So, Im thinkin, that this spring, or summer, I would like to do some beds. Maybe make them raised with railroad ties, to keep track of them. Has anyone successfully tried this? If so, what was your procedure? What time of year is best to start this? Was it worth the effort? Can someone post a link? Thx, pj
Do ya have access to any cow/horse dung? Or dehydrated dung from Homedepot? I like poop outdoors. I had some woodchips in mine last yr, and they colonized too. I am in the process of experimenting w/ this recycled newspaper cat litter. If it works well, it will be the easiest way I have tried to produce massive quantities of spawn. And the more spawn, the faster the run/ lower chances for contams.... I would stay away from GRAINS as you will have bug problems and bird probs too. Worms and slugs can be a prob too. Check the archives for some great pix Lichen too outdoors last summer.... just some thoughts.....best of luck---fishy1
I found those after I posted this. I was putting the wrong stuff in the keyword search. I think Im gonna try something like that if I can find the stuff at home depot. Ive got plenty of room, and a horrendous amount of leaves on my property. Never rake the hills. Theres like 2 feet of leaf debris. anyways, thanks pj
Hello all, My friend was wondering if it would be better to build (raised bed) or dig a bed and fill with dung now (mid winter) and then wait till spring to crumble in the cakes? (Lichen Tek) Would a few more months of winter rains add to the curing of dung for spring planting? Will use home depot dung this year. Does Animal diet play a role in the type of cow/horse dung? My friend will buy a yard or so of dung and let mother nature cure it for the following year. Which is better, horse or cow/steer dung?
Raised beds can dry out pretty quick, sometimes. But they also tend to get better airflow on the same coin. Might I suggest growing an ornamental grass in either one, though. This will shade, hide, moisturize, and oxygenate the mushies...
Make sure your dung is well composted. The dry, grey cow patties seem to work best. If you get horse dung, you'll be better off with that from the larger breeds (Draft, Percheron, etc.). I don't really know why... but I've seen the differences.
Fishy, there's this stuff made of unused hardwood pulp. It is a small animal bedding. Can't remember the Brand... It has no dyes, chemicals, pine or cedar oils, etc. Just the leftover, unusable pulp of hardwoods. Try it for your wood-lovers... I think it's a worthwhile investment.
ion-- the "tests" with the litter are both for woodlovers and cubies. I think it was Griffen at the forest floor that gave me the idea. He had posted a pic of cubies fruiting on this stuff. Seems they like it too. Kinda looks funny in a tub...mycelia colonizing this grey pulp...! I will goto the pet store to check out the bedding you speak of... ion, have you ever seen/ tried aspen bedding? Aspen is big here---just wondering how it would do w/ the woodlovers? Probably OK.... Thanks ,fishy1
Hey guys.. Railroad ties are soaked in creosote, which is really poisonous. I always use them in my garden but not sure about shrooms.Thinking of using a couple of small beds and putting a loose brush pile over it, for shade and to mark it, at the same time hidding it from others.Live in a lot of trees, brush piles wont look out of place at all. Can anybody give me a close estimate on the time it takes from inoculation to fruiting? Morrels seem to hit on or around easter I would like to catch the same weather conditions.
Hello my
Nook friends, My friend has asked me to ask for your advice. He has spores, 4 ea. pf, new issue. 007 box in construction and a love for the outdoors, with spring around the corner. He lived in the archives for the last 5 weeks or so. Anyway, he has an idea for the outdoors and wants to ask your opinion and advice. This project is for �Education Research� only. Thank you, Tree
Pic. #1 �.first design. A wire basket with black paper (used for roofing, 30#is what is used here) for the edges and also has a drain under the loaf. (I am calling it a loaf, simply because I do not what else to call it for this presentation. I will call on my
Nook friends for the correct name.) It is a 5.5 cu. ft. container, dimn.19� x 5� 0� in length, depth 9�. This design is for stealth, and protection from chickens and other birds in this area. I have used oak leafs for concealment of wire and also for mulch above the �Composted Steer Manure�. Wild mushrooms grow wide here at my friends place in the county, commercial mushrooms farms not far away. My friend thinks the climate is good for his research.
Hello my
Nook friends, My friend has asked me to ask for your advice. He has spores, 4 ea. pf, new issue. 007 box in construction and a love for the outdoors, with spring around the corner. He lived in the archives for the last 5 weeks or so. Anyway, he has an idea for the outdoors and wants to ask your opinion and advice. This project is for �Education Research� only. Thank you, Tree
Pic.
#1 �.first design. A wire basket with black paper (used for roofing, 30#is what
is used here) for the edges and also has a drain under the loaf. (I am calling
it a loaf, simply because I do not what else to call it for this presentation. I
will call on my Nook friends for the correct name.) It is a 5.5 cu. ft. container, dimn.19� x 5� 0� in length, depth 9�. This design is for stealth, and protection from chickens and other birds in this area. I have used oak leafs for concealment of wire and also for mulch above the �Composted Steer Manure�. Wild mushrooms grow wide here at my friends place in the county, commercial mushrooms farms not far away. My friend thinks the climate is good for his research.
