Cultivation of Fungi

[annacruachan]

grew these in my airing cupboard, delicous [ATTACH=CONFIG]36155[/ATTACH]

I've often thought about these. Are they really cost-effective? The ads never tell you weight or numbers of fungi at each spawning.

[veggiechicken]

Just a followup to the course.
We picked and ate some Winecap (Stropharia rugosoannulata) mushrooms. These are commonly found on heaps of woodchip and can grow up to 50cms in diameter There are 2 species that grow on woodchip though, and the jury is still undecided on whether the other one is safe to eat so don't be tempted to eat them unless you're 110% sure.
I have some of the mushroom butts growing mycelium as we speak - wrapped in a damp brown paper bag! Next, I'm going to create a mushroom bed in the garden with some woodchip I scrounged yesterday then its watch this space for several months.
If you're interested there's some good stuff here about growing it Mushroom Mountain - King Stropharia, great for your garden, forest, compost pile, and you.

[veggiechicken]

Mushroom bed has been made and the butts with their mycelium, planted in it. The woodchip was so well rotted it may be too good for these little chaps. They may need something fresher to devour I'll add some twigs!

[veggiechicken]

I've just started another mushroom growing experiment - feel free to join in
You need a punnet of the Savers type mushrooms from a supermarket - the ones with untrimmed stalks. Choose the ones that have the most compost still attached to the stalks.
Trim off the bottom inch or so of the stalk, leaving the compost on them
Put the trimmings in a brown paper bag, close the bag loosely and put it in an open box/tray with some water, enough to wet the paper.
Drain off the surplus water and leave the box somewhere dark and warm. (mine's in the kitchen).
I don't know how long the next stage will take - a couple of weeks?