Subject: Outdoor/Natural Cultivation???

From: "Ralph D. Arnold" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 96 23:07:56 PST

Seeking experiences and stories about techniques/tips/results from
outdoor natural cultivating...how you got your Shaggy Parasols, Blewits,
Fairy Rings, etc. to remain a perennial 'contributor' within your yard or
garden or landscape.  Please post here in bionet.mycology or email to me...
either way, I'll consolidate them into future digests of FUNGUS.
Best regards,
Ralph Arnold <[email-masked]>

PS Do you have any candidates for species to be grown in compost piles
or straw bales...perhaps species not commonly cultures now...?

------
Here is a recent message in FUNGUS, the specialty mushroom cultivation
email-newsletter (http://www.mtjeff.com/fungi)
FUNGUS Digest (January 10-19, 1996)
4.  "Lepiota rachodes (rhacodes) & Natural Outdoors Cultivation"
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<<moderator's note: this is a fine response to an update on natural
(non-sterile) culturing techniques TJ referred in previous FUNGUS messages>>
From: TJ Olney  <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 10:47:54 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Natural Cultivation Update

Straphoria has spread, but not fruited.  The chips had too much conifer 
I'm afraid.  I've been adding hardwood to the area.

L.Rachodes has spread some, but not vigorously.  I think the compost may 
be too far along for them.  I found lots of them wild this year, and 
noted that they were most commonly under doug fir, in a heavy layer of 
needles and other debri.  I have a few bags of L.rachodes mycellium that 
I have mined, have added to and which have continued to colonize.

I am a bit confused because many of the members of the local "Northwest 
Mushroomers" group have gotten them going by simply tossing out the not 
edible examples onto their compost piles and using benign neglect.  I 
have only one patch that is in compost, and they have significantly 
different color and stature from the forest variety.  Much whiter.

I am deliberately at this stage, avoiding sterile culture.  Since I find
enough to feed myself and my friends, I don't need a "viable commercial
culture".  I am more interested in finding ways to allow hobbyists like me
to grow mushrooms in the garden without much trouble. 

A note re marketability of S.Rugossa Annulata.  For marketability, I 
strongly suggest going for a smaller strain.  People just don't know what 
to do with huge mushrooms.  The wild strain I have been mining from had 
maximum cap size of 5" and most were 2-3.  Buttons were about the size of 
the typical Campbell's grocery store buttons.

Experiments in progress!
1)  Spore slurry from prince was spread last summer over any likely 
habitat in both my and my neighbor's yards.  Next August will tell.

2) L. Rachodes described above has been put into parts of my yard with 
similar habitat as the places originally found.

3) Mined S.Ru-annulata from a wild patch has been put in woodchips in 
various places around my yard.

4) Spore slurry from SRA above was broadcast all over a friend's chip beds.

5) Stems & stem ends from m. oreades have been stuck in all the moist 
rich sections of my lawn.

6) Over wormy boletes were buried in the roots of my doug fir trees.

7) Stems butts and a little mined myceleum of matsutake has been buried 
in the roots of some pine trees in the yard.

8) Same as above for morchella esculanta in chip piles and disturbed 
areas around the yard.

9)  Same as above for blewits put into parts of yard with lots of 
deciduous leaf mulch.

10) Several different oyster logs have been dragged home.  I found out 
too late that the slugs were eating all the pins!  I am trying to devise 
a way to keep them moist and out of slugs way!  I have also innoculated 
several oyster logs with "spawn" grown by dropping the ends of wild 
oysters into barely cooled coffee grounds in their bag and placing same 
in ziploc bags.  We have a truly delicious oyster strain growing around 
here, that goes from white in deep shade to pale gold in the sun.  I find 
that they are still delicious after drying, althought the stems are a bit 
tough.  (Maybe I should grind them to a powder.) 

11) I bought from Western Botanicals Almond and Shitake.  I got 2 almond 
mushrooms so far.  (inocculated in april)  I think the site was not raw 
enough for them.

12+ Many other edibles beyond eating stage were unceremoniously tossed 
into the part of the yard that I thought most likely to support their growth.

TJ 
<<TJ: you have an open invitation to keep us periodically updated!
And any other FUNGUS readers with 'outdoors experience' are welcome, too!>>
------
>From the moderator:  I also queried others for comments.  Here are a
few that had time to respond within the very few days given:

Paul Stamets of FUNGI PERFECTI <[email-masked]> wrote:
>I have grown Lepiota rachodes on compost, outdoors. It 
>will be described in detail in the Gardening with Gourmet & Medicinal
>Mushroom book due out in 1997-1998, along with L. procera.
<<moderator's note: you can pre-order this book...contact [email-masked]
for details>>

Tom Volk  <[email-masked]> wrote:
>Hi Ralph.  I have never even tried to culture a Lepiota species, so I am 
>afraid I am not of much help on this one. 
>However, since Lepiota is very closely related to Agaricus,  I would expect 
>modifications of Agaricus methods would be the first thing to try.
>This is, of course, an example of how fungal taxonomy and systematics can be 
>useful to the potential grower.  :)
>********************************************  (0)  ************
>Tom Volk                                     (000)
>Center for Forest Mycology Research,        (00000)
>Forest Products Lab, Madison Wisconsin       (000)
>& UW- Madison Dept. of Botany                (000)
>[email-masked]                      | |
>********************************************  | |  *************
>http://www.wisc.edu/botany/fungi/volkmyco.html

