I bought spent mushroom blocks from a vendor at the farmers market to use as a soil amendment.... Unexpectedly found pink ousters and lions mane all over the garden!
Yup! Spent blocks actually still have plenty of mycelium in them but they have run out of food so spreading them out int he garden gives them something to eat!
Tips for doing this in other zones: -In the desert oysters might be easier since they like the warm but for most cooler places (ive tried in zones 5-7) wine caps are way easier and they’ll be perennial. -Wine caps like wood chips more than straw and it usually takes 6months-1year before they colonize and break down wood enough to fruit but then they’ll never leave and they’ll spread. -Blue oysters specifically are the best tasting mushroom i’ve ever had. They’re like bacon. But wine caps are good too, closer to a regular button mushroom from the store. -Oysters do prefer straw and because my climate is cooler I haven’t gotten them to be perennial. They will grow fast though and usually fruit in a few weeks that same season if you plant them at the right time early enough. I consider them annual near me. -If you’re not in a desert, make sure the chips don’t dry out for a week or so and then the mushrooms will get all the water they need from rain. Straw beds might require a bit more maintenance and babying. -Wine caps usually fruit in the spring and the fall for me and they don’t fruit the first season and sometimes not even really abundantly until the third spring/fall but you can check for mycelium to make sure it’s alive at any point. -I add a thin layer of new wood chips every year to keep them going indefinitely but my old landlord tried to completely cover mine with rocks and weed fabric and they still came out with nice fruit around the edges, so once established they’re pretty hardy as long as the mycelium stays intact.
What’s your area/ zone? I’m a warm zone 7 w high humidity and fairly mild winters. I have wild mushrooms all over my garden and lawn so I know at least some will grow but not sure what to choose or when to plant.
I think a good addition to a composter would be some mushroom spawn, because not only do you get the benefit of growing mushrooms where you throw your organic waste, you also get good compost from it, and you even can use it as your own starter spawn for new mushroom beds, and if you use it in your garden, you might even get the added benefit of having beneficial mushrooms growing with your other crops, and can even add some charm to a flower/herb garden too if you add some pretty varieties of edible mushrooms to your compost, so I would say this might be worth a try to add some spawn to a composter to start a mushroom composter, because you will never run out of mushroom spawn if you do this.
I had wood blewits show up on their own in my autumn leaf compost two years ago. The following year I planted wine caps in my Chip Drop woodchips, and I had elegant stinkhorns show up on their own due to the favorable conditions I created. This year the elegant stinkhorns have spread all throughout my garden, along with the squid stinkhorns making an appearance. All stinkhorn species are safe to eat, and they make a great thickener for soups and sauces.
@@Neenerella333 I'm not sure what climate zone that would be, though it looks like New Mexico ranges from 4-9. Crops that require a cold period tend to do best in anything up to zone 7. It should work if you get cold winters.
Wow that is awesome! I haven't seen those before and would find it to be quite the site to come out and see all my mulch with these guys popping up everywhere! Do they taste any good or is it more of practical use for thickening?
@@jacquesinthegarden Learn Your Land did one of the only videos I've found on how to prepare stinkhorn eggs, using the common stinkhorn _P. impudicus_ which is larger and tastes more like radishes. The elegant stinkhorn tastes earthy, and takes on the flavors of whatever seasonings you add. Apparently stinkhorns are only commonly eaten in Chinese cuisine, and are not widely considered edible due to their off-putting smell, though none of them are toxic. The bridal veil is one of the few that is cultivated for medicinal use.
Maine here! 🌲 We have used North Spore a bunch and have been so happy with every product! They are a wonderful company. We love the box grow kits for holiday gifts.
I made 2 burlap bags of mushroom this year : blue and pink oysters. I had great harvests, I was almost tired of eating mushrooms 😅 I mixed 50/50 straw and maple mulch. I placed the bags under my patio for shade and also use this otherwise lost space 😊
Hey! I really want to grow mushrooms in my garden (Southern California) and am having a hard time finding straw. May I ask where you get your straw supply?
I can confirm you can grow mushrooms in a grow bag. They send fruiting bodies throughout the sides of the bag. They grew in a poly tunnel at 70% humidity
I love mushroom farming! And gardening of course :-) thanks for all the tips and so forth. I did the wine caps also and they are great😊 they're everywhere!
I have a wine cap kit in my fridge that I literally just told my husband we need a plan for putting out. We’re also amending our beds and putting our garden to rest for the winter and we have a pile of mulch to put down. This is perfect timing. Much appreciated!
I love how you said the fir is like protein and fats! Made perfect sense to me. Takes longer to colonize, but makes for a healthier/longer harvest overall
I did a very half-assed sowing of wine cap spawn mid-summer and still got very decent results that are still producing flushes now! It very much seems like my best flushes and best tomato producers were in the same containers, so either they liked the same conditions or were cooperating. 🍄🍄🍄
Great video, I definitely want to try this. The grow bag you used seems like it can now be a "spawn bag" and used to inoculate other mushroom beds or bags, once the grow bag is fully colonized. Just a thought, never tried it.
Great video Jacques... I'm inspired to add some mushrooms to my garden now. I never really considered the added benefits of mushroom gardening, aside from the mushroom itself. Even without the edible, sounds like they're hugely beneficial for the overall garden ecosystem.
There are! Some strains like wine caps even kill/eat nematodes and form symbiotic relationships with plants. Protecting roots and providing water & enzymes in exchange for plant sugar.
@@brentsims9114 - Appreciate the extra detail Brent... Question for you and/or Jacques - Any thoughts on growing mushrooms under a persimmon tree or other fruit tree for that matter? Younger trees (3-4 years old), so not that big, but ground beneath still shaded for much of the day. Area already mulched with Garden Straw and getting ready to add a layer with winter coming, so if I'm going to do it, this would be the time. Thx!
