On Saturday, April 3rd, participants gathered at Viles Arboretum to participate in a crash-course in mushroom cultivation. Events of the past year have lead to periods of empty shelves and skyrocketing food prices across the country, leading to a revitalized interest in purchasing food from local producers and an increased desire for self-sufficiency. Once you have tackled the home garden, and perhaps even the backyard chicken coop, mushrooms are a feasible next step.
While the idea of getting started with mushrooms may appear daunting, once you have completed your initial set-up, they require relatively little attention when compared to many other popular backyard crops. Unlike vegetable gardens, most mushroom logs require little more than a shaded, wet environment to grow successfully. All the nutrients the mushrooms require are provided by the logs in which they grow. Procuring the proper tools and quality mushroom spawn are the first major hurdle, attending a course such as the "Make-your-own Mushroom Log" class at Viles helps beginners tackle this first step without making purchases of expensive tools.
Class participants were introduced to the tools necessary for inoculating logs, quality suppliers of spores, the growing window for popular varieties and the best types of trees for mushroom cultivation. Then it was time for the fun part, creating a log that would produce edible mushrooms. Holes were drilled in each of the provided logs allowing the trees to be inoculated with mushroom spawn. Mushroom spawn is available in the form of sawdust or wooden plugs that contain mushroom mycelium, both forms can be placed into drilled holes and sealed with wax. Within a few months, inoculated logs should produce edible mushrooms for consumption or sale.
