Franklin Stone

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since Jun 09, 2010
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Recent posts by Franklin Stone


munching squirrel by frankenstoen, on Flickr

I think using nuts to harvest squirrels is as good an idea as using squirrels to harvest nuts.

Depends on what kind of protein you are hungry for.

This might be approached from a Zone perspective - use pipes, boxes, nail kegs, carpet, etc. in Zone Five - areas away from the homestead, to gather nuts that one would otherwise miss.
Shoot/harvest the nuisance squirrels in Zones closer to the house, where they cause damage.

In some areas, squirrels are known PLAGUE carriers. It would be wise to control the squirrel population in these regions.


PLAGUE WARNING! by frankenstoen, on Flickr
12 years ago
I just noticed that the link to The Shiitake Cultivation Handbook listed at the beginning of the thread has been broken.

Here it is again: http://www.mediafire.com/?x7z1341gpv7fzjm
12 years ago
I just read Sepp Holzer's Permaculture, and I must single out Chapter 4: Cultivating Mushrooms, as one of the best things I have read about growing mushrooms outdoors.

Sepp Holzer is so amazing because he is not afraid of failure and he is willing to try anything.

The rest of the book has some good nuggets sprinkled throughout but could use some editing to help focus the information a bit better (and the translation to English is a slightly awkward and confusing in places). It's definitely worth borrowing from the library, and if it were priced lower I would recommend purchasing it.
12 years ago
You might try posting your observations at mushroomobserver.org to see if anyone there can I.D. it.

Every time I look at the pics my opinion changes. It might be Laetiporus.

Ganoderma have brown spores, so we can rule that out.
12 years ago
Yes, that is typical of the larger specimens. The bigger and thicker it is, the woodier it gets. Smaller, younger pieces are still as tough as leather. To cut it up you will probably need a saw.

Some people keep them whole and "draw" on the bottom pore surface:

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/artists_conk.htm
12 years ago
Not really edible, has the consistency of shoe leather. Can be dried and can be used to make tea fresh or dried. Will dry quicker if cut/torn into small strips and if low dry heat is applied (low setting on food dehydrator, low setting on oven) - high heat will dry the outside, sealing moisture in the interior.

Tea is supposed to be good for many things including allergies. I tried drinking it daily but found it gave me insomnia. (Much like how ginseng root affects me.)

Avoid using anything that looks old, decayed, rotten, moldy, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_mushroom
12 years ago
I agree - possibly a new species. Maybe related to Fomitopsis?

What color are the spores?
12 years ago
Very difficult to tell from the photograph, but possibly a Pholiata species. Most Pholiata are not edible.

The Honey Mushroom has received a bad reputation that is probably not deserved. (It is, after all, edible.) Some experts believe that Honey Mushrooms are among the largest single organisms in existence, growing for thousands of years (or possibly much longer) to reach their current size, stretching across miles and miles. (Sounds a bit like that mycelial internet that Stamets has proposed.) Armillaria was here in North America long before the white men reached its shores.

Timber men hate anything that they perceive to affect the value of their lumber. They hate ALL mushrooms. (Just read their literature.) Often, they use "Armillaria Root Rot" as an excuse to harvest a stand of perfectly healthy trees.

Stamets sort of throws Armillaria under the bus in in Mycelium Running in an effort to rehabilitate the reputations of other fungi considered evil by the forestry industry. (Stamets used to work as a lumberjack, so he has some insight into that industry.)
12 years ago
It's a Ganoderma species. Closely related to Reishi, and with very similar medicinal effects.
12 years ago
Mushrooms need to be able to breathe - they need oxygen and they release CO2 just like animals do. When growing mushrooms using artificial "straw logs" (straw encased in polyethylene tubing), it has been found that logs with a diameter of over 14 inches become anaerobic in the center, and inevitably become contaminated. I would guess a somewhat similar size might apply to coffee grounds.

There is certainly no harm in experimenting, though.
13 years ago