They are really wonderful to have in the garden for a variety of reasons! Under a tree is actually quite ideal for growing the mushrooms since it provides shade. They will also breakdown all the mulch and return the nutrients back to your soil and feed for orchard!
Apparently you and Kevin are influencing me through subtle product placement, I recently upgraded all of my tools in my garden, a gorilla cart, two hose link hoses and lots of wands and extra connectors, new wheelbarrow wheel, hoselink hand tools, birdies garden beds! I just planted some seedlings and the cells I’m using are breaking down so I’m going to need to get 4 and 6 cells from Epic store so they last! Loving the quality of everything I’ve purchased! Thanks guys
I loved this video, thank you for sharing your wealth of garden knowledge ❤. I’m saving this one and will watch it numerous times as I am hoping to grow mushrooms this summer. I’ll let you know next year if I had success 🇨🇦
I really want to try putting mushrooms in my garden. I’ve only ever grown them once in a bucket. I thought the mushrooms weren’t producing, forgot about it for a while, and then when I checked on it there was a huge chunk of lions mane growing 👍 I’ve always found the mushroom growing kits to be too expensive to be worthwhile, but if I can get continuous seasons of mushrooms like this it would definitely be a worthwhile investment.
The wine cap mushrooms I grew in my straw mulch in the squash bed this year! They’re so easy to grow and they break down the straw to add nutrients to the soil for next year’s garden as well! Next year I’m gonna try growing mushrooms in a log my friend gave to me as well. We’ll see how it goes!
Great video, Jacques! Next time try the unlined grow bag and a denser medium to regulate moisture. They will spread to the outer surface of the bag and fruit all along the sides.
Jacques, I've been eagerly awaiting this video!!!!! I was hoping to see the results but I can’t wait to see an update video on these wine caps, blewits, and oyster mushrooms in your garden 🥰 😍🍄 I'm thinking about giving this a shot. Have you had success with growing north spores lion's mane mushrooms as well? I'm eager to diversify my garden with some mushrooms! Hopefully it’ll be much easier, I’m in 9b and have failed growing melons & corn twice already, I could use a break here 😅
I haven't tried lion mane outside but I have had plenty of awesome harvest from countertop kits! If you want an easy win go with oyster mushrooms, almost guaranteed to fruit!
I imagine it would be a lot easier to do this in the Pacific northwest. Fall is mushroom season up here, and already I have a lot of tiny fruiting mushrooms in my lawn (no clue what they are, if they are edible or not etc) I think it'd be fun to grow these, thanks so much for the tips n tricks.
I missed when to plant, I’m preparing a spot for them. I thought I remembered the proper time will be in march but I can’t confirm. I’ve hard raked, laid down some nice clean cardboard and covered with fallen leaves so far, but it’s November so I have time to add more.
It sort of depends on your region. In San Diego since we don't get freezes we can basically build it whenever. However in the winter mushrooms also slow down their growth so it is best to setup in Early spring or late fall!
Thanks so much! Can you show/tell us when to spread the used material on our gardens? I have a 2 year old wine caps bed along the side of a shed. I didn’t think I could spread it elsewhere without ruining the original spawn site. Thanks!! 🐓🌸🍄
You can totally just take out a chunk of your current bed and move it elsewhere. When you do add plenty of fresh much to the old bed and the new one as well to give it something to eat through. Fall and spring should be good times to do it!
@@jacquesinthegarden Thank you! They haven’t fruited yet on this year’s wood chips ( last year they fruited in September). So should I wait until they fruit or go for it? Again, thanks!
Hmm you could probably take a bit and it may even trigger a fruiting. I can't say for sure though! I wouldn't take more than like an eight of it at this stage.
I'm still too scared to mess around with mushrooms until I can positively identify them! Here in MA, we get tons of mushrooms around this time of the year and they look great, but I've heard that the difference between the ones you can eat and the ones that can make you sick are subtle. I would have to make sure any variety I grew was isolated from the ground, because even my garden paths have tons of mushrooms! I can't think of a part of the garden that doesn't get mushrooms when it's wet! We have winecaps that grow naturally here!
That is cool that you get so many passively! With wine caps they are actually super unique and identifiable. There are a few distinct features that no other mushroom has all in one. But having so many different mushrooms naturally present in your area I totally get being worried about it!
@@jacquesinthegarden I know there's two super dangerous ones here, Death Angel and Jack O Lantern. There's way more that are edible, but if you did pick the wrong one, it's bad news. Supposedly Death Angel is pretty distinctive, but there is another species of Amanita that is quite good! I might get into it a little more since I watched this video! I think I'll start inside this winter.
@@christophergetchell6490 It's a lot lower stakes to get into identifying them and don't even worry about eating them. Get confident and before you know it the differences will get more obvious. And nothing like growing your own to really understand something, even if it in indoors.
Hi Jacques. I live in Southern California also (Orange County) and have been struggling with growing mushrooms on logs - so far no luck. I had avoided the wood chip method because the wood chips I get are from the county landfill and I don't know what type of wood it is. You mentioned that you used Douglas Fir wood chips. Would you mind sharing how you were you able to get identifiable wood chips and the type that you wanted for mushrooms?
I'm excited for the check ups! I love mushrooms and we're considering growing them. Maitake is my favorite kind to eat but I hear they're difficult to grow.
I don't want to necessarily do a whole mushroom raised bed, but can I do it as a "cover crop" until I'm ready to plant next spring? I plan to put the bed to sleep with fallen leaves and straw.
I’m in the PNE and excited to try some of these! But please give me some tips on keeping slugs out of the mix. Tried straw bales for oyster mushrooms a few years back and the slugs ate way more than I did.
