Evento

Learn Mushroom Cultivation

Whether you have a tiny backyard or hundreds of acres, growing gourmet mushrooms can be a satisfying and tasty venture. In the Pacific Northwest, there are about a dozen species including oyster, shiitake, and maiitake, which can be grown using many of our native tree species. However, ensuring success with this type of backyard farming involves developing a good understanding of the process and knowledge of the techniques involved.

Join us Saturday, April 18th, 2015 from 10am to 2:30pm at Ed's Apples to learn about the different types of edible mushrooms that can be grown both indoors and outdoors in our area and how you can start your own 'fungi farm'. Ed's Apples is at 13420 339th Ave SE in Sultan, just off SR 2.

Topics covered will include the different species that grow well in our climate and forests along with a discussion of several growing media such as log, stump, sawdust and straw culture.

Demonstrations will include how to prepare and inoculate logs, as well as harvest and care procedures to encourage optimum production. We will also feature a demonstration on the low-tech processing and cultivation of oyster mushrooms using pasteurized wheat straw for indoor production. This cultivation method will appeal to those wanting to produce mushrooms in a very short time frame with minimal equipment.

Participants will take home a packet of shiitake plug spawn along with complete instructions to cultivate your own outdoor mushroom logs.

Instructor Jim Gouin is a staff mycologist with Fungi Perfecti, an Olympia-based company that specializes in supplying home and commercial mushroom growers with everything needed for success. Jim also has a forestry background and teaches forest fungi cultivation workshops throughout North America.

The cost is $80 per person, which includes the workshop, handouts, box lunch, and 100 shiitake plugs to take home. Couples rate is $125, which includes two lunches, one set materials, and 100 shiitake plugs.

Space is limited and your paid registration must be received by April 14, 2015 to ensure your spot. Register online at mushroom.brownpapertickets.com or download the download form at snohomish.wsu.edu/mushroom-cultivation and mail with your check.

Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, and sexual orientation. Evidence of non-compliance may be reported through your local Extension Office. Persons with a disability requiring special accommodation can request accommodation 21 days before training at (425) 338.2400. If accommodation is not requested in advance, we cannot guarantee availability on-site.