Hyphal

What you have there is 'Omphalotus nidiformis' - the ghost fungus. They are bioluminescent - check them out in a *pitch dark* room - literally with no light. Let your eyes adjust for about 10 minutes and the younger fresher specimens will glow quite brightly, the older ones you should still notice. Nice finds!

Chunky numbers! Nice find....

No idea how many I got in the end, they went straight in the compost bin anyway. Next year the tray should fruit again - I've read that it's good practice to add a few handfuls of fresh chips and mix them in once a year.

The final cut - The biggest one - The final pull (the mature ones) - Subs - And the city -

I just used a colonised piece of wood - it was about 20cm's in length and about as round as a cardboard tube you get int the middle of a glad wrap roll... This is from memory though it was a year ago and my memory isn't what it used to be.

All grown up... I feel a little sad for some reason. Gonna hurt to pull these guys...

They do look very 'azureish'... If its obvious you are deliberately trying to grow only the mushrooms then I'm sure they could hit you for manufacture if they wanted to. If you could argue that is was genuinely an accident then as long as you didn't pick them or have any in your house then Im sure they wouldn't bother you. And lastly, I think the police have a very important job to do these days, and I don't envy them. But I'm sure (at least I would hope) that 'they' have the clarity and professionalism to put in to perspective the lack of an issue surrounding someone with a foam tray of woodchips with enough little fungi popping up for two mature people to have a 4 hour giggle and a life changing, relationship building evening together in the privacy of their own loungeroom. If they don't, then I can assure you they aren't the sort of people that I want 'serving and protecting' me from some of the real horrors that take place in current society.

Pretty much, but don't ruin an area in the process or take more than you need. The bit I used was only about 10 cm long but was very well covered in mycelium. Soak the chips you are going to use first overnight in water, then drain before use. Bury your material in the chips and keep it well watered (moist). Make sure your container had drainage holes - a big flower pot would work well for this. After a few weeks dig down with your finger to see if the mycelium is running - if it is, mix some parts of it around a little areas it isn't to help it spread more quickly.

Different mushroom species have different growth parameters... Its a matter of researching the optimum growth temperatures that different species like. Subs won't fruit in warm weather, and cubensis won't fruit in cold. Mycelium also has different optimum growing parameters, but isn't as fussy and can handle a wider variation in temps. Edit: Here is an old but a good link to a pdf that is worth bookmarking... http://forums.mycotopia.net/holding-tank/3...azures-pdf.html

Sorry strangebrew, I just realised I never answered your question - yes pretty much full shade all the time.

Round two...

Wow! Amazing..... Diverse little buggers...

As far as I can tell temperature isn't the factor you need to consider in the city - the temps drop more than low enough. It seems to be more a matter of moisture - or more importantly a spot that stays moist. Think low lying, high grass (to retain moisture), shaded, creek beds or irrigated areas.

haha.. Climate as well. Its a mixed bag.

I have a feeling the first ones could be Laccarias... Nice sub! Don't have to go far for those!! (better than a 3 hour drive.... )

Genetics - which is why cloning mushrooms works so well...

Its ok poo! Theres time still on your side, go back and get more after the next rains!!

Interesting info Sina. I have never come across the salt info before, goes to show I should put down the computer and pick up a book... I can see the interest in playing with some salt, but I still think its not necessary in a 'home brew' liquid culture.

Good point - I've been thinking about this and really I think comparatively farming and urban development has caused enough devastation for me not to consider it a major issue. Native Bushland might be a different story, but I doubt it very much.

Salt? Never heard of doing that before - if it inhibits growth of other nasties, wouldn't it also inhibit the growth of the target spores? The thing with spraying woodchips with spores is that the likely hood of them getting a foothold in amongst the billions of other organisms is very small. The best way to start to spread wood loving species is to first use your spores to start a normal grain or pf jar. Once this is established, break it up and spawn it to wood mulch that has first been soaked overnight, in a bucket or something similar. Allow the mycelium to transfer to the wood, and by then it should be strong enough to use as spawn to mix in outdoor mulch beds.

I think number 20 and 21 COULD possbily be Coprinus picaceus - Magpie fungus. But its only a guess.

AND - the funniest thing is, or perhaps the UN funniest - Amanita muscaria Don't grow in WA at all. Any Amanita found in WA is likely to be poisonus. Ydarb, stop being so fucking gun ho with your mushroom adventures and do some more study, you life depends on it.

Sorry man I misread your post. But does sounds strange, perhaps its a flaw somewhere in your technique. Best of luck.

There's heaps of good places around the city - the uni's being a great start. What does everyone think about the implications of introducing a mushroom species to an area it wasn't previously in term of impact on the local fungi of the area? Is it worth worrying about?

What do you mean by 'sterile mycelium'? Did your jars actually colonise? I have never had a problem with a print from overseas.