Sluggo scattered around the edges might not be a bad idea. Its organic certified and if I recall its just Iron Phosphate so it shouldn't add anything dangerous to the mix (for sure double check though). The only other option is to include some copper around it? That apparently keeps them out but it sound expensive!
I love this video! Watched it three times lol. How are the mushrooms doing this spring? Also, I have heard mixed reviews about growing wine caps with pepper plants. Have you grown wine caps or oysters with Pepper plants before?
I actually do enjoy putting mushrooms on the top layer of the compost bin I have a multitude of native mushrooms around the garden, of which I collect mycelium and mushroom caps of and put them in the compost bin and also among oakleaf mulch. They help break down everything quit quickly and add a lot of beautiful fall vibe to the garden. I do wanna expand it to using edible native mushrooms soon though. Porcini mushrooms for example :)
Hey great video! I’m in San Diego as well, wondering where you got the wood chips and straw? Not sure where to get large amount of it for cheap, let me know if you see this, thanks!
Looks fun! I've been wanting to try this so I'll have to figure out a good spot in my garden & order some! Hey, quick question - what's that orange flowering vine behind you at around 7:00 minutes into your video? It's beautiful!
Hey Jacques, I live in Central FL (zone 9b/10a), is it feasible to grow mushrooms outdoors here? If so, what type are recommended? I saw that most of them prefer cooler temps and we don't get much of that here. I love mushrooms and would love to grow them!
So there is basically one that I can think of but it is one you have to responsible with. The pink oyster mushrooms are tropical in nature but they can be invasive so they should do well there but yo have to be responsible.
Thanks Jacques! I am excited to try mushrooms in a grow bag. I have lots of mushrooms all over the meadow that I can not identify, so restricting them to a garden bag is super appealing!
@@jacquesinthegarden Indeed. You are welcome. I have been plotting and planning irrigation in my spare time this week. I have a whole new appreciation for what this takes as a first timer.
Hey Jacques and all. What's your recommendation for putting garden/yard mushrooms in a compost pile? We have several different kinds popping up in our lawn and mulch as we have had a bit more rain overall in NE Indiana. Thanks.
How about using sawdust? My friend has mountains of it from his woodworking.....all kinds of softwood. BUT I'll have to ask him to skip the walnut. Also, I gather composted wood from rotten dead fall in our big woods. It's black and crumbly. Seems like a no brainer? However, out in the woods I see the mushrooms on the fallen tree's bark, not in the rotted wood itself. What are your thoughts about this? I'm in Zone 5a, NE US. You've greatly inspire me to try a shroom bed behind the house....there's a huge spruce and a silver maple back there, good shade but facing south. The spot gets lots of ambient light but not direct sunlight. The water source is right there, too. I think I need to have a convo with North Spore, too!
Curious about if I can grow mushrooms in a subtropical environment. Where I live can get up to 42 centigrade during summer. About 15 centigrade during winter.
Pink oyster mushrooms are the ones that come to mind! They actually cannot tolerate cold and love tropical heat. They can be invasive if allowed out in the wild though!
That gets scooped and tossed out, dog poop is considered no good because It can apparently harbor diseases. Honestly not entirely sure if it is really dangerous but I am also not compelled enough to look into it.
Awesome video! I think I will give this a try. Encouraging mushrooms as a composting solution/assistant sounds like a great idea for my simple composting schema. I live in a post-war apartment building (so no balcony) so I am trying different composting techniques; so far bokashi isn't working too well for me. So I am keeping it simple and have two large planting pots with an old questionable bag of soil my mom bought and dumping scraps in there to start the process of correcting that soil. So a couple of questions. First, after your rainy season (your "winter" right?), for your particular climate is it possible to maintain it into the Spring and Summer? If so, how would you go about it? Is watering and shading enough or do you have to inoculate it again? Second, do you I am also aware of log inoculation. Is that something you plan to try out in the future? Last, what books would you recommend on the topic or on gardening in general? I have been raiding Chelsey Green Publishing, but looking for more non-internet resources (break from screen).
Our rainy season is essentially November to March with a slim chance of April showers. Spring is maintainable for the mushrooms without much challenge but summer can be tricky. The key is to pile mulch extra high and make sure its in a shaded area. I would love to try inoculating logs, the main challenge here is the lack of good fresh wood. For other garden books I really love a lot of Chelsey Green books! The Living Soil handbook is great, The No-Till Organic vegetable farm is great, and Elliot Coleman has a bunch of great books! I haven't reach much this year but I have a few queued up. The one I am most excited for is "Fruit Trees for Every Garden" By Orin Martin!
@@jacquesinthegarden I’d love that! Have a small plastic barrel off a downspout at the moment, but that’s it. With our intermittent drought, it can sometimes run out before the next rain
Great video… the persistent herbicide issues with even organic straw have me way too squeamish to introduce straw to my garden system 😢 Could I use chopped leaves?
I just watched this video and quickly ordered Blue Oyster Mushroom Sawdust Spawn from North Pore, Redwood Chip Mulch are a giant bag of straw. I am ready to go. Then I wondered if it's too cold for the mushrooms. I am at 7b, New York City...?
I love that you covered this topic. I just started growing mushrooms and I’m still learning. By growing mushrooms in the straw mulch in my raised bed…wouldn’t that expose them to light? I thought they needed a shady area.
They'll find the shadier spots under the plants or around the edges. Most won't flush until the conditions are right either (high humidity, temperature varies).
It is a balance but as someone else said if they have plants overhead consistently they will find the time to fruit as long as they have deep enough mulch to thrive.
Totally! There might be some other strategy like starting in spring and late summer/fall. North Spore is based in Maine and they film a lot of their content out there.
