Mushroom Cultivation at the Farm & Home
With: William Padilla Brown & Leif Olson
at the 27th Annual Organic Growers School Spring Conference in Western NC in March 2020.
Edible mushrooms available at the grocery stores have traditionally been produced at huge industrial scale farms using expensive equipment. However, advances in accessible small scale cultivation techniques have made it much easier to grow on small farms and even home! In addition to being a highly nutritious food containing vitamins and macronutrients, mushrooms can improve the health of the farm and garden through turning carbon “waste” into high value food, providing a saleable harvest in the off-season, increasing the quality of animal feed, and improving the quality of crops and soil.
In this all-day workshop, participants will learn low cost techniques for growing mushrooms on commonly available materials as well as the logistics of mushroom growing at various scales. Workshop will cover:
Growing Mediums: Learn how to use heat (pasteurization) and other methods to prepare substrate materials like straw, sawdust and woodchips as growing mediums for growing mushrooms.
Mushroom Logs:
Mushroom Beds in the Garden: Use materials such as woodchip, straw, or compost to grow mushrooms in your soil, either in gardens or elsewhere in the landscape. Get tips for higher yields and soil improvement.
Harvesting and Marketing:
Do-it-yourself mushroom cultivation can be fun and profitable. Whether you’re supplementing your income or growing for friends and family, learn the basics and give it a try at your farm or home.
Cost: $60 with Saturday and/or Sunday conference registration, $75 without.
https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/pre-conference-workshops/
