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Growing Mushrooms at Home in Oak Ridge

Jason Schmidt

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We can grow mushrooms at home.

I am not an expert: Fungus, mold, mushroom, mycelium, spawn, spores...I might not be using all of the terms correctly.

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Interesting Historical Facts

Yeast -- Egyptians and beer, wine, and bread

Mold -- Discovery of penicillin from Penicillium notatum by Alexander Fleming

Fungus for food -- South American leaf-cutting ants

Pjt56 [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

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How Mushrooms Work...

Posted with permission: Cotter, Tradd. “Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation.” Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, Chelsea Green Publishing Co, 2014, pp. 4–12.

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Why grow edible mushrooms in Oak Ridge?

Waste into nutritious food

Self-reliance, beneficial relationships

Appreciation of the natural resources

Abundant supplies, good conditions

Forest management (!?)

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Cultivation Steps

1 Preparing the media,

2 inoculating the media,

3 spawn run,

4 complete colonization,

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5 initiation and pinning,

6 maturation and harvest,

7 rest

Steps 5-7 will continue until the growing media is consumed

Shiitake inoculation

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Tools: Drill or high-speed angle grinder with adaptor and bit, plunger tool

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Consumables: Oak logs, mushroom spawn and wax for sealing

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Some cultivated mushrooms we can grow here...

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Shiitake on oak logs, outdoors --- ORDER NOW on GrowOakRidge.org!

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Oyster on a variety of media, indoor or outdoors -- ORDER SOON on GrowOakRidge.org!

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King Stropharia (Wine Cap) in mulch beds outdoors -- Maybe someday

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Shiitake

Oak logs inoculated in spawn,

A 4” diameter log can fruit for 4 years. Length and strain determine quantity.

Volunteer to grow!

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Shiitake Successes from 2020 Workshop

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Do-It-Yourself Shiitake Inoculation Station

Grow your own shiitake mushrooms fundraiser for the Winter Farmers’ Market!

Our target date is March 5.

DIY $25 / log or pre-spawned $30 / log

Order at GrowOakRidge.org and at the front desk.

Stay in touch: Jason Schmidt

Call or text: 865-466-6193

Jason.R.Schmidt@gmail.com

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Oyster

Can grow on coffee grounds and paper, indoor or outdoor

Can grow on Sweet Gum trees

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Wine Cap

Huge fruits

Grows in mulch beds

Keeps going if you add more mulch

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Wine Cap Successes