Mushrooms under the Tomato plants

[Old chef]

Hello,
I was listening to Epic gardening Podcast and they were discussing growing mushrooms under the straw mulch under tomatoes plants. Wine cap to be more precise. Does anyone have any experience or advise?

Old Chef

[MissS]

Delerium over at Tomatoville used to grow lots of mushrooms in his beds. He hasn't posted in years but if you search him out he has written a lot of information in his garden threads. That man was a gardening master. I bow down to him and his out of the box thinking.

[JayneR13]

I'm growing wine caps but not in my tomato bed. Off of the top of my head I don't see why it can't be done, but I've not done it. I'm growing them in my old garlic area because 1) a mushroom bed can last 2-3 years so I don't want to set one up in a temporary crops space and 2) wine caps can rejuvenate soil. If the soil being rejuvenated is very polluted then the mushrooms shouldn't be eaten, but mycoremediation is a Thing. Garlic is one among many very heavy feeders and my last bulbs were pretty small, so I moved the planting area to fresh space. The wine caps should help.

I made my bed using grain spawn, straw, and wheat bran. Here's some instructions using peg spawn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea4EOSjUMt4

Straw and wood chip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3DZV22HVeA

This video mentions growing them among plants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWhnunhPyR4

[Old chef]

I'm growing wine caps but not in my tomato bed. Off of the top of my head I don't see why it can't be done, but I've not done it. I'm growing them in my old garlic area because 1) a mushroom bed can last 2-3 years so I don't want to set one up in a temporary crops space and 2) wine caps can rejuvenate soil. If the soil being rejuvenated is very polluted then the mushrooms shouldn't be eaten, but mycoremediation is a Thing. Garlic is one among many very heavy feeders and my last bulbs were pretty small, so I moved the planting area to fresh space. The wine caps should help.

I made my bed using grain spawn, straw, and wheat bran. Here's some instructions using peg spawn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea4EOSjUMt4

Straw and wood chip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3DZV22HVeA

This video mentions growing them among plants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWhnunhPyR4

Thank you for this information. The raised bed that would grow them are wonderful organic soil. I'm going to take a shot at it. I have never grown mushrooms before. Sounds like some delicious fun

Old Chef

[DriftlessRoots]

I'm growing wine caps but not in my tomato bed. Off of the top of my head I don't see why it can't be done, but I've not done it. I'm growing them in my old garlic area because 1) a mushroom bed can last 2-3 years so I don't want to set one up in a temporary crops space and 2) wine caps can rejuvenate soil. If the soil being rejuvenated is very polluted then the mushrooms shouldn't be eaten, but mycoremediation is a Thing. Garlic is one among many very heavy feeders and my last bulbs were pretty small, so I moved the planting area to fresh space. The wine caps should help.

I made my bed using grain spawn, straw, and wheat bran. Here's some instructions using peg spawn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea4EOSjUMt4

Straw and wood chip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3DZV22HVeA

This video mentions growing them among plants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWhnunhPyR4

These are useful. Thank you! I’ve been wanting to grow them in our asparagus bed but the shipping on the spawn is pretty spendy. I keep trying to get a couple gardening friends to go in on them with me but next year I may just bite the bullet and get some pegs. How early can I “plant” them?

[MOinMichigan]

I use spent mushroom blocks (woody substrate) in my raised garden beds as a filler and compost, and most importantly to innoculate the soil with mycelium. I get it for free from a local mushroom farmer - over 300 pounds this spring alone. I'll try to get a photo today of the enormous mushrooms sprouting out of the sides of the beds.

[MOinMichigan]

PXL_20230617_133343338~2.jpg

Here you go! Taken this morning. Unless you want to grow a very specific kind of mushroom, I highly recommend just getting spent substrate from a mushroom farmer. Make sure there's some woody material in your beds for the mycelium to munch on. I also throw some of the substrate blocks in my compost pile, which usually has some kind of 'shroom sprouting from it. Makes my plants happy and it's free.

[JayneR13]

These are useful. Thank you! I’ve been wanting to grow them in our asparagus bed but the shipping on the spawn is pretty spendy. I keep trying to get a couple gardening friends to go in on them with me but next year I may just bite the bullet and get some pegs. How early can I “plant” them?
[/quote]

That depends upon your grow zone. I planted what was left of my container in fall, about three weeks before the first frost date. Also, there are alternatives to peg spawn. This company sells a nice-sized garden grain spawn for this. That's the spawn I started with.

https://www.fieldforest.net/category/ga ... arter-kits

[JayneR13]

I use spent mushroom blocks (woody substrate) in my raised garden beds as a filler and compost, and most importantly to innoculate the soil with mycelium. I get it for free from a local mushroom farmer - over 300 pounds this spring alone. I'll try to get a photo today of the enormous mushrooms sprouting out of the sides of the beds.

Interesting, I had not thought of that! But since my old spent blocks went into my compost, I'm sure I'll be seeing something useful in there! I'll keep an eye on the compost and this method in my mind. Thanks!

[MOinMichigan]

I use spent mushroom blocks (woody substrate) in my raised garden beds as a filler and compost, and most importantly to innoculate the soil with mycelium. I get it for free from a local mushroom farmer - over 300 pounds this spring alone. I'll try to get a photo today of the enormous mushrooms sprouting out of the sides of the beds.

Interesting, I had not thought of that! But since my old spent blocks went into my compost, I'm sure I'll be seeing something useful in there! I'll keep an eye on the compost and this method in my mind. Thanks!

The mushrooms pictured here are Michigan oyster mushrooms and they're delicious! I didn't get to these in time to eat them - bugs got to them first - but I did get the huge bunch around the corner and scrambled them with some eggs and garlic scapes, also from the garden. I know that some of the blocks we have grew snow oysters, lion's mane, and shitake, so it's kind of like mushroom roulette over here. If I'm super confident I can identify it (generally oysters and lion's mane), we eat it. Otherwise we consider it part of our circle of life in the garden and add whatever wood chips and small logs we can to encourage them to keep on keepin' on!

[JayneR13]

Indeed, happily, lion's mane doesn't have anything in the way of deadly lookalikes. Oysters, unfortunately, do:

https://oyster-mushroom.com/oyster-mush ... ookalikes/

As do shiitake: https://mushroomexam.com/mushroom_look_alikes.html and many others. This is why I prefer to grow from culture. At least I know what I'm getting!

[Moth1992]

These are useful. Thank you! I’ve been wanting to grow them in our asparagus bed but the shipping on the spawn is pretty spendy. I keep trying to get a couple gardening friends to go in on them with me but next year I may just bite the bullet and get some pegs. How early can I “plant” them?

Try to find a local farm, I get the substrate from a farm that sells in my town. They bring it to their shop and they dont charge me shipping.