Jacque I have a question. I see those same threads under my wood chips near my palm tree but have never inoculated that part of my garden. My question is, is all mycelium healthy to see? Is that a good sign of microbial and fungal growth in the soil? TIA and love your videos!
I’m not Jacques, but the answer is yes! Mycelium break down your mulch, allowing your palm tree to gain access to those nutrients! Fungal activity is an important part of any ecosystem, and will plant itself(through spores carried in the wind) and grow as long as the conditions are good (moist, no fungicides present, etc.) Just don’t eat anything if you don’t know 100% what it is.
Thanks for the reply. My edible garden starts right next to the palm tree in the corner covered in wood chips. Its separated by a small barrier then the whole back fence line is all edible plants. Should I be worried? @@misstweetypie1
OH yeah, its totally good! Its just a sign that some mushroom species is colonizing your mulch. This in theory could form partnerships with your plants and help keep them watered and bring nutrients to them! It will also breakdown the mulch feed the soil!
For ultimate guarantee that you get the mushroom you want/expect that is the way. This is especially important for indoor growing as you don't want to contaminate all your other spawns and grows but outdoors you can't control for it anyway!
I believe the leaf mold is already colonized so it will be near impossible to outcompete whatever is there. Also, once the leaf mold is made it likely doesn't have any "food" left for the new mushrooms.
Some mushrooms like specific substrates but others can colonize anything. Without the wood the fruiting will be fast and only have one flush. Another option is to find wood chips for BBQ and smoking! Apple wood or hickory are pretty ideal
I don’t have much wood chip right now because I don’t have my trees trimmed until January but I have a lot of chopped leaves Can I use that for now until I get wood chip?
I've never thought to grow mushrooms since I'm the only one that will eat them....very interesting . The website uses a clothes hamper as an additional growing platform. Interesting.
Just did an order and used your code! First time growing mushrooms and going with fruiting blocks to start with. I think our low temperatures coming up would kill off an attempt at wine caps outside. Do you think keeping them in a greenhouse protected in a grow bag with proper humidity could yield a winter harvest? Or just wait until spring? In KY (7a)
I bought spent mushroom blocks from a vendor at the farmers market to use as a soil amendment.... Unexpectedly found pink ousters and lions mane all over the garden!
Yup! Spent blocks actually still have plenty of mycelium in them but they have run out of food so spreading them out int he garden gives them something to eat!
I would be so happy 😅
What kind of mulch did the lions mane pop up in? They’re my favourite, and I want to make sure I set them up properly if I end up going for it.
@@HowWereLivingGardeningChannel mostly its own substrate if I remember right.
Dropping by to snag a few ;)
MAYBE I will let you know when they are ready
Tips for doing this in other zones:
-In the desert oysters might be easier since they like the warm but for most cooler places (ive tried in zones 5-7) wine caps are way easier and they’ll be perennial.
-Wine caps like wood chips more than straw and it usually takes 6months-1year before they colonize and break down wood enough to fruit but then they’ll never leave and they’ll spread.
-Blue oysters specifically are the best tasting mushroom i’ve ever had. They’re like bacon. But wine caps are good too, closer to a regular button mushroom from the store.
-Oysters do prefer straw and because my climate is cooler I haven’t gotten them to be perennial. They will grow fast though and usually fruit in a few weeks that same season if you plant them at the right time early enough. I consider them annual near me.
-If you’re not in a desert, make sure the chips don’t dry out for a week or so and then the mushrooms will get all the water they need from rain. Straw beds might require a bit more maintenance and babying.
-Wine caps usually fruit in the spring and the fall for me and they don’t fruit the first season and sometimes not even really abundantly until the third spring/fall but you can check for mycelium to make sure it’s alive at any point.
-I add a thin layer of new wood chips every year to keep them going indefinitely but my old landlord tried to completely cover mine with rocks and weed fabric and they still came out with nice fruit around the edges, so once established they’re pretty hardy as long as the mycelium stays intact.
These are really great tips, thanks for sharing with others!
What’s your area/ zone? I’m a warm zone 7 w high humidity and fairly mild winters. I have wild mushrooms all over my garden and lawn so I know at least some will grow but not sure what to choose or when to plant.
I think a good addition to a composter would be some mushroom spawn, because not only do you get the benefit of growing mushrooms where you throw your organic waste, you also get good compost from it, and you even can use it as your own starter spawn for new mushroom beds, and if you use it in your garden, you might even get the added benefit of having beneficial mushrooms growing with your other crops, and can even add some charm to a flower/herb garden too if you add some pretty varieties of edible mushrooms to your compost, so I would say this might be worth a try to add some spawn to a composter to start a mushroom composter, because you will never run out of mushroom spawn if you do this.
I had wood blewits show up on their own in my autumn leaf compost two years ago. The following year I planted wine caps in my Chip Drop woodchips, and I had elegant stinkhorns show up on their own due to the favorable conditions I created. This year the elegant stinkhorns have spread all throughout my garden, along with the squid stinkhorns making an appearance. All stinkhorn species are safe to eat, and they make a great thickener for soups and sauces.
I'm in northern NM. Do you think blewits would get enough cold days, if I started them in the Spring?
@@Neenerella333 I'm not sure what climate zone that would be, though it looks like New Mexico ranges from 4-9. Crops that require a cold period tend to do best in anything up to zone 7. It should work if you get cold winters.
Wow that is awesome! I haven't seen those before and would find it to be quite the site to come out and see all my mulch with these guys popping up everywhere! Do they taste any good or is it more of practical use for thickening?
@@jacquesinthegarden Learn Your Land did one of the only videos I've found on how to prepare stinkhorn eggs, using the common stinkhorn _P. impudicus_ which is larger and tastes more like radishes. The elegant stinkhorn tastes earthy, and takes on the flavors of whatever seasonings you add. Apparently stinkhorns are only commonly eaten in Chinese cuisine, and are not widely considered edible due to their off-putting smell, though none of them are toxic. The bridal veil is one of the few that is cultivated for medicinal use.
