Let's Discuss.......Mushrooms.

[The Appalachian]

I love 'em. I'll eat anything with mushrooms in it, or on it, or with it. I just ate a whole side order of deep fried on the way home because I couldn't stand it any longer. I just love mushrooms.

But I don't know jack about 'em. My knowledge base is, go to the store, buy fresh mushrooms, go home and cook 'em. I wouldn't know what to pick in the woods, and I've heard bad things can happen if you get the wrong ones. So, I don't fool with it.

That's not this subject though. Growing them is. It just seems another natural part of walking away from store bought food, to grow my own.

Recently I've watched a couple ad videos of a guy drilling holes in an oak log, pounding some sort of seed thing into the holes, and growing 'shrooms. Is that legit?

Who here grows their own, or knows how?

 

[appalichian hunter]

The ones that grow on logs are shitakes, Cocks combs also grow on logs but never harvested those. I hunt morals in the spring also. The common white or button mushrooms never tried to gr0w them but have heard Penna. is a big producer. If you hunt morals use an onion sack to collect them as the old timers always said it allows the mushroom spores to re-distribute. Common colors of morals are black, white and yellow they look like to me small Christmas trees with a white stump. There's also what we always called Cappies a moral with a longer stem and a smaller top. If you want to hunt mushrooms, I suggest getting a good book on them. Also hunt ramps, ginseng and wild licorice and wild tea berry, sassafras and wild asparagus. There's a lot in the woods if you know what to look for.

 

[Rancocas]

I like 'em, too. I can only recognize two in the woods; morels and puffballs. I leave all others alone.
I do have a couple of field guide books on mushrooms and using them I think I can identify a few more kinds of mushroom; but since I am not absolutely sure, I leave them alone.
Never tried growing my own.

 

[user 31257]

I love picking wild mushrooms and foraging in general, but I’ve never tried growing them. I’ve looked into it a few times but never gotten beyond that.
If I were going to try it I’d start with one of the simple box kits.
I have a friend who cut a bunch of oak logs and pounded in the plugs but he got other “wild” fungi along with those he’d started so you still have to be able to identify what emerges.

 

[david w]

My favorite mushrooms are portabellas. But, I put shrooms in spaghetti sauce. Grilled steak MUST be served with mushrooms! Salads are not complete without mushrooms. I have never hunted for wild mushrooms, but a friend bought some interesting one's over once.

 

[The Appalachian]

........a friend bought some interesting one's over once.

Yeah, I'm not looking for the "spicey" kind, just the normal cooking type. Lol.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Morels are the only ones I feel safe harvesting in the woods. It is legal to grow your own mushrooms. In fact, the hobby has been..........uh........mushrooming in recent years. A little googling will find you all you ever want to know.

 

[Walkingeagle]

Obviously Morels but we also have lots of Shaggymanes here in our dark and damp forests. I’ve always been leery of them but my friends eat them if fresh.
Walk

 

[Buckskinn]

There are lots of easy to identify mushrooms that are delicious. Morels, shaggy mane, hen of the woods, chicken of the woods, oysters, honey and of course giant puffballs to name a few. Only one I've grown is lion's mane.

 

[The Appalachian]

Morels are the only ones I feel safe harvesting in the woods. It is legal to grow your own mushrooms. In fact, the hobby has been..........uh........mushrooming in recent years. A little googling will find you all you ever want to know.

Believe it or not, I trust real people's experience and opinions more than Google on most things.

 

[TFoley]

'All mushrooms are edible, but some are only edible once'.

Anon.

 

[LME]

Back in the sixties a lot of people liked Psilocybin mushrooms . I don't think I will try these!

 

[sheriff john]

Helped a friend cut & bore oak logs to grow shitake's. That's been 3 years ago and recently had a chance to see the results. Logs were all "green" - cut from living oaks we felled in the spring. Stacked sorta like a log cabin with lots of room between the logs, placed beneath a tree for shade.

First year he got a pretty decent return, second year was stellar. Not every hole worked. Considering prices paid in St. Louis, if sold, he'd have come out far ahead. This from about a pickup bed of 4-6 foot logs. Unless the "structure" is placed on some sort of mulch, horseweeds, cockleburs, and such might be a problem. Thinking of doing this myself after seeing his.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Back in the sixties a lot of people liked Psilocybin mushrooms . I don't think I will try these!

 

[The Appalachian]

Helped a friend cut & bore oak logs to grow shitake's. That's been 3 years ago and recently had a chance to see the results. Logs were all "green" - cut from living oaks we felled in the spring. Stacked sorta like a log cabin with lots of room between the logs, placed beneath a tree for shade.

First year he got a pretty decent return, second year was stellar. Not every hole worked. Considering prices paid in St. Louis, if sold, he'd have come out far ahead. This from about a pickup bed of 4-6 foot logs. Unless the "structure" is placed on some sort of mulch, horseweeds, cockleburs, and such might be a problem. Thinking of doing this myself after seeing his.

That's what I'm after right there.

 

[Buckskinn]

Back in the sixties a lot of people liked Psilocybin mushrooms . I don't think I will try these!

Don't knock it til you've tried it!

 

[andy52]

Don't knock it til you've tried it!

No thanks, I'll just watch fantasia for those kinds of visuals. Dancing Crocs and elephants....

 

[D.Summers]

Those psilocybin shrooms are more popular than ever. You can procure them on the intertubes! All the best mushrooms around here are so readily identifiable. The black trumpets, chicken of the woods, cauliflower, chanterelles, and of course the morels. Lot of fun!!

 

[SOLANCO]

Cook with mushrooms often. Trick I learned in restaurant cooking is cut your mushrooms first. Then wash them well. Wet mushrooms are slippery devils to hold and slice.

 

[waksupi]

The main ones I collect are shaggy manes, and boletus. The shaggy manes grow along side the logging roads here. Boletus are a bit more wide spread, but roadsides are still very good for them.
I tend to find boletus after the first hard frost. Gathering them go hand in hand with grouse hunting. Last year I collected them after the first light snowfall.
Shaggy manes can be preserved by blanching them, then freezing or canning. Canning makes the flesh firmer. The small ones are best for this. I've had varying luck drying shaggy manes.
Boletus are easy to dry cut into 1/4" or so slices. These are great for a soup or stew in the winter. Drying enhances the flavor greatly.
Morels can be gathered by the truck load from burn areas around here if a person wants to get them. I have them pop up on my property occasionally, but they are a rare occurrence here at home. The ones here are about thumb size, not the nice big ones you get in the east and mid west.