Hi - I just want to shout out to everybody. I'm getting into this
gardening thing. I have a couple questions which someone may or may
not be able to answer.
First, a question about greenhouses. I've got some plexiglass that has
been laying around, so I'm gonna use it for a greenhouse. I live in
Houston, where it is hot and humid. We are talkin 98 F in the summer.
I was thinking about putting a solar
ventilator on it to cool it some, but I'm sure it will still be very
hot. Are there any good tropical, edible plants i could grow in it?

Second question, seeing as I live in a hot humid climate, what are the
best outdoor summer crops? Hardiness is essential, as the bugs here
are a real prob.

Third question: Does anyone know about growing mushrooms, and
particularly, truffles (without the tree roots, we're talking some
type of artificial system)

Guess I'll keep it to those questions for now.

Cheers
Astral

I know zip about tropical plants (except cactuses/cacti). But I read an
article a year or so ago that claimed truffles could not be planted in a
"garden". There was something symbiotic between them and something in the
soil. It may well have been a chemical since most of the truffles they
were collecting were near one species of oak. Maybe someones memory will
be jogged and can produce more details. I think the answer is no though.
Good Luck.
Stan

jF wrote:

Hi - I just want to shout out to everybody. I'm getting into this
gardening thing. I have a couple questions which someone may or may
not be able to answer.
First, a question about greenhouses. I've got some plexiglass that has
been laying around, so I'm gonna use it for a greenhouse. I live in
Houston, where it is hot and humid. We are talkin 98 F in the summer.
I was thinking about putting a solar
ventilator on it to cool it some, but I'm sure it will still be very
hot. Are there any good tropical, edible plants i could grow in it?

Second question, seeing as I live in a hot humid climate, what are the
best outdoor summer crops? Hardiness is essential, as the bugs here
are a real prob.

Third question: Does anyone know about growing mushrooms, and
particularly, truffles (without the tree roots, we're talking some
type of artificial system)

Guess I'll keep it to those questions for now.

Cheers
Astral

(jF) wrote in message . com...
Hi - I just want to shout out to everybody. I'm getting into this
gardening thing. I have a couple questions which someone may or may
not be able to answer.
First, a question about greenhouses. I've got some plexiglass that has
been laying around, so I'm gonna use it for a greenhouse. I live in
Houston, where it is hot and humid. We are talkin 98 F in the summer.
I was thinking about putting a solar
ventilator on it to cool it some, but I'm sure it will still be very
hot. Are there any good tropical, edible plants i could grow in it?

In Houston, you will use the GH only in the winter. In the summer it
is warm enough to grow anything tropical.


Second question, seeing as I live in a hot humid climate, what are the
best outdoor summer crops? Hardiness is essential, as the bugs here
are a real prob.

okra and watermelon?


Third question: Does anyone know about growing mushrooms, and
particularly, truffles (without the tree roots, we're talking some
type of artificial system)

You can not grow truffles there. But you can grow many kinds of
mushrooms on many kinds of substrate (cardboard, straw, woodchips,
coffee grounds, etc.). See www.fungi.com and ask them for advice.


Guess I'll keep it to those questions for now.

Cheers
Astral

Hi Astral,
For hot, humid areas I suggest corn, bush beans (grow very well interplanted
with corn), capsicums, cucurbit family and egg plant. Tomatos excellent also
but you may need a preventative fungicide spraying routine for tomatoes in a
humid area.
Cheers
Mike Stickney
"jF" wrote in message
om...
Hi - I just want to shout out to everybody. I'm getting into this
gardening thing. I have a couple questions which someone may or may
not be able to answer.
First, a question about greenhouses. I've got some plexiglass that has
been laying around, so I'm gonna use it for a greenhouse. I live in
Houston, where it is hot and humid. We are talkin 98 F in the summer.
I was thinking about putting a solar
ventilator on it to cool it some, but I'm sure it will still be very
hot. Are there any good tropical, edible plants i could grow in it?

Second question, seeing as I live in a hot humid climate, what are the
best outdoor summer crops? Hardiness is essential, as the bugs here
are a real prob.

Third question: Does anyone know about growing mushrooms, and
particularly, truffles (without the tree roots, we're talking some
type of artificial system)

Guess I'll keep it to those questions for now.

Cheers
Astral

Third question: Does anyone know about growing mushrooms, and
particularly, truffles (without the tree roots, we're talking some
type of artificial system)

Guess I'll keep it to those questions for now.

Cheers
Astral

As has been pointed out, you won't be able to grow truffles,
unfortunately. I think the only places "real" truffles grow here are
Oregon and Washington, and even there, they can't be planted,
transplanted, or propegated in any way. They have to be hunted.

A few years ago a new species of truffle was discovered in Georgia.
It is related, but not the exact same species, as the Italian truffle.
It's not quite as strong, but it's definitely a truffle. The guy who
discovered them was doing research with pecan farmers, and noticed
them going through their crop and tossing out a bunch of "things." He
thought "hmm, those look like truffles." He did some research, and
sure enough, they were. He's trying to get interest growing and get a
market for them, but as of now, he only sells to our restaurant (in
Savannah). As far as I know, he doesn't have anything set up on the
web, so there's not much info about them (if anyone is interested in
more info, feel free to ask, I just didn't want to bore anyone with
too much info here). I don't know if they grow pecans where you live,
but if so, you might want to check it out and see if you can dig
around (a couple inches below the surface near the trunks of pecan
trees). It seems like the climate is similar enough, but all trufles
are extremely fickle.

