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That'd be brilliant Wt. for all three species. are you still at same address? I'll post some seeds to you.

Hi Watertrade, do you have Agrocybe agerita and Hypholoma capnoides cultures still going?

for me... Truffles (T.melanosporum) I wish i could afford White truffle..... but then again I'd probably use the $1000's it would cost on something else. Mushies- The meaty texture and great flavour of Pleurotus eryngii and P.nebrodensis is hard to beat. close behind them are Elm oysters. Morels are unique, i haven't had enough of them yet , only one small feed so far, but could be a good season coming up soon in all the areas that were burnt last summer. wood ear (Auricularia spp.) for a contrast of texture with other mushrooms, say oysters. Oil,onion , garlic, fresh chile then oyster m., Wood ear,salt, then chopped Epazote, 1/2 cup water, cover. cook 5 min. as a filling for mushroom tacos wrapped in some fresh made , warm corn tortillas, cheese or avocado and salsa verde. Shiitake - sliced and cooked with a bit of oil on med-high heat to reduce moisture. a touch of salt helps to draw it out. Add abit of minced ginger, then a splash of rice wine. finish with a few drops of sesame oil. and dress with abit of soy sauce to taste. ....tasty Suillus granulatus, if young and not yet 'Sloppy jacks'. I like the unusual texture and colour of Lactarius deliciosus. I haven't tried preserving them yet , but would like to try it, both salted and in oil and herbs. is it still the season for them? I've been getting a few of these lately under river redgum, but the maggots are getting on top of them now and they were better earlier in the season. Boletus multicolor not a big classic Porcini flavour, but they're a meaty textured mushroom. they're a bit scary when you bruise or cut them cause they go blue immediately. As soon as they hit the boiling water the blue disappears.

Shaggie manes Soup. in a saucepan, saute 4 chopped shallots or 1 med onion in 2tblspn butter add chopped shaggies 250gm with a crushed clove of garlic fry gently til the mushies give up a bit of juice add 3-4 cups stock - chicken or veg Bring to boil then drop back to simmer 15 min liquidise with stick blender in frypan, melt 2 tblspn butter add 150-200 gms of chopped field, button, or oyster mushrooms till soft add to saucepan, simmer a min or 2 stir in 1/2 double cream sharpen with 1-2tblspn lemon juice throw in half small handfull chopped parsley Fresh french Tarragon goes really well too if you've got it. Oh yeah, salt and pepper to taste. enjoy. Any grit that might be inthe mushies is laft at the bottom of the pot. Where I get shaggies from is sandy soil and its hard to get them totally clean so this is a good way around it. Hey Worowa is that the same shaggie mane (culture)?

If you're gonna do sterile culture, then tear the shroom stem in half from bottom to cap and cut a small piece out with flamed scalpel or, tear a piece out with flamed tweezers then use on agar. ...like Paradox said.... the tree options you mentioned would most likely contaminate if you used the exposed stem bases. Particularly given the nutrient concentration of the substrates you propose to use . I have , however successfully fruited 'Shimeji' or Elm Oyster by using the parts you mention to inoculate recycled paper pellet kitty litter. In a container pour boiling water over paper pellet to which a tspn or so of gypsum, a pinch of lime and a pinch of malt sugar is added for about every 2 cups. stir to mix thoroughly, add more water if too dry. I don't have exact measure of water , I just do it by eye. Then half fill plastic freezer bags with mix and allow to cool. Put the stem buts into bags and loosly tie up the tops and incubate indoors til colonized. It doesnt have a lot of nutrient so wont yield as much as heavily suplemented substrate but wont contaminate as easily either. If you want you can use it to spawn logs of poplar or willow and lay them in the garden to fruit when the season is right .

No, but I have heard of freshly picked, chipped willow twigs being used. Pour boiling water over them and soak overnight . Water drained off and then soak base of (or whole) cuttings in water overnight before planting. I've been aware of this method for many years but not done any trials myself. I normally buy 8000ppm liquid and dilute what I need to required conc. or use straight for hardwood or difficult stuff.

