“We have a community garden at 12th and Airportish (address is 2560 Sol Wilson Ave) that we’ve been working at for about a year. I picked up Stamets’ “Growing Gourmet Medicinal Mushrooms” and I’ve gotten really excited about incorporating edible mushrooms in with the other food we’re growing.  Do you know anyone knowledgeable myco-person in the Austin area that might be willing to work with me or come to our community garden as a consultant/teacher/etc.? Any info you can give me will be much appreciated!”

Here was my reply:

“I would try several things to maximize the chance that something will work. Outdoor growing in natural conditions is iffy. It get’s hot in Austin too, so there is a good chance nothing will survive over the summer. Unless there is some shade, I doubt it will work. Starting in the Fall/Winter has the best chance I think.

I would try a wood inhabiting species like shiitake or oyster inoculated into some short (maybe 2 ft or less) oak logs buried 1/3 of the way into the ground. They will need a lot of water at first to keep them going and during the winter if everything goes right you might get some mushrooms on the logs after a a good rain. Another problem is the quality of the water; if it is chlorinated it is going to inhibit any fungi you are trying to grow. So that my be an insurmountable problem (I’m not sure how much watering you are even allowed at the site).

Another thing to try is to bury some wood chips in the ground that hve been inoculated with something. Also, some inoculated compost buried in the ground might work. Consult the Stamets book to see which species might be amenable to this approach. If you want I can post your request at MycoRant to see if anyone else has any ideas or is in the Austin area that I don’t know about. Please keep me informed about your efforts, as I am curious to learn what happens. I think it’s a long shot — but not impossible.”

Am I right? Am I wrong? What do you think? Any suggestions? Please leave a comment!