source of food you might not have thought of...

[mfitzy111]

mushrooms- I know right...

so hear me out on this one I've recently had a tree cut and got a full truck load of wood chips (if you ask the tree guys they will likely give them to you for free), 5 gallon buckets (also free from Weis - food grade, ask for lids cause you need them.)

you need to follow the youtube instructions -putting quarter inch holes for drainage (it's going to ruin every bucket- but if you produce food it's all good right?).

Oyster mushroom mycelium plug spawn $16.99 on Amazon-
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=oyster+mushroom+mycelium+spores&crid=AK009YK8C5ND&sprefix=%2Caps%2C59&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent
(others range from $15-30 bucks depending on what you get).

check this out for how to video info-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45b2t7fqhjA

and this- using straw vs wood chips...guy uses solder iron vs drill for holes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMNbEE0K1Cw

use a sharp knife to harvest - you can dehydrate, dry, can them. or cook them in a skillet, butter/salt and pepper.

my first objective when I stumbled on to this was to turn my garden in to a higher production food producing source for my family. A friend told me about Hugelkultur -

https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/the-many-benefits-of-hugelkultur/

so I'm going to use some of those free wood chips to work those in to my garden...dig it out, layer wood chips, some mycelium from home depot $29 add dirt. if it works as advertised, the chips will be eaten by the mycelium generating nutrients, while holding water ...both helping plant growth. Plants I'm putting in this year? sweet potatoes, white potatoes, squashes (spaghetti, yellow, acorn ect)...because I want the longest storage time after harvest to offset my food needs over next winter.

I'm interested in hearing suggestions, and looking to have high calorie foods from my own garden. GLTA.

- Mike F

 

[JohnyMac]

Great job mfitzy, thanks   

[Jackalope]

Gee, I thought this thread was going to be about kudzu.

[mfitzy111]

@Jackalope -

kudzu....  I just wish I could find morel mushrooms. those things taste just like steak! seriously. and my son when he was 4 loved them, a friend gave me about a dozen to cook. I got 2 my kid ate the rest of them! fried in butter with salt and pepper, they taste just like steak. ( morel is epic, false morel looks like a little brain and will kill you. so knowledge is power)



most people are scared to eat mushrooms, I look at it like if your buying spores for oyster mushrooms, they look and taste like what your hoping for...good deal. As long as you can ID it, your good to go. A lot of plant food is just like that...

 I've heard you can eat that Kudzu stuff, but is it any good? I've seen it everywhere down through VA and NC when I went to visit friends a few years ago...as a food source, it would be bountiful. Likely good to know when people are hungry, that plant that grows everywhere is easy food. so people won't starve. sharing ideas like that are a win.

@ JohnyMac - thanks! hopefully some ideas will be useful - I'm planning on calling Weis tomorrow about getting icing buckets from their bakery, I want to setup 10 of them if I can get them -if they still give them away for free.


~Mfitzy111 - Mike

[mfitzy111]

Nice - Weis buckets secured...now I just need to drill holes in a few of them, treat the wood chips, and get the mushroom spores - ordering them next. will keep you guys posted. if one 5 gal bucket produces a few quarts of mushrooms, the whole project might be worth the money spent on spores.

~Mfitzy111

[mfitzy111]

ordered mushroom spores on amazon. found this link after ordering, because I still need a bag of mycelium for the garden to put over wood chips -to create something like this- https://www.bobvila.com/articles/hugelkultur/

home depot how-to grow mushrooms guide.

https://www.homedepot.com/c/ai/how-to-grow-mushrooms/9ba683603be9fa5395fab9018ec8a8b2