Wow, that's so cool and great to know they're edible!
Maine here! 🌲 We have used North Spore a bunch and have been so happy with every product! They are a wonderful company. We love the box grow kits for holiday gifts.
They are a great company for sure!
I love the explanation of how to layer to aid in feeding the mushrooms throughout their life cycle.
I made 2 burlap bags of mushroom this year : blue and pink oysters. I had great harvests, I was almost tired of eating mushrooms 😅 I mixed 50/50 straw and maple mulch. I placed the bags under my patio for shade and also use this otherwise lost space 😊
That sounds awesome and also an awesome use of space!
Hey! I really want to grow mushrooms in my garden (Southern California) and am having a hard time finding straw. May I ask where you get your straw supply?
@@jacquesinthegarden DID YOU HAVE TO CUT HOLES IN THE FABRIC? OR DID THEY JUST POP RIGHT THROUGH THE FABRIC?
I can confirm you can grow mushrooms in a grow bag. They send fruiting bodies throughout the sides of the bag. They grew in a poly tunnel at 70% humidity
That is awesome!
But thats plastic
I love mushroom farming! And gardening of course :-) thanks for all the tips and so forth. I did the wine caps also and they are great😊 they're everywhere!
So tasty and easy!
THIS is the how-to I didn't know I needed!
I have a wine cap kit in my fridge that I literally just told my husband we need a plan for putting out. We’re also amending our beds and putting our garden to rest for the winter and we have a pile of mulch to put down. This is perfect timing. Much appreciated!
I’m looking forward to a follow up video to see an update. I just watched this video again because I just planted some mushrooms today. Thank you. 😊
I love how you said the fir is like protein and fats! Made perfect sense to me. Takes longer to colonize, but makes for a healthier/longer harvest overall
I heard that king of the garden was a fun mushroom to grow but I’m definitely going to plant some in my pathways!
It's so much fun and honestly one of the best mushrooms I've had!
I did a very half-assed sowing of wine cap spawn mid-summer and still got very decent results that are still producing flushes now! It very much seems like my best flushes and best tomato producers were in the same containers, so either they liked the same conditions or were cooperating. 🍄🍄🍄
This is awesome to hear, they just want to grow!
Fascinating video, Jacques. I really never thought about growing mushrooms in my garden. Definitely am considering this. Thanks for showing me how.
Great video, I definitely want to try this. The grow bag you used seems like it can now be a "spawn bag" and used to inoculate other mushroom beds or bags, once the grow bag is fully colonized.
Just a thought, never tried it.
100% it is basically a spawn factory now I can spread my mushrooms all around!
I work at North Spore and we love the garden hermit 🥰🥰🥰 love seeing this video ❤
Haha that is awesome! Love to hear this!
Great video Jacques... I'm inspired to add some mushrooms to my garden now. I never really considered the added benefits of mushroom gardening, aside from the mushroom itself. Even without the edible, sounds like they're hugely beneficial for the overall garden ecosystem.
There are! Some strains like wine caps even kill/eat nematodes and form symbiotic relationships with plants. Protecting roots and providing water & enzymes in exchange for plant sugar.
@@brentsims9114 - Appreciate the extra detail Brent...
Question for you and/or Jacques - Any thoughts on growing mushrooms under a persimmon tree or other fruit tree for that matter? Younger trees (3-4 years old), so not that big, but ground beneath still shaded for much of the day. Area already mulched with Garden Straw and getting ready to add a layer with winter coming, so if I'm going to do it, this would be the time. Thx!
I tried mushrooms but only got one harvest. I think it was too hot here in Dan Diego. What temp can the ones you planted tolerate?
They are really wonderful to have in the garden for a variety of reasons! Under a tree is actually quite ideal for growing the mushrooms since it provides shade. They will also breakdown all the mulch and return the nutrients back to your soil and feed for orchard!
@@jacquesinthegarden- Thank you Jacques…
This was so interesting! I’ve seen mushroom kits to grow on oak logs but never considered growing them in my garden pathways. Thank you, Jacque!
Do Mushrooms ever fight each other? Do they just need Soil and Water and nothing else, like i heard?
They do fight each other in the sense that one will outcompete the other. So that is why you usually start with sterile or new media to grow on
Apparently you and Kevin are influencing me through subtle product placement, I recently upgraded all of my tools in my garden, a gorilla cart, two hose link hoses and lots of wands and extra connectors, new wheelbarrow wheel, hoselink hand tools, birdies garden beds! I just planted some seedlings and the cells I’m using are breaking down so I’m going to need to get 4 and 6 cells from Epic store so they last! Loving the quality of everything I’ve purchased! Thanks guys
North spore has some great informative videos. They seem to be the most consistent in quality for spawn. I’m glad to see them recommended
I loved this video, thank you for sharing your wealth of garden knowledge ❤. I’m saving this one and will watch it numerous times as I am hoping to grow mushrooms this summer. I’ll let you know next year if I had success 🇨🇦
Best of luck! It's one of the most fun harvests to witness!
I have grown Lions Mane from the kits I bought from North Spore, they were amazing! 😉
I really want to try putting mushrooms in my garden. I’ve only ever grown them once in a bucket. I thought the mushrooms weren’t producing, forgot about it for a while, and then when I checked on it there was a huge chunk of lions mane growing 👍 I’ve always found the mushroom growing kits to be too expensive to be worthwhile, but if I can get continuous seasons of mushrooms like this it would definitely be a worthwhile investment.
