Teaching Kai To Grow Mushrooms (not that kind)

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 A couple weeks ago Kai and I chopped down an alder and inoculated it with oyster mushrooms. The basic process is to drill holes in a long that are a little deeper than the dowel plugs. The dowel plugs are the inoculant and are inserted into the holes.  Grafting wax is melted over the plugs to protect them from insects or competing fungi.  Finally, logs are placed in a shaded area. We’ll keep them watered over the summer and in 12 to 18 months they should start producing mushrooms. If we have done it right, they should produce for up to 5 years. There are quite a few factors that contribute to quality mushroom production so I hope that I don’t mess it up.

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If growing mushrooms interests you, check out Paul Stamets’ Mycelium Running. Also, well worth the time is his TED talk on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world

To get spawn for mushroom inoculation check out Western Biologicals or The Vancouver Mushroom Man

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