mushroom cultivation workshop
TRANSCRIPT
Mushroom Cultivation Workshop!
When: Sunday, April 27th at 10am (until 4pm or so)
Where: Suchernova Farm in Cotati, CA (900 West Sierra Ave)
What we are doing (in no particular order): We have 10 maple logs to inoculate and a bunch of eucalyptus logs. All of them will receive
shiitake (L. edodes) mushroom dowels. Each participant will receive one of the maple logs to
take home! Your log should produce 1-3 pounds of fresh mushrooms for 3-5 years! We'll go
over how to take care of your logs and what to do when they are ready to fruit.
We’ll also be setting up two companion planting plots. One will utilize the Elm Oyster (H.
ulmarius) with various crops in raised beds. This is a species that has shown increased yields
among broccoli and other crops in a published, controlled study. Additionally, we'll be pairing
Nameko (P. nameko) mushrooms in a trial to determine if berry yield may be increased with
some of our locally grown berry crops (blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.)
Lastly, we’ll prepare a King Stropharia (S. rugoso-annulata) livestock runoff filter. We'll focus
on preparing our site and beginning the mushroom's colonization process using a mixture of
straw, woodchips, and burlap sacks. After the bags colonize, we will return (volunteers
welcome!) to Suchernova to actually install the filter. This species has already shown a
remarkable ability to withstand extreme environmental conditions and filter particles and/or
pathogens as small as E. coli., which is a mere 1-3 micrometers in size!
To Register: We are currently operating workshops on a sliding scale of $40-60 per person. To register, go
to PayPal and create an account if you don't already have one. Once you have an account, look
for the "Send" tab near the top of the page. The account to pay is [email protected]. Once
you have paid, consider yourself registered, and we'll see you on the 27th!
What to bring: - Comfortable clothes and shoes.
We're not sure what the weather will be like, but we will not cancel unless there are tornadoes
and tsunamis.
- Water Bottle/Jar etc.
- Sun protection (hat, sunscreen, etc.)
- Gloves
- Drill (if you have one) and a 23/64th drill bit. The more of these we have, the faster we'll be
done with our logs!
Please also bring your backup batteries/chargers. I'll have a surge protector and an extension
cord.
- Hard rakes and pitch/garden forks. Maybe a shovel too! Please label your stuff!
- Stuff for taking notes (if you want)
- Lunch and snacks (or RSVP lunch for $10 - see below)
- Your smiling face!
Lunch: We'll take about a 45 minute break for lunch. You can bring your own or buy one from our
awesome farmer-chef-host Melissa. If you want to buy lunch, please RSVP with her directly
at [email protected]. The cost is $10, and you can pay her when you arrive. Please
don't forget your money or your grub will go to the pigs!
If you have any questions or concern, please email me directly at [email protected].
We're excited and looking forward to seeing you!