Tropical Mushroom Cultivation

[ericalynne]

I have 20 acres of downed trees, many of them oaks; it occurred to me that perhaps I could get some benefit out of Irma by cultivating edible mushrooms. I have done some googling. According to various sources, shiitake (Lentinula edodes.)  is actually from southeast Asia and there are warm weather strains. Also there is a warm species of Pleurotis pulmonarius that will grow on sweet bay, which is the other downed tree in abundance on my property.

I am wondering if anyone on this forum has been growing mushrooms in a tropical or subtropical environment?

Erica

[Chupa King]

Do it. Use the resources around you.

I often eat our native fungi, they are very tasty. I had plugs sent to me from the mainland but they never really worked. We had then growing in bags for awhile but once we tried to introduce them outside they didn't survive.






Wild Oyster I believe...

[Future]

Do it. Use the resources around you.

I often eat our native fungi, they are very tasty. I had plugs sent to me from the mainland but they never really worked. We had then growing in bags for awhile but once we tried to introduce them outside they didn't survive.






Wild Oyster I believe...

Believe and mushrooms don't go together.  Many have died this way.  Get plugs or spawn and be sure.

[Chupa King]

Sure. Why dont you go ahead and send me some plugs?

My wife has a degree in Mycology. I think I know which ones will kill me or make me terribly sick.

[ericalynne]

Collecting wild edible mushrooms is a whole different topic from cultivating mushrooms, just like foraging for wild herbs is different from a garden.

So while collecting edible wild mushrooms is interesting and tasty for some, and quite risky for others, what I am really interested in is if anyone is actually cultivating known edible mushrooms. It looks quite doable and I plan to go ahead. I am just wondering if anyone here has first hand knowledge. Googling will show that internationally, there are people cultivating mushrooms on a commercial level.

So I'll keep this thread going for a bit and see if anyone responds.

Erica

[nullzero]

Oak is really good wood for cultivating most mushrooms. What you want to do is cut up the oak tree into smaller logs. Then have the logs dry out a bit. Then order plugs online or saw dust from a fungi source that specializes in edible southeast U.S. strains. Drill holes into the dried out logs and insert the plugs/saw dust. Cap off the holes then soak the log in water overnight. Take out log and place in shaded moist area in the yard. Mushrooms should spawn soon after if the temps and humidity are right for the fungi strain.

[Daintree]

I grow tropical oyster mushrooms in my greenhouse. There are a number of varieties that grow very well on logs.  Get in touch with Tradd and Olga Cotter at Mushroom Mountain in S Carolina. They sell really excellent spawn in both plug and sawdust form, depending on what you are getting, and their website is chock full of a huge amount of cultivation info. 

Carolyn

[edzone9]

Im bit by the Mycology Bug big time!

I’m currently growing REISHI medicinal mushroom and King Oyster mushrooms super fun eland easy !

Ed

[Mike T]

There is a diversity of amazing fungi in my area with many still to be named. A doctorate in mycological taxonomy may be needed to tell if those masquerading as edibles really are. Spraying painting porcelain and bad trips are not what I'm in the market for but it would be great to know which are edible.

[Fazendeiro]

Sorry for bringing this back to the top! But it's a topic worth investigating in.
I heard that the pink oysters (Pleurotus salmoneostramineus) are really easy to cultivate, love high temperatures (always over 22°C) and fruit very quickly!
They aren't the best tasting of all cultivated mushrooms and lose their color within a few days after harvest, but I think it's worth a try.

The yellow oyster (Pleurotus citrinopileatus) is less temperature loving (above 18°C) but also easy to cultivate...