Seedy Saturday - 'Shrooms'!

So, for some reason I thought growing mushrooms would be a fantastic idea. Like I was a crazy mushroom eater!

I took the Shiitake mushroom class and have 2 'logs' on my back steps waiting to give me shiitake mushrooms. Those aren't supposed to start 'pinning' until around September. The mycelium have to fill the log and then it will make mushrooms. Ok. Fine.

However, I, in my infinite wisdom, decided if shiitake, why not Wine Cap? Just throw some wood chip and straw in the garden, keep it moist and skip out and pick a few mushrooms.

Along with a fellow mushroom person, I ordered a bag of sawdust spore from North Spore. And a bag is 5.5 pounds of spore. 

In a space about 4.5 x 3 feet, I laid down some hardwood chips and layered spore and straw. I also had enough spore left over to fill 2 plastic boxes which are about 1 x 1 foot each. And a tad for a small patch among my asparagus. 

I did check carefully over the past couple of months to see what was happening in the straw and watched it fill up with the mycelium.

Two days ago, my 'shroom buddy's wife messaged me he had wine caps, although his had been sampled by something 4 legged probably. I ran out to check my bed. And I too had mushrooms!

The past two days I've picked a handful both days of 'baby' mushrooms. No problem.

Then this morning...

Not only did I have more mushrooms, but in 24 hours I had full-blown mushrooms!

After my harvest this morning, I now have 1.5 pounds of wine cap mushrooms. And based on me eyeballing the bed, tomorrow I'm going to need a larger basket! The dehydrator will be coming out today. 

However, tonight...

Hamburger steak with mushroom gravy, potatoes from my garden I just harvested and green beans I harvested and canned last year. So the main ingredients, except for the beef, are from my garden - something I have produced.

It doesn't get much better than that.