Getting ready to grow a variety of mushrooms. First I harvested shiitake spores from mushrooms I grew from a kit. Then I built 4 redwood planters and put chicken wire at the bottom to keep out the critters. Next I got a truckload of wood chips from Lewis Tree and coffee grinds from San Lorenzo. I collected compost from our garden. All ready to get started. Just waiting for the spores to arrive.
Getting ready to grow a variety of mushrooms. First I harvested shiitake spores from mushrooms I grew from a kit. Then I built 4 redwood planters and put chicken wire at the bottom to keep out the critters. Next I got a truckload of wood chips from Lewis Tree and coffee grinds from San Lorenzo. I collected compost from our garden. All ready to get started. Just waiting for the spores to arrive.
There’s something comforting in growing herbs. I just 
planted 60 garlic cloves last week and they’re already sprouting. I plan to plant again in spring so I have enough to last me all year.
Just planted spicy pepper seeds using a kit. Normally I buy plants in 4” pots, but I got this for my birthday so I’m trying it out for the first time. I’ve planted jalapeno, cayenne, habernero, and anaheim peppers. By growing them in my kitchen, theoretically I can grow them year round. Hope to have so many peppers that I can dry and store them.
My mo
st interesting “herb” is my shiitake mushroom project. It’s actually a fungus but I’m keeping it in my herb garden. I cut 2 large oak limbs during my fire prevention clearing and let them sit for 2 weeks. Then I drilled holes in the logs and placed shiitake plugs in each of them. I poured hot wax over all of the plugs and the ends of the logs to seal them in. Now it’s a waiting game. I should start seeing mushrooms in 3-6 months, and they’ll continue to produce for 3-7 years.
My herb garden has rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, and mint growing year round. I keep adding new herbs like lemon grass, chives, and onions. Not all take, but it’s fascinating to experiment, and even more fun to harvest!
I just harvested my first crop of shiitake mushrooms! Besides tasting delicious, mushrooms provide health benefits, and they can even devour plastic waste and possibly pests – I have a student doing a project on mushrooms as a pesticide. By growing your own mushrooms, you don’t have to worry about getting viruses from people touching them at the grocery store.
I used a kit from Far West Fungi to get started because it was so easy to do. They provide the substrate and the spores so all I had to do was open the bag, put in a few slits in the plastic bag, and watch them grow! This substrate will produce 4 batches of shiitake mushrooms over the next few months. I’m planning on growing mushrooms using spores put into tree branches next. Stay tuned for my next mushroom adventure!
