The Mushrooms You Set Will Depend On What You Can Get

Previously, I wrote about mushrooms and how some species can be particular on what media they will grow. So whether or not you can attempt to grow a particular mushroom species will depend on what is available to you that you can turn into a mushroom growth media.

Do you know an arborist who can acquire freshly cut logs for you? Then you can use those logs to grow shiitake mushrooms. But if you want to grow maitake (a.k.a. hen-of-the-woods) mushrooms, then those logs will have to be oak.

Are you able to get your hands on sterilized sawdust? Or maybe that same arborist can provide you with sawdust that you can sterilize yourself? Then you might be able to grow morels – although morels can be tricky to grow, as they require a flooding, a freezing, and a sclerotia stage, which is necessary to form the compact mycelium.

Is there a bakery in your town that would be willing to let you haul away their food waste? Then you can grow oyster or shiitake mushrooms

Do you have access to wood chips or other hardwood debris? Then you can grow king stropharia mushrooms. In fact, as long as you keep feeding that wood debris, those mushrooms will continue to grow year after year.

In my August 1st blog post, I said that it doesn’t matter what you’ve been given, it’s what you do with it. With mushrooms, however, it’s just the opposite. To be sure, you can grow mushrooms on just about anything. But if you want to grow a specific species of mushroom, whether or not you can grow it will depend on whether or not you can acquire the right kind of growing media. So choose your media and choose your mushrooms.

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It’s What You Do With What You’ve Got

It’s not just what you’re given
But what you do with what you’ve got

            -Si Kahn

Many of us labor under the false notion that in order to grow a successful vegetable garden, we must have a large backyard – or even a large front yard. Those who don’t possess one many times often believe that they cannot grow any kind of garden. Well, I’m here to tell you that that is not so. One can grow a garden anywhere as long as one has access to a growing medium (soil, potting mixes, hydroponic chemicals, etc.), water, and light.

Have you been given (or purchased) a home with a small backyard? If so, you can build a raised bed or two, fill it with a commercially bagged potting mix (or mix one up yourself), and grow your vegetables there. If you use techniques such as square foot gardening, vertical gardening, succession planting, etc. you can maximize the yield you get out of that raised bed. You may even get a larger yield than your arrogant brother-in-law with his big backyard!

Do you have a deck, balcony, or patio? You can purchase containers, fill them with growing media, and grow your vegetables there. I once saw a video of someone who was growing a variety of vegetables and herbs in planters, bottles hung upside down, etc. on the balcony of his downtown Manhattan apartment. And I, myself, grow vegetables in grow bags and self-watering planters on the patio of my townhouse.

Do you have an outside wall that isn’t doing anything? You can set up hanging wall planters and grow your vegetables there. And how about your roof? You may even be able to grow something there. And as a last resort, you might even be able to use Other People’s Space (OPS). Perhaps you may have a friend or family member with a large backyard who might be willing to let you set up a garden on part of it. Sound farfetched? Well, I, myself, make use of OPS. My friend and musical partner Jean and her husband Dan have let me grow a garden in their backyard for years. So it can be done. The whole point is that, like in the words of Si Kahn’s wonderful song, it’s not what you’ve been given in terms of space that determines whether or not you can grow a garden and how successful it can be. It’s what you do with that space you’ve got. With a little creativity, you can turn a brick wall into a bountiful source of fresh fruits and vegetables for you and your family.