The wine cap mushrooms I grew in my straw mulch in the squash bed this year! They’re so easy to grow and they break down the straw to add nutrients to the soil for next year’s garden as well! Next year I’m gonna try growing mushrooms in a log my friend gave to me as well. We’ll see how it goes!
I would love to add a a mushroom log grow sometime soon!
So cool! I liked the progress report within one video.
If you want to see the harvest and cook of the wine caps here is another update! ua-cam.com/video/ppAf-egBINw/v-deo.html
Jacques : you're a great presenter. And video is packed with useful info : no fluff : just how i like it. THanks!!! from South africa
I appreciate it!
Great video, I’ve always wanted to try them. So I ordered some. Thank you!
Great video, Jacques! Next time try the unlined grow bag and a denser medium to regulate moisture. They will spread to the outer surface of the bag and fruit all along the sides.
I think holes in the sides of the bag will be helpful:) can't wait to see the update!
Jacques, I've been eagerly awaiting this video!!!!! I was hoping to see the results but I can’t wait to see an update video on these wine caps, blewits, and oyster mushrooms in your garden 🥰 😍🍄 I'm thinking about giving this a shot. Have you had success with growing north spores lion's mane mushrooms as well? I'm eager to diversify my garden with some mushrooms! Hopefully it’ll be much easier, I’m in 9b and have failed growing melons & corn twice already, I could use a break here 😅
I haven't tried lion mane outside but I have had plenty of awesome harvest from countertop kits! If you want an easy win go with oyster mushrooms, almost guaranteed to fruit!
I'm very interested in seeing the spring update. Never grown mushrooms, but I sure think they are neat and tasty 😊
Happy to report that they fruited! ua-cam.com/video/ppAf-egBINw/v-deo.html
OH I wanna see the result especially the ones spread on garden mulch!
I imagine it would be a lot easier to do this in the Pacific northwest. Fall is mushroom season up here, and already I have a lot of tiny fruiting mushrooms in my lawn (no clue what they are, if they are edible or not etc)
I think it'd be fun to grow these, thanks so much for the tips n tricks.
For sure should be perfect to do in the PNW, the cooler weather and higher rainfall is ideal!
I missed when to plant, I’m preparing a spot for them. I thought I remembered the proper time will be in march but I can’t confirm. I’ve hard raked, laid down some nice clean cardboard and covered with fallen leaves so far, but it’s November so I have time to add more.
It sort of depends on your region. In San Diego since we don't get freezes we can basically build it whenever. However in the winter mushrooms also slow down their growth so it is best to setup in Early spring or late fall!
Thanks so much! Can you show/tell us when to spread the used material on our gardens? I have a 2 year old wine caps bed along the side of a shed. I didn’t think I could spread it elsewhere without ruining the original spawn site. Thanks!! 🐓🌸🍄
You can totally just take out a chunk of your current bed and move it elsewhere. When you do add plenty of fresh much to the old bed and the new one as well to give it something to eat through. Fall and spring should be good times to do it!
@@jacquesinthegarden Thank you! They haven’t fruited yet on this year’s wood chips ( last year they fruited in September). So should I wait until they fruit or go for it? Again, thanks!
Hmm you could probably take a bit and it may even trigger a fruiting. I can't say for sure though! I wouldn't take more than like an eight of it at this stage.
❤
I'm still too scared to mess around with mushrooms until I can positively identify them! Here in MA, we get tons of mushrooms around this time of the year and they look great, but I've heard that the difference between the ones you can eat and the ones that can make you sick are subtle. I would have to make sure any variety I grew was isolated from the ground, because even my garden paths have tons of mushrooms! I can't think of a part of the garden that doesn't get mushrooms when it's wet! We have winecaps that grow naturally here!
That is cool that you get so many passively! With wine caps they are actually super unique and identifiable. There are a few distinct features that no other mushroom has all in one. But having so many different mushrooms naturally present in your area I totally get being worried about it!
@@jacquesinthegarden I know there's two super dangerous ones here, Death Angel and Jack O Lantern. There's way more that are edible, but if you did pick the wrong one, it's bad news. Supposedly Death Angel is pretty distinctive, but there is another species of Amanita that is quite good! I might get into it a little more since I watched this video! I think I'll start inside this winter.
@@christophergetchell6490 It's a lot lower stakes to get into identifying them and don't even worry about eating them. Get confident and before you know it the differences will get more obvious. And nothing like growing your own to really understand something, even if it in indoors.
This was neat! Can't wait to see the updates!
wow. i need to try this now... always more to do
Love mushrooms, thanks for the great video!
Please put the link in the description if you make a follow-up video when you harvest them later.
Looks interesting and a lot of fun I'm hoping you can grow lots of mushrooms I wish you luck
Here is the massive harvest I had just a few months later ua-cam.com/video/ppAf-egBINw/v-deo.html
Jacques where do you get all of your wood chips?
Hi Jacques. I live in Southern California also (Orange County) and have been struggling with growing mushrooms on logs - so far no luck. I had avoided the wood chip method because the wood chips I get are from the county landfill and I don't know what type of wood it is. You mentioned that you used Douglas Fir wood chips. Would you mind sharing how you were you able to get identifiable wood chips and the type that you wanted for mushrooms?
I'm excited for the check ups! I love mushrooms and we're considering growing them. Maitake is my favorite kind to eat but I hear they're difficult to grow.
I don't want to necessarily do a whole mushroom raised bed, but can I do it as a "cover crop" until I'm ready to plant next spring? I plan to put the bed to sleep with fallen leaves and straw.
Was just thinking about growing mushrooms!
I’m in the PNE and excited to try some of these! But please give me some tips on keeping slugs out of the mix. Tried straw bales for oyster mushrooms a few years back and the slugs ate way more than I did.