Brian McNett  of MYCOINFO
<[email-masked]> wrote:

>I'm not sure if this is to the point, but there are two varieties of L. 
>rachodes (either spelling is appropriate depending on who you ask).  This 
>first is L. rachodes var. rachodes, which tends to fruit on grass or leaf 
>clippings, is large and robust, and has a stalk which tapers outward to 
>an enlarged base. The other is L. rachodes var. hortensis, which though 
>fully as large as var. rachodes, tends to be slightly browner has a 
>slightly more slender stalk, fruits in conifer duff, and has an abruptly 
>marginate basal bulb.  Both are emminently edible.
>
>The use of a spore slurry is a reasonable low-tech method, as long as you 
>understand that the return isn't very high.  There are ways to modify the 
>technique to increase it's effectiveness.  With a 5 gallon bucket of 
>water, chose only fully mature mushrooms and submerge them.  Add 50ml of 
>mollasses to stimulate spore germination.  After the mushrooms have 
>soaked four hours, remove them from the bucket.  Allow the broth to sit 
>for 24 - 48 hours at a temperature between 50F (10C) and 80F (27C)  In 
>most cases this slurry can be expanded by a factor of ten in 48 hours.
>
>Stamets discusses how to use this method on a larger scale in GG&MM  It 
>is  an effective shortcut for producing grain spawn. and well suited to 
>hobbyist and third-world situations where sterile culture tools may not 
>be available.
>
>--Brian

Judy Roger  <[email-masked]> wrote:

>TJ's material pretty good and very informative, but will make a couple of 
>comments.
>
>Yes, Stropharia r-a needs hardwood chips (cottonwood and alder are great, 
>especially cottonwood). It doesn't like conifer chips very well, but if 
>well rotted, may grow ok.
>Lepiota rachodes likes neglect! - pitch 'em and forget 'em. Color seems 
>to be connected to substrate, but some variability in the species. Also, 
>look closely at the doug fir one: could it be L. procera or L. america? 
>L. american likes doug fir and is quite dark and not as large, but found 
>sporadically in PNW. See p. 298 and 299 of Arora's MDM for his comments - 
>there are pretty accurate. You might even have L. hortensis from the doug 
>firs. 
>For more info as well, ask Nancy Weber sometime about what she knows. Her 
>mother, Helen Smith, was working on a Lepiota monograph before her death. 
>Whether she split Lepiota rachodes and its brethern into Leucoagaricus or 
>not, I don't know, but if she didn't, then Nancy might be able to give 
>some insight into its nature.
>Want to keep slugs away from your oyster logs and not use chemicals or 
>sprays? 
>Use beach sand (cheapest, but do wash it to get out the salts if you 
>don't want the underlying soil altered, but otherwise the salts are good 
>slug preventative too) or other (construction) sand. Slugs hate sand (scratchy 
>on their bellies) and seldom cross it. The sea salts also destroy their 
>slime cushion. But if the area where you put it might be used for growing 
>plants sometime soon, the salts would alter the soil. (If you do collect 
>beach sand, I believe there is a required permit, unless done by the
>"midnight requisition" method, which entails a little planning.)
>Put a wide strip 1-2 ft. (doesn't have to be too deep - an inch or so to 
>cover the soil) around your logs and maybe onto areas of the logs where 
>the mushrooms aren't growing. That should discourage them!  We used that 
>method when we lived near Ocean Shores on the Olympic Peninsula to 
>protect our strawberry bed. It really worked. In the trenches between the 
>rows, we used unwashed beach sand (sea salts left in, and washed sand 
>close to the plants) and we no longer had munched berries.
>Take care,
>Judy
--------------------
Here is a brief portion from page 27 written by Hellmut Steineck in his 
excellent book, "Mushroom in the Garden", ISBN 3-8001-6122-2  (c)1981
Mad River Press, Eureka, CA ...available from many sources, including
Fungi Perfecti ([email-masked]) or MUSHROOMPEOPLE <[email-masked]>

"This parasol is much more gregarious than the giant parasol and sometimes
"occurs in fairly large troops or in fairy rings under spruces, especially
"at the edges of forests and along forest paths in the thick needle litter.
"However, it also occurs in parks and gardens and on compost heaps.  Its
"fruiting bodies appear from July to November.
"
"In gardens it can be cultivated in composting places.  The topmost layer
"of compost is mixed with peat, and spawn is scattered over it and covered
"with wet soil; or the wash water and trimmings of parasols are put on the
"compost, and leaves are thrown over them.  One can also try establishing
"it under spruce hedges which are not too dense and under groups of conifers
"in soil which has been improved with peat.
-------------
David Arora in his fantastic book, "Mushrooms Demystified" (pages297-298)
writes: 
:HABITAT: Usually in groups or rings on ground under trees (particularly
:conifers) and bushes, in gardens and compost piles, near stables, on
:ant hills, along roads and other disturbed places, even in basements and
:greenhouses, sometimes also in open fields or in the woods; widely
:distributed, but most common in western North America.  It fruits whenever
:conditions are favorable, i.e. moist and mild, and often produces several
:crops a year.  "Patches" are not particularly numerous, but can be VERY
:prolific -- I've seen several hundred speciments under a single tree!
now, that sounds like a cultivatable species to this moderator!!!

"Mushrooms Demystified" is available from many sources, including
  Fungi Perfecti ([email-masked]) or MUSHROOMPEOPLE <[email-masked]>
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