mushroom introduction into my pepper beds.

randyp · May 31, 2015

Help me Ole Wise Ones.My neighbor has these shrooms in his yard and I was thinking about how to introduce them into my beds.I have a deep wood mulch and organic compost in them now so I think they would take.Do I cut them up to pieces and put under the mulch or what?

Weed · May 31, 2015

Puree them. Mix into mulch.

cruzzfish · May 31, 2015

Picking it up carefully and tapping it over the soil would work also.

randyp · May 31, 2015

Thanks for the quick responses,I am only as smart as you guys make me. :dance:

pepper_rancher · May 31, 2015

Hooolld on there 1 minute! Different mushrooms have different food sources, not all mushrooms are wood composters. That one is growing on the ground (as opposed to a dead log), so I'm guessing it is not.
Why not inoculate it with an edible variety that is a known wood compster, such as Stropharia rugosoannulata?
I have a little experience growing mushroom cultures, if you are intersted in exploring this a bit I will go into more detail when I get to my computer later today (I'm on my cell phone right now, so it's not very easy to post)
Anyway, just let me know

Weed · May 31, 2015

cruzzfish said:
Picking it up carefully and tapping it over the soil would work also.

Just for clarification this way might drop some spores. By pureeing them into water you get a slurry of live mycelium and spores. Colonization is fast.

pepper_rancher said:
Hooolld on there 1 minute! Different mushrooms have different food sources, not all mushrooms are wood composters. That one is growing on the ground (as opposed to a dead log), so I'm guessing it is not.

Probably a dead tree root. They're made of wood.

cruzzfish · May 31, 2015

Heckle said:
Just for clarification this way might drop some spores. By pureeing them into water you get a slurry of live mycelium and spores. Colonization is fast.

You won't get mycelium unless you go for that, which is found by digging and not picking up the mushroom.

pepper_rancher said:
Hooolld on there 1 minute! Different mushrooms have different food sources, not all mushrooms are wood composters. That one is growing on the ground (as opposed to a dead log), so I'm guessing it is not.
Why not inoculate it with an edible variety that is a known wood compster, such as Stropharia rugosoannulata?
I have a little experience growing mushroom cultures, if you are intersted in exploring this a bit I will go into more detail when I get to my computer later today (I'm on my cell phone right now, so it's not very easy to post)
Anyway, just let me know

Considering how large mycelium systems tend to get, I'd be surprised it it isn't decaying wood for the next three or four houses and the field is just an open place to disperse spores from.

Weed · May 31, 2015

cruzzfish said:
You won't get mycelium unless you go for that, which is found by digging and not picking up the mushroom.

Considering how large mycelium systems tend to get, I'd be surprised it it isn't decaying wood for the next three or four houses and the field is just an open place to disperse spores from.

What do you think the mushroom is made of?

I must have cloned all those mycelium using only a mushroom the wrong way?

Tell me more.

Hybrid Mode 01 · May 31, 2015

That fungus has probably already colonized your beds. The chances of those particular spores landing only in his yard and not in the soil in your beds is probably low. It just happens to be fruiting in his yard and not in your beds. Also, as cruzzfish mentioned, mycelial networks tend to be big - I bet that fungus already made its way into your mulch, one way or another.

moruga welder · May 31, 2015

hybrid is spot on ! i live out by the river in the woods i get stumps and grassy's all over ! and of course morels , deeper in for the sheepshead , chicken mushrooms ,and elephant ears ! mmm papinkies are in pastures around cow poo . got to spread the spores .

Weed · May 31, 2015

I think the mycelium networks of peoples minds tend to be bigger than real life because all they remember is the one from Oregon.

Is this the largest organism in the world? This 2,400-acre (9.7 km2) site in eastern Oregon had a contiguous growth of mycelium before logging roads cut through it. Estimated at 1,665 football fields in size and 2,200 years old, this one fungus has killed the forest above it several times over, and in so doing has built deeper soil layers that allow the growth of ever-larger stands of trees. Mushroom-forming forest fungi are unique in that their mycelial mats can achieve such massive proportions.

—Paul Stamets, Mycelium Running

Rairdog · May 31, 2015

These networks were no lager than the bales of straw I brought in. There are 2-3 varieties in some bales.

pepper_rancher · May 31, 2015

Randyp, are you interested in eating mushrooms too, or just for composting the wood chips to benefit the peppers?

randyp · May 31, 2015

pepper_rancher said:
Randyp, are you interested in eating mushrooms too, or just for composting the wood chips to benefit the peppers?

We get lots of morels every year and they are great floured and fried in butter.The shrooms in the pic are on an old tree that got dropped in a windstorm.The grass covers much of the spot the tree was on

cruzzfish · May 31, 2015

Heckle said:
What do you think the mushroom is made of?

I must have cloned all those mycelium using only a mushroom the wrong way?

Tell me more.

Spores.

Weed · May 31, 2015

cruzzfish said:
Spores.

From inside the stem of said mushrooms inside a glovebox?

You are silly.

cruzzfish · May 31, 2015

Heckle said:
From inside the stem of said mushrooms inside a glovebox?

You are silly.

You are dumb. Spores fall from the cap, land on the stem, and grow. The stem is not mycelium, and has no use other then to support the spore cap.

Weed · May 31, 2015

cruzzfish said:
You are dumb. Spores fall from the cap, land on the stem, and grow. The stem is not mycelium, and has no use other then to support the spore cap.

I'm dumb I guess for cloning closed cap mushrooms from a piece of stem that isnt split open until it's inside my sterile chamber and separated with tools that have been sterilized by both alcohol and flame.

Tell me again how the spores are getting inside the stem from a closed cap on which the veil hasnt even broken from a strain of mushroom known for it's lack of copious spore production (hence the cloning)?

pepper_rancher · May 31, 2015

Let me step in here for a moment...

Randyp, just FYI, you can get a culture of Stropharia rugosoannulata on ebay for ~$12 shipped, if you want a strain that is desirable for both you and your peppers!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/king-stropharia-wine-cap-garden-giant-mushroom-10cc-live-liquid-culture-syringe-/301462327176?hash=item46308e0f88

I have ordered from this supplier and it is very professionally packaged and comes sealed up in a very nice package. Others can chime in with other suppliers, but this one is pretty cheap and was reliable for me in the past.

From that you can make an unlimited amount of liquid cultures and get your woodchips started with something quite edible and quite suitable for your woodchip pile!

Perhaps cruzzfish and Heckle can both agree on this point? (come on guys

)

suchen · Jun 2, 2015

Having been a long time mushroom nerd, I can tell you that those mushrooms are inky cap mushrooms which are saprobic. That means they do break down wood, grass, etc into more usable organic matter. For your best shot at cultivating beneficial mushrooms in your garden, look up the "liquid culture" method. Spray the resulting live mycelial culture directly on the wood chips, mulch, grass clippings, manure, etc.