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I met a guy earlier this year who has been working on aid projects in Sub-Saharan Africa for the last 15-20yrs. He was involved, among other things, in the cultivation of Acacia colei , A.torulosa and another species from NW Aus. (cant remember sp. name right now). The seed of these species have now become an important food in Niger. The roots bind the soil, fix nitrogen , trees provide shelter from the nasty winds that can ruin their traditional crops of millet and the Acacia seed compliments the amino acid profile of their millet when added to their meals.

Hi Genesis, There aren't very many native edible mushies widely cultivated, also not a lot of info on edibility of natives. Most info is of simmilar or same species that occur in other parts of the world where they are eaten. eg. Morchella spp., Coprinus comatus, Agaricus spp., Pleurotus, Lepista , Hericium, Fistulina, Ganoderma, Auricularia etc. There are some native Grifola spp. that I'd probably have a go at as well ,given the chance of finding it. Some are easy to cultivate and fruit , some are much more difficult. First thing would be to find some of the species you want to grow, print or tissue culture it and then play with it, and keep the culture going. Sometimes creating an outdoor patch is a good way to keep them going, and you can work with the seasons. There some good non-native wood loving species (primary decomposers) that are very easy to grow on sterilised sawdust or paper - no need for composting etc. (as with secondary decomposers like Coprinus or Agaricus )

Sounds like that may be Mycena chlorophos I had a go at growing them via tissue culture, but failed. I'd like to have another go with spores someday.

Omphalotus nidiformis ...yeah I've got a 2kg bag of of sawdust fully colonized. It's been sitting in office for a few months now. Just gonna wait for some cooler weather and put it outside and drench it, see what happens. Or, maybe spawn some logs with it. It's a poisonous species, not to be eaten.

Hi Watertrade, 'Plants from test tubes- an introduction to micropropagation' Kyte, Lydiane & John Kleyn (1996) Timber press. 240pp. A great book to start you off. There are the growing guidelines for two genera of cacti in this book. - Epiphyllum and Mammillaria I'm guessing the Mammillaria medium would be the one most useful to you. It's based on MS salts with a few organics added ( lots of sugar, amino acids, vitamins and growth regulators). Explants used are tubercles. I can send you a copy of the details if you like.

I found one of them inside a fish once. An Australian Bass I caught on the Clarence. It was in the gut cavity, not the gut itself. It might have eaten a suicidal cricket! ....$10....

The first two photos I'd take a punt at it being a Russula sp. Does the stem break cleanly or is it fibrous. If breaks cleanly, then probably is Russula Check out one of the field guides to Aust. fungi. I think I remember seeing some in Bruce Furher's latest one (2005?)

Hi Watertrade, Sceletium, I don't have. ...But I do have access to a Khat plant that I grew from seed years ago. I planted it in my parents garden in 1988 and they've since sold the house. I went to have a look at it a about 6 weeks ago to see how it was in the drought and it was flowerin it's tits off! The guy who now owns the place said I can help myself to it (cuttings, seed, prunings) anytime. It's a wide leaf type , reddish stems although not as red as some others I've seen. So, you can have seed if I can get them , or cuttings.

Funny subject this one. I've often thought about this type of barrier to unwelcome 'guests' who opt to go over the fence instead of using the gate. A dog in the yard, trained not to make a sound until the 'guest' almost on top of it could make it more interesting. Imagine an intruder running across someones yard in the dark with a dog nashing at their arse and then hurtling through a lush stinger tree hedge only to be caught up in lawyer vine! ...or crashing through a euphorbia hedge. Dendrocnide excelsa (Urticaceae) - the stinger tree from NSW and Qld . nasty stinging leaves. This would be best pruned or lopped often (carefully!) to keep low bushy juvenile growth close to where you need it. Calamus spp. (C.muelleri) Lawyer vine - Ive been caught up in it plenty of times. Patience is needed to get out of it without drawing blood, even then it's usually unavoidable. Grevillea mimosoides has very strongly irritant fruits. There seems to be a caustic resin coating the fruits. They were traditionaly use by people in northern Aust. to make ceremonial markings on their skin. They would never rest under these trees. I find that quite a few Grevilleas make me itch. these are sub-tropical , so may not go so well in ACT. Non-Natives- Rhus succedanea - one of the sumacs Rhus toxicodendron - Poison ivy Yeah Cholla , nasty for sure. there's some species of Opuntia growing wild around here just like it. I'd discourage anyone from cultivating it. pretty flowers/plant though. Agave spp. there are some with leathal spines. Yucca spp. Euphorbia spp.- Fouqueria splendens- Ocotillo- the mid ribs of the leaves become spines. to cut the stems you almost need to use a hacksaw. They can be used to make a good fence. So..., plant de fence

Guinea fowl are dynamite on grasshoppers (and ticks). theyre very effective 'watch dogs' around the yard and taste great as a roast dinner.

