Why I Decided Not To Try Growing Mushrooms

Recently I became intrigued with the idea of growing mushrooms. Many varieties like Lion’s Mane, Shiitake, and Reishi have medicinal, in addition to culinary value.

Mushrooms can be dried and powdered for long term storage, and used in a variety of dishes. It all sounded good, until I started researching how to go about it.

As with most things, there are several methods. The easiest one for amateurs is to buy a grow kit, which costs around $40 including shipping. The substrate and inoculation of spores is already done. So all you have to do is follow the instructions keeping it moist, at a certain temperature, and with the right light conditions.

Some of the hard core homesteaders, and farmers use freshly cut oak, birch, maple, beech, alder and poplar logs. Apparently oak is the ideal choice. The trees are supposed to be used within two weeks after being cut down, so you cannot just use logs out of an old pile.

Once you gather the logs, and cut them to a uniform length for stacking, you have to use an angle grinder, or drill, to drill holes throughout the logs. The logs should be 3 to 8 inches in diameter, and 3-4 feet long. The holes are drilled 3-4 inches apart, and 1.5 inches deep.

After drilling the holes, if using sawdust mycelium, you use a special tool to plug the inoculated mixture into the holes. If you use dowels with the mycelium in them, they are tapped into the holes. The mixture, or spawn consists of the type of mushroom spore you want to grow, and is called fungal mycelium.

After that, you have to use a brush to apply melted soy wax, or beeswax to cover the holes, as well as any open areas on the logs where branches etc. were cut off. This is to protect the newly inserted fungi from contamination, pests, and from drying out.

Then the logs are stacked log cabin style in a humid, well ventilated shaded area, or with dappled sunlight, taking care to keep them up off the ground. In this method of growing, it takes nine months to a year before the mushrooms can be harvested. Some people pre treat by placing the logs under straw for a period of time. 

I like the log method the best, even though it is not for the urban or patio gardener. Because it is closest to the natural environment, does not require plastic, and does not contaminate any indoor area with fungal spores.

The other methods designed for urban, and indoor gardeners involve the use of plastic buckets, plastic bottles, or plastic mushroom growing bags. In this case you use pasteurized straw as a substrate layer, and then put layers of inoculated spawn. If using buckets or bottles, you drill holes in the sides, and if using bags, you poke holes, or buy the special mushroom growing bags.

There are many steps, all of which require the use of 70% isopropyl alcohol to disinfect all the equipment, and surface areas. The straw also has to have boiling water poured over it, along with various other techniques to avoid contamination.

The inoculated mushroom growing containers require certain light, temperature, moisture and ventilation, in order to create the optimal conditions.

After reviewing a number of YouTube videos, I decided I would not attempt it indoors. From watching the online videos, there are multiple methods used, based on the experience of the grower. I did notice many discrepancies in the sanitation used.

None of the people wore gloves or masks. One of them tore the tape to cover the holes with his teeth, and overall it seemed to me that if contamination is a big concern, the mushrooms would be contaminated, from air borne microbes, to shedding of skin cells and bacteria.

When you think about it, we seldom aim for a sterlile environment during basic food prep. We aim for a clean environment, clean utensils, and clean hands. We do not repeatedly spray our utensils with alcohol. The only time we aim for a sterile environment is with canning jars, and preparing infant baby food.

In comparison to the outdoor log method, the indoor methods required a lot of misting, fans, and sterilization, which to me is kind of intimidating.

However the overall reason, I decided not to bother, is because the humidity required can lead to mold. But even more so, the release of fungal spores into the indoor air we breathe can trigger respiratory issues for some people. I also learned that fungal spores can live a very long time in the atmosphere, like decades.

Another reason I gave up on the idea, is because if you Google what the regulations are for commercial mushroom growers, you soon find out, they are stringent. Canada, and in particular BC where I live, has many commercial mushroom growers.

In fact, Canada exports around 65 million kg. of button mushrooms to the US each year. The value of the export is well over 300 million dollars. We are listed as number eight in the world for producing, and exporting mushrooms, with Ontario and BC being the top Canadian growers.