Sluggo scattered around the edges might not be a bad idea. Its organic certified and if I recall its just Iron Phosphate so it shouldn't add anything dangerous to the mix (for sure double check though). The only other option is to include some copper around it? That apparently keeps them out but it sound expensive!
I love this video! Watched it three times lol. How are the mushrooms doing this spring? Also, I have heard mixed reviews about growing wine caps with pepper plants. Have you grown wine caps or oysters with Pepper plants before?
I actually do enjoy putting mushrooms on the top layer of the compost bin
I have a multitude of native mushrooms around the garden, of which I collect mycelium and mushroom caps of and put them in the compost bin and also among oakleaf mulch. They help break down everything quit quickly and add a lot of beautiful fall vibe to the garden. I do wanna expand it to using edible native mushrooms soon though. Porcini mushrooms for example :)
YEAAAAAAHS I’ve been wanting a North Spore x Epic crossover for YEARS!!!!
Might be more coming!
Que bueno iniciativa, para cultivo del campo
Love the pathways idea - gonna ask Santa for some spawn for Christmas ;)
If only I had a wetter climate I would for sure prioritize mushroom pathways!
Hey great video! I’m in San Diego as well, wondering where you got the wood chips and straw? Not sure where to get large amount of it for cheap, let me know if you see this, thanks!
Looks fun! I've been wanting to try this so I'll have to figure out a good spot in my garden & order some! Hey, quick question - what's that orange flowering vine behind you at around 7:00 minutes into your video? It's beautiful!
It is an orange clock vine! Flowers year round here!
@@jacquesinthegarden awsome, thanks! I'm in a 9b zone (sacramento area) so I'll have to give those a try.. :)
Hey Jacques, I live in Central FL (zone 9b/10a), is it feasible to grow mushrooms outdoors here? If so, what type are recommended? I saw that most of them prefer cooler temps and we don't get much of that here. I love mushrooms and would love to grow them!
So there is basically one that I can think of but it is one you have to responsible with. The pink oyster mushrooms are tropical in nature but they can be invasive so they should do well there but yo have to be responsible.
I will have to try growing mushrooms next year since our frost is already here.
Yeah I feel like frost might make it a challenging time to establish!
Que bonito que es ese paiaaje lleno de plantas
Thanks Jacques! I am excited to try mushrooms in a grow bag. I have lots of mushrooms all over the meadow that I can not identify, so restricting them to a garden bag is super appealing!
That is a great way to think of it, isolation from the native mushrooms! Also, thanks for the letter! Looking forward to the irrigation experiments!
@@jacquesinthegarden Indeed. You are welcome. I have been plotting and planning irrigation in my spare time this week. I have a whole new appreciation for what this takes as a first timer.
Hey Jacques and all. What's your recommendation for putting garden/yard mushrooms in a compost pile? We have several different kinds popping up in our lawn and mulch as we have had a bit more rain overall in NE Indiana. Thanks.
They can but there is always a chance that they spread in your pile and then spread in your garden.
How about using sawdust? My friend has mountains of it from his woodworking.....all kinds of softwood. BUT I'll have to ask him to skip the walnut. Also, I gather composted wood from rotten dead fall in our big woods. It's black and crumbly. Seems like a no brainer? However, out in the woods I see the mushrooms on the fallen tree's bark, not in the rotted wood itself. What are your thoughts about this? I'm in Zone 5a, NE US. You've greatly inspire me to try a shroom bed behind the house....there's a huge spruce and a silver maple back there, good shade but facing south. The spot gets lots of ambient light but not direct sunlight. The water source is right there, too. I think I need to have a convo with North Spore, too!
Should I be boiling the straw and wood chips first
Curious about if I can grow mushrooms in a subtropical environment. Where I live can get up to 42 centigrade during summer. About 15 centigrade during winter.
Pink oyster mushrooms are the ones that come to mind! They actually cannot tolerate cold and love tropical heat. They can be invasive if allowed out in the wild though!
Thank you, will look them up! Perhaps the grow bag for them if they’re super invasive.
I was looking at your compost there Jacques and didn't see any dog poo. What do you do with your dogs leavings?
That gets scooped and tossed out, dog poop is considered no good because It can apparently harbor diseases. Honestly not entirely sure if it is really dangerous but I am also not compelled enough to look into it.
I have a raised bed of asparagus with avocado wood at bottom with lots of sun. Can it grow with asparagus with lots of sun? In Lakeside Ca
Awesome video! I think I will give this a try. Encouraging mushrooms as a composting solution/assistant sounds like a great idea for my simple composting schema. I live in a post-war apartment building (so no balcony) so I am trying different composting techniques; so far bokashi isn't working too well for me. So I am keeping it simple and have two large planting pots with an old questionable bag of soil my mom bought and dumping scraps in there to start the process of correcting that soil. So a couple of questions. First, after your rainy season (your "winter" right?), for your particular climate is it possible to maintain it into the Spring and Summer? If so, how would you go about it? Is watering and shading enough or do you have to inoculate it again? Second, do you I am also aware of log inoculation. Is that something you plan to try out in the future? Last, what books would you recommend on the topic or on gardening in general? I have been raiding Chelsey Green Publishing, but looking for more non-internet resources (break from screen).
Our rainy season is essentially November to March with a slim chance of April showers. Spring is maintainable for the mushrooms without much challenge but summer can be tricky. The key is to pile mulch extra high and make sure its in a shaded area. I would love to try inoculating logs, the main challenge here is the lack of good fresh wood. For other garden books I really love a lot of Chelsey Green books! The Living Soil handbook is great, The No-Till Organic vegetable farm is great, and Elliot Coleman has a bunch of great books! I haven't reach much this year but I have a few queued up. The one I am most excited for is "Fruit Trees for Every Garden" By Orin Martin!