Hi Watertrade, You can also pickle the tender stems (with leaves and spines) of the plant picked in spring. The flower buds and the fruits are picked in summer. I'm waiting for some capers to germinate at the moment. If you want seed try www.edenseeds.com.au They have C.spinosa and C.spinosa var. inermis - thornless Caper bush There's also another caper grower in Mannum www.australiancapers.com.au

Very Interested Thanks

I use equal parts water/rye eg. 4 cups water / 4cups rye -a bit of brown rice in it helps as a buffer to soak up excess moisture, sometimes I use a few paper pellets. teaspoon of gypsum (helps keep grains separated and supplies Calcium) a pinch of lime (Calcium carbonate) soak over night -mainly to germinate mould spores and make them more vulnerable to sterilization temps. put into rice cooker and press start when finished, mix redistribute grains ( with wild birdseed, sunflower seed float on top), load into jars and PC 1 hr For my jars I drill hole in lid then insert 8mm vinyl tube about 10-15mm long and seal around it with silicone roof and gutter sealer. when set the vinyl tube is stuffed with polyfil. When packing into the PC the tops of the jars are covered with a square of Al foil. The Alfoil helps protect them ( tops of jars) from contams while they are taken from the PC to flow hood or glove box. hope this helps

Yeah I saw those in the supermarket once and bought some for that purpose but still haven't tried them out yet. I buy PP bags from a local stationery/catering supplier. The ones I get are about 35cmw x 50cmh 50pk and smaller gusseted bags 14cm+5cm(gusset)x30cm 100pk Less than $20 per pack if I remember rightly. They work well enough for me. *Fold longways in half over a piece of cardboard. *punch hole with hole punch (cardboard ensures clean cut hole) *then cover holes with micropore tape (from chemist) for air exchange. Voila! -1 spawnbag- I use these for sawdust or paper spawn inoculated with grain from jars. folded and 'sealed' with a clothes peg. Also supplemented sawdust for fruiting I don't think I'd trust the micropore tape if I was doing grain in the bags. But then... I haven't tried it. It might work.

Hi Watertrade, I mostly used it for cassava (Tape Ketela?) -the yellow root variety is the best for tape if you can find it (butter cassava). I'd take a piece of tape and mash it mix with rice flour and galangal till it was not too wet ,but not too crumbly. Then roll into balls about 2-3cm dia and dry at around 35deg C in incubator with good air exchange for drying. Very unusual aroma from fresh fermenting Tape- sweet taste, better nutrient-(B-vitamins ,double the protein), less cooking. Definitely give it a go You'll find some basic recipes in Bill's book ('Ferment and Human Nutrition') I wonder how it would go with potatos, parsnip or carrots...celeriac , fennel roots....Hmmm

If it's for sake then koji is the one , but if it's for making 'a rice wine' generally you could go down to your local asian food shop and buy some Ragi Its the Indonesian yeast sold as dried white balls or tablets based on rice flour. With ragi you can make Brem , a wine made from black or white sticky rice. It's almost like sherry and delicious over ice on a hot afternoon in Bali (or wherever you happen to be). You could also make Tape (fermented cassava) or Tape Ketan (fermented rice ) to be used in Iced drinks with red beans, Nata de coco (cubes of 'mother of vinegar' grown in coconut water then cooked in sugar syrup), trop. fruits, flavoured syrups shaved ice and coconut milk. Ragi is a whole 'ecosystem' of moulds and yeasts that are usually quite robust and operate best at around 28-34deg C. To store it you take some of the solids from the last batch ,mix with sticky rice flour, powdered galangal, roll into balls and dry. Hope this is some help to you

Haha Thanx Ace I didn't see that one there