Almost all commercially grown mushrooms are grown in carefully controlled indoor environments. Health Canada, Agriculture and Farm Practices, The Mushroom Act, Organic Certification, and many other levels of government help regulate the mushroom crops.

After doing some research, I think I will leave it to the experts, and watch for sales in the grocery stores. It has been worthwhile learning more about how and where mushrooms are grown. I will be much more vigilant, with regards to finding locally grown Canadian mushrooms.

Growing mushrooms does look like a fun, and educational growing project, for those who live on farms, or have large yards, and well ventilated spaces.

But for me, I’ll stick to growing flowers, herbs, kale, lettuce, chard, radishes etc. in raised beds outside.

Gardening involves a never ending learning curve with lots of trial and error. This year, I decided to start saving seeds. Many seeds are very tiny, but it does not take long with flower seeds, to figure out how to separate and save the seeds.

How many times do you buy a package of seeds for $3-4 and open it to see a minuscule number of seeds at the bottom of the package? I don’t begrudge anyone who makes an industry of seed selling, because the packaging itself would be more costly than the seeds.

It is rewarding to grow plants from seeds. This year, instead of buying annual petunia plants, I started them from seed. It took quite awhile for them to germinate, and initially I thought I had killed them by putting them outside too early.

But eventually they started to flower, and within a few weeks became prolific bloomers. They turned out to be the most beautiful petunias I have grown so far. They are still in full bloom now in late August, with colours ranging from blush pink, to red, white, purple, and darker shades of pink. There are also many bi-coloured blooms, some with contrasting halos called picotee.

If I can, I will be plucking some of those picotee spent blooms at the end of the season, to see if I can save the seeds for next year. I can see why people seek out certain kinds of seeds, from hardy heirloom vegetable seeds, to colourful flowers. Even more so, to find a beautiful mix, and keep it going.

This year has also been been a good year for Cosmos, with endless blooms and colours, swaying in the breeze. They have grown to be over six feet tall. 

One of the best things I learned this year, is how to deter the invasive, plant strangling morning glory, or bindweed, that has been coming over the fence from the adjacent lot. 

I spent hours pulling it out after it infested and destroyed the pea patch. Then just by chance, planted some tall marigold along the fence, and noticed the bindweed did not touch it.

I have since learned that a certain tall variety of Mexican marigold, also known as Stinking Roger, is an excellent bindweed deterrent. If plants could declare war, Stinking Roger would be pulling out a couple of pistols, not pistils. 

I wish I would have known about Stinking Roger years ago, since bindweed is a problem almost everywhere in BC. It is a battle that just keeps on coming. 

After planting a row of Mexican marigold along the fence, not one single marigold plant was even touched by the bindweed. I found that to be quite interesting, because bindweed will take over so many plants, and trees.

The marigolds minimized the bindweed effect on the raised bed by at least 80% so other plants like tomatoes and cucumbers could thrive.

Years ago, without knowing better, I tried various herbicides on bindweed, without much luck. This year, I did spray it a few times with a solution of vinegar and salt. It does kill it, but you have to be very careful not to get vinegar on other plants, or on the soil.

However, in my experience vinegar, and other herbicides did not really work for long, because bindweed just needs a few living rhizomes, and it keeps growing. It is like the marigold became the more dominant plant, with a smell, or something that works better than herbicides.

There are over fifty varieties of marigold. Many of the familiar annuals are just 6-10 inches tall. The generic name for Mexican marigold is Tagetes minuta. It grows between 2-6 feet tall, with the ones I planted this year reaching about 4-5 feet tall. A lot of the bindweed was coming over top the fence, so the fact the marigolds reached almost to the top of the fence, really helped. 

The Mexican marigold has been around since the pre-Columbian era. It has several names, and a variety of uses throughout South America. In addition to being called Stinking Roger, it is also known as wild marigold, Huacatay, and Master John Henry. As a bonus you can dry the flowers to add to medicinal teas. 

Mexican marigold is just the kind of wild west plant soldier we needed, to protect our garden borders from bindweed! I will definitely be saving some of those seeds…