Do you have any rain capture system at your house? I know Kevin has the crazy huge cistern, but looking for a bigger but middle of the road sytem
I really need to set one up... Maybe I will revisit this idea this winter season!
@@jacquesinthegarden I’d love that! Have a small plastic barrel off a downspout at the moment, but that’s it. With our intermittent drought, it can sometimes run out before the next rain
I really need to consider it more as our water rates are going up drastically as well
@@jacquesinthegardenThat sounds like it would make an interesting video as well.
Great video… the persistent herbicide issues with even organic straw have me way too squeamish to introduce straw to my garden system 😢 Could I use chopped leaves?
I don’t know about all that moisture next to the wall Jacques….but I love the video as always!
I did have some concern about it, but it is also set in hard clay soil that retains moisture for months once wet. For sure a valid concern!
I just watched this video and quickly ordered Blue Oyster Mushroom Sawdust Spawn from North Pore, Redwood Chip Mulch are a giant bag of straw. I am ready to go. Then I wondered if it's too cold for the mushrooms. I am at 7b, New York City...?
Great video! Quick question. Will wine cap mushroom culture overwinter in cold climates like Zone 3 Alberta Canada?
Love ya program ! Good luck !
I love that you covered this topic. I just started growing mushrooms and I’m still learning.
By growing mushrooms in the straw mulch in my raised bed…wouldn’t that expose them to light? I thought they needed a shady area.
They'll find the shadier spots under the plants or around the edges. Most won't flush until the conditions are right either (high humidity, temperature varies).
It is a balance but as someone else said if they have plants overhead consistently they will find the time to fruit as long as they have deep enough mulch to thrive.
We would love an update on the chicken orchard!!
I actually have plans for that!
I live in western oregon, just north of the California border. Once it starts raining, I see many many mushrooms. Can I start this now?
100% you can start it now! Great time to get them established
Cordial saludo que clase de hongo es ese por favor. Saludo desde Medellin
Can you seed it once and maintain it over years?
Will mushrooms keep producing year after year? I plan on doing this in marginal area of my yard and would like to harvest mushrooms.
Can these be grown in zone 7b where we get freeze & snow? Love this, love mushrooms, thanks Jacques, loved the video!
Totally! There might be some other strategy like starting in spring and late summer/fall. North Spore is based in Maine and they film a lot of their content out there.
Hi Jacques! Just wanted to know, do we need to steralise the straw or cocopeat for this? Its my first time growing mushrooms, i am super nervous
Jacque I have a question. I see those same threads under my wood chips near my palm tree but have never inoculated that part of my garden. My question is, is all mycelium healthy to see? Is that a good sign of microbial and fungal growth in the soil? TIA and love your videos!
I’m not Jacques, but the answer is yes! Mycelium break down your mulch, allowing your palm tree to gain access to those nutrients! Fungal activity is an important part of any ecosystem, and will plant itself(through spores carried in the wind) and grow as long as the conditions are good (moist, no fungicides present, etc.) Just don’t eat anything if you don’t know 100% what it is.
Thanks for the reply. My edible garden starts right next to the palm tree in the corner covered in wood chips. Its separated by a small barrier then the whole back fence line is all edible plants. Should I be worried? @@misstweetypie1
OH yeah, its totally good! Its just a sign that some mushroom species is colonizing your mulch. This in theory could form partnerships with your plants and help keep them watered and bring nutrients to them! It will also breakdown the mulch feed the soil!
@@wildkev1010 don’t be worried, be happy! You have a healthy garden.
Do I have to sterilize anything before starting?
Great video! I thought we needed to pasteurize the straw
For ultimate guarantee that you get the mushroom you want/expect that is the way. This is especially important for indoor growing as you don't want to contaminate all your other spawns and grows but outdoors you can't control for it anyway!
oh and to what extent can lead mould be used, instead of or in addition? we have endless leaf mould every year x)
I believe the leaf mold is already colonized so it will be near impossible to outcompete whatever is there. Also, once the leaf mold is made it likely doesn't have any "food" left for the new mushrooms.
@@jacquesinthegarden I see, fresh dried leaves then, or dumped onto an already formed colony.
Thanks for the good point.
sweet i want to grow mushrooms now
WhoooHooooo!!!
IT'S MUSHROOM SEASON!!!
So I have some spawn I never used last year, I know big waste of money… should I just compost it?
I always thought you have to grow mushrooms in the shade. Is it different with each variety?
If you don't have access to wood chip can you use leaves and direct soil?
Some mushrooms like specific substrates but others can colonize anything. Without the wood the fruiting will be fast and only have one flush. Another option is to find wood chips for BBQ and smoking! Apple wood or hickory are pretty ideal
I love mushrooms there so cool
I dont have access to straw or hardwood chips. I do have lots of coco coir I have for mulch. Would that work for the Winecaps?
I just checked. There's lots of mycelium growing just under the surface. I'm going to call that a possible yes.
I don’t have much wood chip right now because I don’t have my trees trimmed until January but I have a lot of chopped leaves Can I use that for now until I get wood chip?
Leaves can work but will be eaten up very quickly so it may burn out by the time they established.
What about using sawdust instead of wood chips? Would that work?
I know the spawn is often inoculated in sawdust when sold so in theory it should work out fine.
great stuff
Hermoso Jardín
I've never thought to grow mushrooms since I'm the only one that will eat them....very interesting . The website uses a clothes hamper as an additional growing platform. Interesting.
There are so many ways to grow them it is actually wild!
Just did an order and used your code! First time growing mushrooms and going with fruiting blocks to start with. I think our low temperatures coming up would kill off an attempt at wine caps outside. Do you think keeping them in a greenhouse protected in a grow bag with proper humidity could yield a winter harvest? Or just wait until spring? In KY (7a)
Excelente explicación