a 28 day harvest period. It is suspected that the yields of other Oyster species would be similarly improved.

Yield Potentials: Given good crop management, biological efficiency rated at 75-150%, largely dependent on the age of the fruibody at harvest. Some strains of this species are equally as productive, in terms of biological efficiency, as the most vigorous strains of P. pulmonarous and P. ostreatus.
---Growth Parameters---
Spawn Run:
 Incubation Temperature: 75-85* F (24-30* C)
 Relative Humidity: 95-100%
 Duration: 7-10 days CO2: >5000 ppm
 Fresh Air Exchanges: 0-1 per hour
 Light Requirements: n/a
Primordia Formation:
 Initiation Temperature: 65-75* F (18-25* C)
 Relative Humidity: 95-100%
 Duration: 2-4 days
 CO2: 500-1000 ppm
 Fresh Air Exchanges: 5-8 per hour
 Light Requirements: 750-1500 lux
Fruitbody Development:
 Temperature: 70-85* F (20-30* C)
 Relative Humidity: 85_90%
 Duration: 3-5 days
 CO2: 500-1500 ppm
 Fresh Air Exchanges: 5-8 per hour
 Light Requirements: 750-1500 lux
Cropping Cycle:
 2 crops, 7-10 days apart







]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9943/90862 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9943/90862 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9894/90475 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9894/90475
[img width=500 height=453]http://www.permies.com/images/spiky-fungus-500.jpg[/img]

super high res version

]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9754/89246 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9754/89246
I have recently bought and read the book Mycellium Running, and if I wasn't a mycophile before, I sure am now! So, I would really like to know if there is a place where I could come by some useful practical knowledge on using fungi in their different ways. I'm thinking, mycoremediation, using mycorrhizal fungi, mycopesticides, etc. Preferably in Europe, but not necessarily. WWOOFing would be ideal, but I am more than willing to pay my own food and sleep in a tent to be able to learn more about this.

Does anyone know about a place where I could learn?

With love for the Earth,
Berry]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9669/88490 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9669/88490
Any ideas of what these may be good for? ]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9566/87724 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9566/87724 ]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9549/87534 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9549/87534
Someone was trying to debate with me that micorrhiza fungi cannot digest pollutants. I think mycelium and mycorhizal fungi(being the hyphae around the roots)  are one, and fungi such as that of oyster mushrooms can happily digest many pollutants such as hydro-carbons.

I never did biology at school, so be kind.

Thanks

]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9511/87099 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9511/87099 I  saw some gum chunks at the side of the road I could pick up, they are recently cut, but I have no spawn at the moment.
I did a fair bit of reading so far (Stammets) and he suggests one method were you use the spores of an older mushroom and the other were you use the lower part which is usually thrown away to grow your spawn. Since I'm not good at searching wild mushrooms, I would like to begin with shop bought ones. So you think these methods work with shop bought mushrooms too?
And then there is a second problem: you begin to grow your spawn and that needs time . Either you first got your wood, but until the spawn is ready you wood might be to old or you risk you don't get wood at all.
At the moment I could get a lot of gum trees (eucalypt) or pine.
Straw is too expensive here and there is no way I would know how it's treated.
But I have got a pile of fresh wood chips too.]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9424/86079 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9424/86079 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9321/85166 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9321/85166 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9216/84191 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9216/84191
Should I boil some of it up and place the some king oyster plug spawn in between layers in a plastic container? If this colonizes fully can I break up this block of mycellium into chunks and place it in between layers of pasteurised cardboard in a laundry basket in a dark room?

Any other tips? Will this produce many king oysters or should I add some pasteurized hardwood chips  in the laundry basket as well?

]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9208/84015 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/9208/84015 http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/70721

Paul Stamets talks about the uses of medicinal mushrooms, mycelium and ecosystem remediation. ]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/8780/79735 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/8780/79735
I have a bit of a unique opportunity on several fronts as I am in the process of starting an edible forest garden at a new property which will be planted this fall, all the tree stock is being held in dense plant spacings at our  current property which makes it fairly easy to hit them with regular innoculations of mycorrhizal spore slurries of chosen edibles..  My hope is that by steering the mycorrizal species  heavily in the direction of choice edibles during the initial establishment stage they have a higher chance of becoming predominant fungal species long term.

Cast of characters:;

Mushrooms  - Boletus edulis, Morel and the Chantrelles are the primary mushrooms that will be used but Lobster, hedgehog, matsutake have also been added on occasion and possibly some others in future.  Some of the morels are from local collections I have done, everything else is sourced from purchased dried Canadian wild harvested mushrooms.

Trees/shrubs that are being innoculated:. include; chinese chestnut, paw paw, european pear, asian pear, plum, cherry, mulberry, korean nut pine, saskatoon, alder, white oak, pecan, hickory, hazelnut, haskap and likely a few others I have forgotten atm. 

Methods - Spore slurries will be the only innoculation method (no spawn), both because it is simple, cheap and more importantly because imo the high degree of genetic diversity of spore vs spawn increases the chances of finding a good fungal match for my environmen/host tree.  Several different application methods have been used.  Bascially we are taking a shotgun approach both in terms of mushroom species, tree species and application methods.


Assuming I can figure out how to upload pics, attached are some pics of the "innoculation beds".
[img width=240 height=179]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2571/5833748643_4acc3b3c61_m.jpg[/img]innoculationbeds by pv_agroforest, on Flickr

]]> http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/8736/79372 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/8736/79372 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/8650/78586 http://www.permies.com/forums/posts/preList/8650/78586