posted 3 years ago
Everybody here is working at fostering fungi growth, but I'm seeming to be going into another direction and I'm not sure what to do with it.
I've recently begun working another urban garden project, but for the first time in a temperate zone. I'm originally from the Big Island of Hawai`i (Ahhh! Miss that perpetual springtime!) and we don't have winter kill there. We can even make annuals into perennials!
A little history first: Spring of 2020 - Rototilled every square inch of lawn we could find, buried it all under 8 inches of wood chips (free from the city wood lot), Planted my soil block veggies on a square-foot plan. I had to get some food planted while figuring out what to do. Got a great garden.
Last year was the first season in this climate, then came October! Arghhh! Everything died! So disappointing and so cold! I couldn't even go outside until the temperature reached an unfrosted, non-numbing temperature of 60 degrees! (Average year-round temp in Kialua-Kona is 72 degrees).
So, being the persistent permie we all are, I started again this spring and after winter mulching with spoiled straw, my soil was looking beautiful though alkaline. The standard answer was more compost and things began to look a little livelier.
However, while my soil blocks were sprouting, I had to go to Spokane to wish my Mom a joyful transition as she passed away. And when I returned, I found this: mushrooms covering the woodchips. (see pic attached). We don't get this in Hawai`i, We mulch with lava chips (kidding). We're mostly chop and drop folks. We be da lazy, bruh!
So, what are these? Are they edible? Do I leave them, gather them for compost, or what? Totally out of my league here. I wanna go home to eternal spring where no fas' fast like here!
Mushroom-pic.jpg