Hi everybody,

Well, I guess that I have got the edible gardening enthusiasm
going now - trying to do as many different plants as possible.

So I am researching mushrooms. NOT those "magic" ones,
ornecessarily anything "gourmet." Just regular mushrooms for
eating (e.g. the basic white type available at supermarkets.)

My small outdoor space is already filled with veggies, so I am
looking for indoor arraingements for the mushrooms (don't they
like the dark?)

A Google search comes up with:

1. A bunch of stuff mind-altering (poisonous) varieties.

2. Stuff about growing on logs outdoors.

3. Some very technical stuff requiring sterile environments,
petri dishes, etc.

4. Promotions for commercial "kits" supposedly containing the
necessary ingredients.

So,

Is anybody here doing this? Is it possible to just start with
some supermarket mushrooms, and get the spores out of that?

Or are the spores generally available from seed suppliers?

I have seem some random mushrooms growing wild, but I am cautious
for safety reasons.

Do I need to do a whole complex proceedure with sterile petri
dishes, etc, etc, to start up?

Suppliers are an issue, since I live in New Zealand, so there
would likely be big shipping charges and restrictions for stuff
from out of the country.

Thanks in advance!

-v

On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 21:18:01 -0800, Down Under On The Bucket Farm
wrote:

So I am researching mushrooms. NOT those "magic" ones,
ornecessarily anything "gourmet." Just regular mushrooms for
eating (e.g. the basic white type available at supermarkets.)

My small outdoor space is already filled with veggies, so I am
looking for indoor arraingements for the mushrooms (don't they
like the dark?)

A Google search comes up with:
snip
4. Promotions for commercial "kits" supposedly containing the
necessary ingredients.

Search on

mushroom culture
mushroom cultivation

to see some options. These sites:

http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsaf/elibrary/a...nic/990015.htm
http://www.mykoweb.com/articles/cultivation.html

has some basic info.

I have had several 'kits' that produced (small) crops inside a
cardboard box. Sustained mushroom cultivation is pretty fiddly. Not
like planting a seed/spore and waiting for them to grow.

Good luck.

"Down Under On The Bucket Farm" wrote in message
...
Hi everybody,

Well, I guess that I have got the edible gardening enthusiasm
going now - trying to do as many different plants as possible.

So I am researching mushrooms. NOT those "magic" ones,
ornecessarily anything "gourmet." Just regular mushrooms for
eating (e.g. the basic white type available at supermarkets.)

My small outdoor space is already filled with veggies, so I am
looking for indoor arraingements for the mushrooms (don't they
like the dark?)


Check out http://www.fungi.com/ . They are in the US but the site shows you
what to look for to grow your own.

Bill

"Down Under On The Bucket Farm" wrote in message

My small outdoor space is already filled with veggies, so I am
looking for indoor arraingements for the mushrooms (don't they
like the dark?)

A Google search comes up with:
(snip)
4. Promotions for commercial "kits" supposedly containing the
necessary ingredients.
(snip)
Suppliers are an issue, since I live in New Zealand, so there
would likely be big shipping charges and restrictions for stuff
from out of the country.

I've used the boxed kits that are available here in Aus and have found them
to be quite good. I grow them in the sauna (unused as who has time to fart
around having saunas). I also did a goggle search and it seems that kits
are also available in NZ:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/listings-fe...on-6650397.htm

I also have mushrooms growing in huge 'fairy ring' shapes in 2 of my lawns
('rough paddock' mutters my sister) and they are reliable producers in any
month with an 'r' in it if I keep up the water.

Dunno about anything else but this site (from NZ) may be of help about the
more esoteric stuff.
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~mushspor/

try this site:

alt.nature.mushrooms

lots of knowledgeable folks there.

mixter



"Down Under On The Bucket Farm" wrote in message
...
Hi everybody,

Well, I guess that I have got the edible gardening enthusiasm
going now - trying to do as many different plants as possible.

So I am researching mushrooms. NOT those "magic" ones,
ornecessarily anything "gourmet." Just regular mushrooms for
eating (e.g. the basic white type available at supermarkets.)

My small outdoor space is already filled with veggies, so I am
looking for indoor arraingements for the mushrooms (don't they
like the dark?)

A Google search comes up with:

1. A bunch of stuff mind-altering (poisonous) varieties.

2. Stuff about growing on logs outdoors.

3. Some very technical stuff requiring sterile environments,
petri dishes, etc.

4. Promotions for commercial "kits" supposedly containing the
necessary ingredients.

So,

Is anybody here doing this? Is it possible to just start with
some supermarket mushrooms, and get the spores out of that?

Or are the spores generally available from seed suppliers?

I have seem some random mushrooms growing wild, but I am cautious
for safety reasons.

Do I need to do a whole complex proceedure with sterile petri
dishes, etc, etc, to start up?

Suppliers are an issue, since I live in New Zealand, so there
would likely be big shipping charges and restrictions for stuff
from out of the country.

Thanks in advance!

-v

Down Under On The Bucket Farm writes:
My small outdoor space is already filled with veggies, so I am
looking for indoor arraingements for the mushrooms (don't they
like the dark?)

Why don't you buy a mushroom kit and gain some experience from
it? This will give you a better idea of what is involved.

Is anybody here doing this? Is it possible to just start with
some supermarket mushrooms, and get the spores out of that?

It is possible to harvest spores from supermarket mushrooms. Just
place one of the fully open ones in a brown paper bag in the vegetable
section of your fridge, and a few days later the bag underneath the
gills will have a layer of dark dust. There you have millions of spores.
What you are going to do with them is another matter. :-)

I have seem some random mushrooms growing wild, but I am cautious
for safety reasons.

Caution is very sensible. But once you know what to look for, it is
easy. Only harvest the clones: smooth white dome top, pink gills,
regulation size and shape, growing beside a clump of rotting cow dung.
Well, that's the Aussie ones, yours may be different.

Get someone to show you, and after a few days of showery weather you can
go out into the field and harvest to your heart's content. The beauty of
the wild ones is that they have unrivalled flavour, nothing like your
bland supermarket ones. If in doubt, leave that mushroom be and move on
to the next one.

Make sure you store harvested mushrooms in paper bags, not plastic, or
they will go mouldy very quickly.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)