Growing Chestnut Mushrooms in a Monotub

 We’ve covered growing mushrooms several different ways and now I want to discuss one of the more common methods for growing mushrooms at home: growing mushrooms in a monotub.

You will need:

A purchased or homemade monotub

Rubber gloves 

Sterilizing liquid (I use alcohol in a spray bottle)

Face mask 

Substrate 

Mushroom spawn

Water for moistening substrate 

I use a monotub, substrate and spawn purchased from Northspore.  The purchased monotub comes with the plastic tub, clear top with ventilation ports, filters to cover ports and a black tape for covering other holes in the tub.

It’s important to keep the entire process as sanitary as possible.  Wash your hands, put on your gloves and mask and spray your hands with the alcohol.  Now spray the inside of the monotub and lid.  Remove the substrate and spawn from the boxes they come in and spray the outside of the plastic bags.

Sanitize a pair of scissors or knife, resanitize your hands, and cut open the substrate and spawn. Pour the substrate into the bottom of the monotub.  Now add a small amount (about one cup) of water and mix it with the substrate.  Keep adding water until the substrate is uniformly moist.  You should be able to just squeeze out a few drops of water from a fistful of substrate.

Now add the spawn and gently mix it with the substrate until you have a uniform mixture.

Put on the monotub lid and seal.  I keep my monotub in indirect light near my Aerogarden grow light.  You will see condensation form on the top which is exactly what you want.  Don’t do anything more, but do look through the lid to watch for pinning.  Pinning is when baby mushrooms start to form.

I removed the lid for photos, but I usually just leave the lid on.  The mushrooms I chose to grow are chestnut mushrooms.  They were a new variety for me, but I loved their flavor and texture.  Definitely a variety that I will grow again.

When the mushrooms are fully grown, but young, they are ready to harvest.  I just put on a pair of sanitized gloves and pull off a clump.

I had several flushes of mushrooms and had enough to share with my neighbors.  My favorite recipe was a a cream of potato soup with chestnut mushrooms.  Follow your favorite potato soup recipe, but add the mushrooms when you’re sautéing the aromatics.  Add some cream to finish the soup.  It was delicious.

I have a coupon code with Northspore that will give you a 10% discount.  Use the code:  FRUGALMENNONITE at checkout.

God bless,

Pam

Growing Mushrooms in Straw Bales

 Several months ago my neighbors threw out a straw bale that they had used as a Fall decoration.  Hating to see anything go to waste, I asked my husband to lug it home.  At first I was just going to use it for mulch, but I had been reading about growing mushrooms in straw, so I decided to experiment.

The most heat tolerant mushroom (Florida here) that is readily available is pink oyster mushrooms.  I hauled the straw bale to a partially shaded area under a tree and gathered my tools:  pink oyster spawn from Northspore , and a hori hori knife (crowbar would also work).

I broke up the spawn within the bag, used the knife to pry open holes, and stuffed the holes full of spawn.  Since then I’ve watered the straw bale every day.  Within a week or two I began to see fruiting mushrooms.

Once the weather started warming up, occasionally in the 80’s F, the pink color began to fade.  In speaking with other mushroom growers in Florida they confirmed that the pink fades in warm weather, but doesn’t affect the quality of the mushrooms.

Many people sterilize the straw substrate before inoculating with spawn.  I would have, but the straw bale was so big I didn’t think it would be effective.  Some ink cap mushrooms also started growing, but I have been hand picking and discarding them before they can mature and release spores.

I’ve enjoyed this experiment and I’m looking forward to seeing how long the bale keeps producing oyster mushrooms.  Growing mushrooms has been a great addition to my frugal garden and adding variety to our diet.

God bless,

Pam

Northspore mushrooms

My coupon code is:   FRUGALMENNONITE

Frugal Christmas Gifts: Mushroom Kits

 As you can tell from recent posts I have been exploring growing mushrooms at home.  It’s a great deal of fun and I think it would be a great gift for the gardener in your life or as an learning experience for children.

There are many different mushroom spawn suppliers online, but experienced mushroom growers I know recommended Northspore and I have been very happy with them.  We have enjoyed eating mushrooms that aren’t available in our local grocery stores.  I’ve especially enjoyed making recipes with lions mane mushrooms; they are an excellent replacement for crabmeat.

