Complete mycology newbie but wanting to learn

[Stillman]

So for years I have been curious about mushrooms and the science of growing them. I have grown them accidentally in various manners in various gardens some edible some not so edible. I am only in the last few days actually researching about why and how it all works and as all of you know no doubt, its really amazing stuff.

At present I have a garden bed which I have been dumping of all things guinea pig waste which consists of saw dust lucerne and barley chaff lucerne pellets and various grains and of course guinea pig waste. Well the other day I noticed clusters of what looked like what we used to call blue meanies popping up everywhere. and a few other unknown mushys. Its been really muggy up here and after turning the top layer of decomposing waste underneath was a nice mat of what I think is mycelium.

This has struck my interest in "organised cultivation" and I would like to have a play at the mushroom gig in a very low tech way. So I have taken a few samples to put in some sealed containers this morning to see if I can grow anything from released spores and I am going to give the bed a good wet down in the hopes that more volunteers develop. If and when they do I will take some pics and I was hoping maybe some would be kind enough to Id them for me. I am not overly phased if they aren't very "special" as such at this stage I am happy just to learn how they work.

I am actually more keen to set up a log with shitake spores or try my hand at some oyster mushrooms down the track or even some morels if I could get the spores (or if that is even possible" as I am a chef by trade and the culinary purpose of mushrooms has always been of great interest to me. Anyway just thought I would introduce myself on this section of the forum as I might pop up asking the odd question over the next few weeks.

[Sallubrious]

I don't know how successful it will be to put anything taken from outdoors in a sealed container, my guess is that the bacteria will become dominant and take over turning it into a slimy mess. Wild mushrooms tend to carry a lot of insects and larvae as well so they could be a problem.

A good book on edible mushroom culture that has a lot of info on natural growing techniques is Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms by Paul Stamets he has a few good ideas on natural culture without the need for sterile techniques etc.

If you want to grow edible mushrooms a member here - Punkin has a good range of edible cultures and he can send you bags of colonised grain that you can fruit straight away or expand to a larger substrate.

For bang for your buck it would be hard to go past what Punkin has to offer, it will give you quick results while you look into the finer details of growing. Mushroom growing can be very difficult until you get the basics sorted, the concept is quite simple but getting results is a steep learning curve. If you are a chef you will love his king oysters.

As far growing Morels goes if you can can do that reliably and consistently you will be a very rich man, those things are a real enigma and don't lend themselves well to commercial production. Most Morels are picked from wild colonies that fruit sporadically and unreliably.

Edited January 3, 2012 by SallyD

[NSF]

I don't know how successful it will be to put anything taken from outdoors in a sealed container, my guess is that the bacteria will become dominant and take over turning it into a slimy mess. Wild mushrooms tend to carry a lot of insects and larvae as well so they could be a problem.

A good book on edible mushroom culture that has a lot of info on natural growing techniques is Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms by Paul Stamets he has a few good ideas on natural culture without the need for sterile techniques etc.

If you want to grow edible mushrooms a member here - Punkin has a good range of edible cultures and he can send you bags of colonised grain that you can fruit straight away or expand to a larger substrate.

For bang for your buck it would be hard to go past what Punkin has to offer, it will give you quick results while you look into the finer details of growing. Mushroom growing can be very difficult until you get the basics sorted, the concept is quite simple but getting results is a steep learning curve. If you are a chef you will love his king oysters.

As far growing Morels goes if you can can do that reliably and consistently you will be a very rich man, those things are a real enigma and don't lend themselves well to commercial production. Most Morels are picked from wild colonies that fruit sporadically and unreliably.

 

I have to second SallyD's opinions. I think all of what she said was spot on.

I'd also add that if you intend on just letting nature help you with your grows and you want mulch type beds to try and yield edible shrooms for you (a perfectly reasonable request) then make sure you establish beds with a species in mind.

What I'm trying to say is, pure mulch is fine to grow wood loving type species of mushrooms on (oysters of all kinds are a forgiving and rewarding start)

If you are going to dump guinea pigs waste onto them, the wood lover will like lucerne etc but not be so keen on the poo. Dung lovers, like blue meanies, are clearly already enjoying what you are doing (although, blue meanies could refer to Paneolous cyanascens - dung lovers, or Psilocybe subaeruginosa - wood lovers)

I can't imagine guinea pigs, unless you have hundreds, are going to output enough poo to support dung loving edibles (your common button mushroom/portobello - Agargicus bisporus).

I recently scattered some contaminated pink oyster mushroom sawdust bags around some tomatoes, put down some red gum chips and had pinks popping up all over the place.

On that, punkin is a great source of spawn, but at least ask the question of whether he'd supply you with some sawdust spawn, rather than grain spawn. There's much less out there in the garden that will want to eat sawdust spawn, grain spawn is delicious to birds, mice and lots of bugs.

Best of luck with your endeavour and keep the questions coming.

[Stillman]

thanks for the advice guys, Over the next few weeks I will take some pics of what I am up to. I want to do a shitake log eventually. I have a well planted filtered light area in the garden that shitakes would, I think, do well.

[Sallubrious]

There are few different varieties of Shittake, some fruit in warm weather and others fruit in cooler temps so they have a somewhat limited production cycle.

I'd recommend starting with a Pleurotis species, maybe Pleurotis eryingii (King oysters) for a quick turnover while you get the Shittake culture/logs ready to fruit.

King Oysters are excellent eating and a very versatile gourmet mushroom. They are also very contaminant resistant (they eat Trichoderma for breakfast) and very forgiving for someone learning the ropes.

[NSF]

They are also very contaminant resistant (they eat Trichoderma for breakfast) and very forgiving for someone learning the ropes.

 

I must have stronger forms of trich (or a weaker strain of Kings) as trich can get hold of mine and win out.

Shiitake logs are very slow (I believe) and take 6-12 months to produce some fruit. Yes, the equipment needed might be less: buy inocced dowels, drill holes (with already owned drill), cover with wax, put in garden, keep damp. Easy.

But Sally was again right saying Pleurotus has a much faster turn around.

[Sallubrious]

I must have stronger forms of trich (or a weaker strain of Kings) as trich can get hold of mine and win out.

 

I could have been wrong there, I've seen ostreatus & P. azurescens win battles against trich in a jar but I don't recall seeing eryngii do it now you mention it. Maybe it's the fact that I have an addiction to King oysters ? It's hard to find fault in the ones you love.

There are some more aggressive strains of Trich though so it could be possible for Pluerotis sp. to take on a less aggressive strain.

Shittakes are a contaminant resistant species too. I think most wood growing mushrooms have evolved with trich and developed methods to deal with them.