Mushroom Cultivation
For Everyone
Tradd Cotter
Mushroom Mountain, LLC
Log and Stump
Cultivation
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Spawn Run
Storage and Stacking
Water requirements / Soaking
Fruiting Parameters and cycles
Yields and expectations
“Diamond” Drilling Pattern
Log and Stump Cultivation
SOAKING
• Replenishes lost water
• Swells dehydrated mycelium
• Signals biomass there is enough internal
moisture to produce viable fruit
• Evaporation creates a slight drop in log
temperature
Shiitake Primordia Pushing Through the Bark
In 2-7 DAYS
Shiitake Yields
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Average 2 pounds per log per year
Investment of $3-4 in plugs per log
Lifetime of log return 10 pounds (6-8 inch log)
Price per pound varies with quality ($8-15/lb)
ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES AND SPECIES
ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES AND SPECIES
Mushrooms on Wood Chips
and Composts
King Stropharia Yields
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Average 3-5 pounds per year (4x4x1)
Investment of $30 per cubic yard of chips
Lifetime of return 6-10 pounds (2 years)
Price per pound varies with quality ($8-15/lb)
Recycling with Mushrooms
Growing Media
•Spent Coffee Grounds and Filters
•Cardboard Cereal Boxes, pasta boxes,
butter boxes, tissue boxes, paper towel rolls,
toilet paper rolls, paper towels
•Shredded Office Paper, Newspaper
•Old Cotton Clothes
Cultivating on Ag waste and Weeds
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Spent Coffee
Cereal Straw (oat, wheat, rye)
Cotton Waste
Corn Waste
Kudzu
Water Hyacinth
HOT WATER PASTERURIZATION
1-2 HOURS AT 160 F (71 C)
CHOOSING A
CONTAINER
VOLUME : EXPOSED SURFACE AREA
VOLUME : EXPOSED SURFACE
• #1 KEY TO SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIAL
PRODUCTION
• DETERMINE BEST RATIO
• MINIMIZE EXPOSE SURFACE AREA TO
MAXIMIZE YIELDS
• MUSHROOMS ARE PHOTOTROPHIC AND
STIMULATED BY LIGHT
• BLACK OR OPAQUE CONTAINERS BEST
Mushroom Psychology
• “BECOMING A MUSHROOM”
• FUNGAL EMPATHY AND INTUITIVE GROWING
• PREDICT THE BEHAVIOR AND CYCLES BASED
ON SKILLED OBSERVATIONS AND NOTE
TAKING (RECORD KEEPING)
SPAWN RUN
Secondary Decomposers
Agaricus ( Portabellas and White Button )
Utilize composting process to achieve a
substrate suitable for mushroom colonization.
Presence of thermophilic bacteria and other
beneficial fungi stimulate mushroom
mycelium and production
Fruiting Structures
• Controlled, clean environment
• Gases, insects, and humidity control
Fruiting Structures
• Bigger not better – Think small/modular.
Modular systems have less contamination
vectors, easier to maintain and isolate
diseases. Large rooms are difficult to prevent
cross contamination.
You can simply add more modules to increase
production.
Harvesting and Storage
• Eliminate watering 4-6 hours before
harvesting
• Pick when caps are tacky to dry
• Store under 38-45F Refigeration
• Store in lightly ventilated boxes, paper bags,
never sealed plastic or plastic bags
• Species specific longevity
MARKETING
BIODEGRADABLE CONTAINER WITH RECIPE
SUGGESTIONS
MARKETING
•Know your products
•Know the nutritional values of
each species, incorporate into signs
and handouts
•Never falsify medicinal claims, only
cite scientific journals, not
websites, blogs, and neighbors
•Be your local expert
Alternative Products
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Powders
Medicinal Extracts
Soaps, Lotions, Cosmetics
Mycobrewery???
Dream up your own products!
Mushroom Pests and Diseases
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Insects – Fungus gnats, sciarid flies, beetles
Fungi – Molds, wilts
Bacteria – Brown Blotch, Orange Staining
Viruses
FUNGUS GNATS AND FRUIT FLIES
Bacillus thuringiensis sp israelensis
WWW.MUSHROOMMOUNTAIN.COM/HANDOUT
WWW.MUSHROOMMOUNTAIN.COM/HANDOUT