In their Christmas gift section of the Northspore website are Spray and Grow Kits for beginners, Spray and Grow Kits with an accompanying children's book and some very cute mushroom Christmas ornaments.

I was given a coupon code by Northspore to share with you:  FRUGALMENNONITE

God bless,

Pam

Mushrooms Are Thriving!

 Yesterday I was planting collards and mustard greens in the garden I had seeded with oyster mushrooms.  Every time I pulled the mulch aside I discovered a thriving network of mycelium.  There was even a baby mushroom, albeit very beaten up by Hurricane Nicole.

I am thrilled and very surprised by how easy it is to incorporate mushrooms into the garden; not only to eat, but to overall increase the health of the plants and the soil.

Later I was walking by the mushroom bed I started for shiitake mushrooms and saw a yellow oyster mushroom peaking out.  I had attempted to grow yellow oysters inside without success, so I threw the leftover spawn into the old mushroom bed.  Surprise!

I am like a little child when it comes to these mushrooms.  I think that by experimenting with something new it has added a fresh excitement for gardening and dispelled the ennui that comes from repetitive tasks.  So, try something new in the garden this year.

God bless,

Pam

P.S. I order my mushroom spawn from Northspore.  Use this link and use my coupon code: FRUGALMENNONITE for a discount.

The Frugal Garden: Nematodes #2

 Due to my ongoing fascination with fungi, I was thrilled to learn that seeding a garden with Wine Cap or Oyster mushrooms can make your garden plants resistant to root knot nematodes.  Here is a YouTube link to a video from Northspore about growing mushrooms in your garden.

I was advised to keep the Wine Cap mushrooms and Oyster mushrooms separate from each other.  I have two vegetable gardens, so I dedicated each to a separate type of mushroom.

The larger garden (above) is dedicated to the Wine Cap mushrooms.

And the small garden (above) is dedicated to the Oyster mushrooms.

It very easy to do.  First I raked back the mulch, broke up the bags of spawn, scattered the spawn throughout the garden, then recovered the garden with the mulch.

The large garden is usually mulched with pine straw, which works well in Florida, because our soil can be very alkaline.  If your soil isn’t alkaline just use regular straw.  The small garden is mulched with a layer of wood chips, then a layer of pine straw.  It also has decomposing oak roots from some oaks my neighbor had removed.

A couple of weeks after spreading the mushroom spawn I pulled back the mulch in the small garden and was quite happy to see that the Oyster spawn was already spreading.

You can purchase these mushroom spawns from Northspore.  Use the coupon code:  FRUGALMENNONITE  to get a discount.

I’ll keep you updated on the mushroom bed progress.

God bless,

Pam

The Frugal Garden: Shiitake Experiment

 I plan on expanding my gardens to include mushrooms.  I’m going to try several different methods over the next few months to see which types of mushrooms and which method works best for my environment.

Mushroom mycelium are the fine rootlike structures that fungus use to decompose dead organic material for nutrition.  They form a symbiotic relationship with plants, allowing plants to access those nutrients and water.  Mycelium can help protect plants from diseases.  Scientists have discovered that mycelium can act similar to nerve cells, producing electrical impulses that allow plants to communicate in a very basic way. It is a fascinating discovery and I recommend reading anything by Paul Stamets.

My favorite and most used mushroom is shiitake.  I use them to add that umami flavor to many dishes.  Shiitake grow on decomposing wood, and since I don’t have any hardwood logs available, I decided to see if they would grow on wood mulch.

First I spread some old wood mulch on the ground in an area that is partially shaded.  Unfortunately the photo I took of the shiitake spawn I bought from Northspore  didn’t get saved, but the next step was to spread the spawn over the mulch.  I did several layers of mulch and spawn.  I then covered the entire area with a light layer of pine straw.

On dry days I give the area a light mist of water.  Now I wait to see if this is a success.

I highly recommend that you check out the Northspore  website for more information.  They have a very informative blog and videos on growing mushrooms at home.  They have kindly given me a coupon code to receive a discount on their site:  FRUGALMENNONITE.

Our brutally hot summer has slowed the garden to a halt, but I have started my seeds for the Fall garden and I look forward to more temperate weather.  In Florida we garden all year round, but Fall, Winter and Spring are our main seasons.

God bless,

Pam