Hello all, I do apologize for the earlier incomplete post. My friend has a few questions on Lichen Tek. He has pics. When I can upload them, the problem is on my end, not the boards. So I will describe it the best I can. My friend has a wire basket 9�tall, 18� wide, 5� long, recessed in the ground a few inches. The basket has 6� of composted steer manure (organic), 1 1/2�of oak leaf mulch and a wire lid. The lid is chicken/bird tek, if you will. Under the basket, dug out in the center2� x 5� x 4� 8� with an opening at one end. This is for drainage if needed. Inside the wire basket on the sides and ends there is a piece of 30# black roofing paper 9� tall. This holds the compost inside of the wire and acts as a weather barrier. This is the bed so to speak. Water goes thru the mulch and exits thru the compost at the bottom. My friends place is not far from where they have commercial mushroom farms, so he feels that his climate is good for his education research test site. My friend has listen to Ion �Raised beds can dry out pretty quick, sometimes. But they also tend to get better airflow on the same coin. � My friend made another bed like the first with the exception of leaving and air space between the lid and compost. Then he covered the wire lid and sides with oak leaf mulch. This created a dead air space there. He put a piece of black abs pipe in each end and created an air flow. Which allows control on air flow inside the underground terrarium, if you will?
�Might I suggest growing an ornamental grass in either one, though? This will shade, hide, moisturize, and oxygenate the mushies...� Ion� Please, if you will, consider my canopy of little direct sun light and advise me on what kind of grass to grow and when to do it. He will grow it on the beds that have no under ground terrarium. Should the grass grow on top of the compost? Should I use Verm? To top case the compost, then the grass? As you see my friend is a newbie with pf spores in fridge, new issue, rec. the end 01-02, fast service less than two weeks. His wife did not even know what they were. My friend is building a 007 box and will precede that way also. But with spring a hand why not go with Mother Nature? This design is very stealth; you could have them anywhere in your yard. When covered with mulch the bed is very hard to see and no one will know except you. My friend would like to know the best way to seed this bed? Shooting spores direct? Karo tek? Would need a lot of jars, bed size is 5.5 cu ft. any help will be appreciated. Thank you, Tree
Start w/ regular PF TEK to begin. The cakes can be used to "spawn" the outdoor beds. I think this would work fine if the conditions are right. And w/ the cakes, you can fruit some indoors just in case the outdoor ones are a bust...
that is if the conditions are right... might be hard to keep a constant temp in your bed long enough for spawn running, if you do it when it gets cold at night...it will be slow, or if you do it while it is warm at night, it will be too hot in the day. And if it gets too hot, thermophillic fungi set in and make it even hotter, killing shit. I saw a thread with a guy planting rye grass on a vermiculite casing... makes you wonder how mother nature does it... you might have better success with grain spawn transfer onto some other pasturized semi-bulk substrate indoors, spawning that...and then putting it outdoors on the shit. but I'm prolly wrong. -dwop
For outdoor growing your are looking for a 20% innoculation rate to substrate or even higher to allow mycelial mat to form. Otherwise an island colony will form across substrate allowing invader fungi, pests, insects to compete. If garden area is too large, fruiting will not occur and die back of mycelial mat will ensue. I suggest using a substrate consisting of 50/50 sawdust/woodchips. Sprinkle spawn over substrate garden bed, rake thoroughly, drench with water, cover with carboard or other shading devices. Mat will form within 1 to 8 weeks. To induce fruiting there are various methods. Visualize this. One five gallon bucket of spawn. 10 gallons of sawdust, 10 gallons of woodchips for a small garden. Many variables apply to the "right" kind of dust and chips. If done right outdoor gardens yield the highest and fruit for years if more substrate is added. Outdoor mushrooms are very potent. Many variables apply though for successful outdoor growing. Spring will be here soon. Best of luck.
It is honkus again but I lost password...i had to create new acount.
Oaktree,
Hardwood chips work better than softwood or aromatic wood chips due to the fact they decompose slower. Logs should be harvested and chipped late winter/early spring because sap levels will be at peak and give energy to mycelium growth. If you can not produce your own chips I suggest contacting power companies. They have a abundant supply of chips, usually given away for free. The only problem with this is you do not know how old the chips are or what kind of wood it is. It is usually a mix of many different kinds. If over six months old, these chips will probably contain a different kind of fungus that may compete with your own spawn. The same goes with sawdust. Avoid dark brown sawdust this is a sure sign of age and rot and usually means competitor fungus or molds. If you get virgin or good quality woodchips and sawdust. Location is the next step. I suggest shaded areas, or even better, areas where you have witnessed other mushrooms growing. Moisture is another thing to keep in mind. Low lying bushes, shrubs, rose bushes, zucchini plants, tomato plants, potato plants, help retain moisture at ground level. Growing near a cement wall may help as it could retain some heat. Your mat will last through the winter below freezing temperatures and will heal itself next thaw at spring and continue for years. A sacred patch. Okay then you wait and water once a week or when needed and see what happens. If you plant in spring. Maybe fruiting in early August, maybe late july, maybe october, maybe never...there are so many variables. But if you get it right you will get two huge flushes and you will have new found respect for mother nature. Goodluck. Trial and error and patience.