As for the rest of the mushrooms, you can grow MANY types at home, but
I don't think I'd do it in the greenhouse. I've seen oyster,
shiitake, portabello, enoki, and many other kits available. They come
either as spores you can implant yourself, or some of them come
pre-spored on logs. About the only other mushrooms I don't think you
can grow are chanterelles, black trumpets, and porcini. As far as I
know, they are just as fickle as truffles and must be hunted (which is
a LOT of fun, by the way). Amazinlgly (to me, anyway) in Savannah
I've found chanterelles, cinnibar chanterelles, black trumpets, and
hen-of-the-woods, along with several other lesser-known kinds. (Note:
picking wild mushrooms without knowing what you're doing is dangerous,
always use several books and BE SURE.)

I'm sure I've exceeded the scope of your question in several areas,
but it's hard to get me to shut up once I start talking mushrooms.
Hope I've been of some assistance.

Jeffrey

(jF) wrote in message . com...
[snip]
Third question: Does anyone know about growing mushrooms, and
particularly, truffles (without the tree roots, we're talking some
type of artificial system)

Since others in this thread have answered the other two questions, I
reply only to the third.

I have grown truffles in Oregon with Douglas-fir. Many truffles are
found only with specific species of host plants or trees. Thus it is
unlikely you will be able to grow the truffles I cultivate in Texas.

Having said that, there are truffles in Texas already. Tuber lyonii is
often found with pecan, Amican basswood, Shagbark hickory, hawthorne,
and several other trees. It apparently is often ignored, since it is
sometimes collected by mechanical harvesters in pecan plantations and
discarded.

There are likely other truffle species in Texas. But until someone
actually tries looking for them, it is unlikely they will be found.
Most truffle species grow either in the ground or are near the surface
of the ground. It may take 9 months for a truffle to mature.
Identification of the truffle is dependent on mature spores, which may
not develop until the last 2 months of the truffle's life. A truffle
is not considered mature until 80% of the spores present are mature,
which in my experience doesn't take place until the last month of a
truffle's lifespan.

It is often possible to find areas where squirrels, mice, or voles
have dug for truffles. Look for small animal pits with pieces of white
or off-colored material nearby. Usually larger truffles are too much
for a small animal to eat at one time, so it may return for several
days in a row to finish the truffle.

Truffles are common in Oregon, Washington and Northern California.
This is nearly the same range as the Northern Spotted owl and the
California Red-backed vole. The vole has to eat its weight in truffles
each day to stay alive. Chris Maser, a small-mammal specialist, has
suggested there may be 1,000 to 3,000 California Red-backed voles per
acre of forested land in the Pacific Northwest.

Daniel B. Wheeler
www.oregonwhitetruffles.com

(Daniel B. Wheeler) wrote in message
I have grown truffles in Oregon with Douglas-fir. Many truffles are
found only with specific species of host plants or trees. Thus it is
unlikely you will be able to grow the truffles I cultivate in Texas.

Having said that, there are truffles in Texas already. Tuber lyonii is
often found with pecan, Amican basswood, Shagbark hickory, hawthorne,
and several other trees. It apparently is often ignored, since it is
sometimes collected by mechanical harvesters in pecan plantations and
discarded.

During my stay in France, I found out that some (inferior) truffles
would grow in the lowlands, under rows of poplars along canals or
ditches.

(simy1) wrote in message . com...
(Daniel B. Wheeler) wrote in message
I have grown truffles in Oregon with Douglas-fir. Many truffles are
found only with specific species of host plants or trees. Thus it is
unlikely you will be able to grow the truffles I cultivate in Texas.

Having said that, there are truffles in Texas already. Tuber lyonii is
often found with pecan, Amican basswood, Shagbark hickory, hawthorne,
and several other trees. It apparently is often ignored, since it is
sometimes collected by mechanical harvesters in pecan plantations and
discarded.

During my stay in France, I found out that some (inferior) truffles
would grow in the lowlands, under rows of poplars along canals or
ditches.

Ironically, those truffles _may_ have been T. magnatum, which the
French consider an inferior truffle. (So do I, now that I've sampled
them.) OTOH, the French also have at least some species of Picoa which
are quite edible here in Oregon. Picoa is named for the eminent
Italian mycologist Pico, who first identified T. magnatum. (In science
it would be correctly identified as T. magnatum Pico.) Picoa
carthusiana (now Leucangium carthusiana) was named for the Carthusian
Mtns. of southern France. It is, perhaps, the best truffle of the
United States, with a tremendous variation in aroma and flavor,
ranging from vanilla, chocolate, teriyaki beef jerky, pineapple, apple
mash, pear, and dried morels. Yet the French apparently ignore this
species, for reasons I have absolutely no clue about.

It should also be noted that Rhizopogons, which are sometimes also
called "False truffles", have some culinary value as well. The
Japanese, for example consider R. rubescens to be extremely good, and
pay high prices for it. In the 1990's, a tremendously large R.
rubescens was found in Oregon, weighing nearly 2 pounds.

Daniel B. Wheeler
www.oregonwhitetruffles.com