Anybody grow mushrooms?

[progressoid]

No, no, not that kind. Just the edible kind.

How hard is it to grow them? I was thinking about trying my hand at Shiitake shrooms. Any tips?



I'm getting sick of paying so much for them.

[Denninmi]

1. Yup, various kinds. Pretty much every outdoor type Fungi Perfecti sells.

Some have worked better than others. King Stropharia, Shitake, and Shaggy Manes did the best. I've gotten some of the Sulfur Shelf to grow, but never actually ate one, they always seem too woody even when pretty young.

Shitakes are very easy. I have grown them on black cherry and ash with success. Oak is said to be best, but I never had any oak trees to cut down. The logs will produce for about 3 to 5 years.

The King Stropharia are awesome, some of them are enormous. They are also easy, you just need a bed of straw and neutral pH, non-aromatic woodchips (maple or ash would be best).

Shaggy Manes grow easily, the problem with them, though, is that they, more than any other kind, seem to be grit magnets -- they seem to actually absorb sand into the flesh as they grow, and no amount of cleaning, scraping, washing ever seems to get it all, no matter what I do.

OTOH, morels didn't work out for me, I got 3 mushrooms to grow. Lion's Mane - none. And, even though they are said to be easy, I tried oysters twice and none ever grew from the logs I inoculated, yet ironically they grow wild on stumps in my yard.

[progressoid]

2. Oak for Shitake huh?

I have an oak tree that needs to come down. Actually half of it fell down in a hail/wind storm about 10 days ago. Think I'll do a little reading up on this.

Thanks!

[Denninmi]

5. Oak is said to be the best for shitakes.

From what I seem to recall, you should inoculate the logs within 3 months of felling the tree, so if you want to try it, now seems like an ideal opportunity.

Its easy to do -- you just drill holes in the log, insert the dowel spawn, and seal it with wax. Then stack the logs someplace where you can water them daily for a couple of months. Fungi Perfecti has complete instructions in the catalog or on the website.

[Lasher]

3. You got morels to grow?

I wish I could grow just 3. I thought it was impossible to cultivate.

[Denninmi]

4. I bought the kit from Fungi Perfecti.

3 morels for $25. Not exactly a rip roaring success. I didn't even eat them, I put them in water in the blender, and poured it back on the patch in hopes of encouraging more. I haven't seen one in 6 years since. Of course, it seems like the weather is NEVER right here in the spring. If its warm, its usually too dry. Or its wet, but too cold. They're a really fickle mushroom anyway.

[progressoid]

7. OK, since doing a little research...

I think maybe I'm going to go the easy route to start with and get one of those ready to grow kits.

I don't think I have the time or patience just yet to do the plugs in the logs and all that.

[Shagbark Hickory]

6. I tried growing *that kind* in college. No luck.

[ohiosmith]

8. Not since I changed the insoles in my runners.