Brian Klock

You can plan on approximately 1 pound of spawn per cubic foot. I would plan on multiplying up to make more massive quantities if I were you. I started a cubic yard last fall with the intention of making a big batch of mulch and beds this year. I used 5 bags of spawn from Fungi Perfecti.

I've been reading Tradd Cotter's "Organic Mushroom Farming and MycoRemdiation" for the second time. I usually skim books for pertinent info when first buying, and then try to read cover to cover later... anyway, the point is that he has a small section I just read a few nights ago on Mycovermicomposting, stating the red wigglers thrive on a diet of spent substrate and feed on mycellium.

I have put some spent substrate from Oyster mushrooms in my outdoor compost heaps and when I check on them after a few weeks, they are full of worms.

This is part of my plan for some new systems that I am trying to implement:
Grow Oyster Mushrooms on a substrate of straw, spent beer mash, and coffee grounds.
Feed spent substrate to worm bins to produce a high quality vermicompost.
Use vermicompost for compost tea for mass inoculation of gardens and fields
Additional vermicompost used for seed starting and rooted cutting pots for edible landscape plants.

Here is a link to some info on the Korean Natural Farming. Aaron was the instructor at the seminar that I attended. It all makes sense and is very natural.

http://www.nofamass.org/articles/2014/05/korean-natural-farming-managing-farm-systems-holistically

Here is info about the odorless pig setup, with a video presentation on its details:

http://naturalfarminghawaii.net/learn-natural-farming/odorless-pig-technology/

Danielle Pannhurst wrote:Excellent idea! Do you have any links you can share regarding this topic? I'm in East TN. We deep bed our dairy goats through the winter but it takes considerable effort to manage the ammonia at the start. Even innoculating the bedding 6 weeks before we remove it may make it considerably easier to do and faster to compost.

Very interested to hear an answer to the original post. We also own some undeveloped high desert land in southern Colorado (only about 30 to 40 miles for Taos). There isn't much there, not much water, or organic matter. I am hoping that we get a chance to start developing that property before we are too old or physically damaged to handle it.

I love the buckets. All of the oyster cultivation I have seen has been in non-reusable plastic bags and tubes.

I am curious about your sterilization procedures to allow the reuse of the buckets.

Welcome Peter!

Love the videos and all of the information you've been sharing.

I was hoping that you're appearance at Bonaroo, would sway my wife to make the trip to Tennessee for a vacation. Sadly no. I hope to make the 3 hour trip from PA to DC if my schedule allows in May since it is the closest appearance on you schedule this year.

I recently took a class on Korean Natural Farming. I was particularly interested in their use of IMO (indigenous micro organism) inoculated compost for odor free and reduced pathogen animal bedding. The IMO is a wild collected mycorrhizal culture gathered on a buried basket of rice. Most of the year we keep our KuneKune pigs and chickens rotating on our grass... but in the Pennsylvania winters we keep them in pens that we consider sacrifice areas. I keep them bedded on straw and wood chips. I was wondering if there is a potentially edible mushroom that could be cultivated and then the substrate used for deep bedding.

I am just getting ready to start with some Oyster Mushroom cultivation. From my reading this is the easiest to start with, as it is aggressive and fast growing.

My curiosity really centers around some references found on the 'net referring to the animals consuming the spent substrate. Do I have to worry about them consuming it all and it being turned into more manure, instead of becoming a healthy bedding? Can I stockpile spent substrate throughout the year for winter usage without any loss of potential benefits?

Wanted to say welcome to Peter McCoy! One of the inspirations of 2016 being my year of mushrooms. I have committed that this years one new addition to the homestead will be a serious attempt at mushroom cultivation.

Peter, Please get your book back in stock! As much as I am hoping to be one of the lucky winners... I tried to order it a few weeks ago, only to be told it was out of stock for an indefinite period of time.

My question is about walking on King Stropharia patches. I've seen a ton of information about easily cultivating this outdoor species. We started with some spawn last fall, mixed with wood chips and it overwintered in large containers over the winter. I checked on them a few days ago and they seem to be nearly fully colonized below the surface. I am planning on dividing some of those containers to inoculate more wood chips to mulch around some new tree plantings. We get chips from a local tree service and have access to a lot of chips. I have not seen any specific references to walking on wood chip beds after inoculating. I don't want to damage the mycelial formation... but I would also like to start using more mulch around the property, and will need to walk on some of those areas.

Thanks
-Brian

Jacqueline,
Your timing in coming to the forum couldn't be more perfect. We are committed to starting some bee colonies on our property. I've been in a beginners class. I've attended a local beekeepers association meeting, watched videos, and read a few books. It seems like one thing has been consistent. Everyone of them says "If you ask ten beekeepers how to do something you will get 11 answers."

This makes it difficult for a beginner to know where to start. I have a colleague that I communicate with that keeps reminding me that you need to learn from the bees... but since we don't have them yet, it's kinda difficult. I know that there are many things that I have tried in Permaculture, that I can do differently if it doesn't work out. When it comes to animals (as it is with the bees) I know that they depend on me to do things for them. I am torn by all of the noise of ideas out there, and afraid that what I might do, might not be the right thing. Here in Pennsylvania, we are seeing over 30% hive failure annually. I am just trying to be the best stewards of these creatures, and really struggling with finding the right path to start.

Thank You for any suggestion you may offer...
-Brian

Stephen,
Thanks for all the great info.

I am so jealous of the perennial brassicas. I have yet to find something that has been grown in our area. We are Zone 6 here in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately it seems we get cold without snow quite a lot, which makes it hard to overwinter many vegetable varieties, without some form of protection. We had a stretch of -12C earlier in the winter with no snow, and chilling winds. I am hoping for a hoop-house for next winter to let us grow through the winter.

I am very young in my permaculture infancy, so much to learn, and much to try.