Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Mycology (That's A Fancy Word For The World Of Mushrooms)


What to do when you are granted a brief reprieve from the House-of-Many-Ailments?

Dash up-up-up the mountain to Afton. To Edible Landscaping. Take in the sun. Loaf for a bit in the citrus greenhouse (a mini-tropical get-away). Talk spring plans. Think spring plans.

And come home with something brand new.

For me? A shiitake mushroom log. A white oak log - about 40" long. Holes have been drilled into it and plugged with shiitake spores. It should produce for four years or so. Edible Landscaping sent me home with an easy care sheet. And the confidence to try something new. Smart!

Pssst. Edible Landscaping ships!

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Image from Wikimedia.

3 comments:

That Girl said...

Growing mushrooms sounds so exotic! I can't wait to hear how it goes.

Tree hugging said...

Our family collects wild mushrooms, and one of our favorites has always been Chicken Mushrooms (which oddly enough really do have the texture and flavor of chicken).

Unfortunately the only one that seems to be availble for growing them commercially is a closely western species that grows on spruce and fir. So... where are we to find large spruce and fir logs at this altitude? The MCIntire recycling center, that's where!

We found a huge frazier fir (probably the cities christmas tree), cut off the branches and used a hacksaw to remove a 5-6 foot section of the trunk. (I'm sure some people in the parking lot were wondering what we were up to...) We plan to plug this with Chicken Mushrooms from Fungi Perfecti, after it ages a few months. We also got a kit to grow Oyster mushrooms in our spent coffee grounds.

Bonbon Oiseau said...

thanks for opening up a whole new can of..uh..mushrooms for me!