Table of Contents
Introduction vii
Part I The Fundamentals of Mushroom Cultivation
1 The Ecology and Life Cycle of Cultivated Mushrooms 1
2 The Seven Basic Stages of Mushroom Cultivation 13
3 Choosing a Mushroom to Cultivate 31
4 Choosing, Handling, and Storing Spawn 37
5 Cultivating Mushrooms Outdoors on Logs, Stumps, and Wood Chips 45
6 Cultivating Mushrooms on Compost and Livestock Waste 59
7 Cultivating Mushrooms on Pasteurized or Sterilized Media 65
8 Cropping Containers 73
9 Natural Pest Control and Disease Management 83
Part II Mushrooms for Life: Innovative Applications and Projects Using Fungi
10 Recycling, Composting, and Vermicomposting with Mushrooms 95
11 Urban Mushroom Cultivation 105
12 Shroomin' Off the Grid 111
13 Mushroom Products and Cutting-Edge Applications 123
14 Mushroom-Infused Beer, Wine, and Spirits 137
15 Mushroom Marketing 145
16 Fungi in the Classroom 151
Part III Advanced Techniques and Research
17 Basic Laboratory Construction, Equipment, and Procedures 165
18 Starting Cultures and Spawn Generation 177
19 Storing Your Cultures 195
20 Advanced Cultivation and Research Strategies 199
21 Morel Cultivation: Research Update 211
22 Introduction to Mycoremediation 229
Part IV Meet the Cultivated Mushrooms
The Genus Agaricus (white button, portabella, and relatives) 251
The Genus Agrocybe (black poplar) 257
The Genus Auricularia (wood ear) 261
The Genus Clitocybe (blewit) 265
The Genus Coprinus (shaggy mane) 269
The Genus Fistulina (beefsteak) 273
The Genus Flammulina (enoki, velvet foot) 277
The Genera Fomes, Fomitopsis, and Laricifomes (amadou and related conks) 281
The Genus Ganoderma (reishi and other varnished polypores) 285
The Genus Grifola (maitake, hen of the woods) 289
The Genus Hericium (lion's mane, pom-poms) 293
The Genus Hypholoma (brick top) 297
The Genus Hypsizygus (elm oyster, shimeji) 301
The Genus Laetiporus (chicken of the woods) 305
The Genus Lentinula (shiitake) 309
The Genera Macrocybe and Calocybe (giant macrocybe, giant milky) 315
The Genera Macrolepiota and Lepiota (parasol) 319
The Genus Pholiota (nameko) 323
The Genus Piptoporus (birch polypore) 327
The Genus Pleurotus (oyster mushrooms) 329
The Genus Sparassis (cauliflower) 339
The Genus Stropharia (king stropharia, garden giant, wine cap) 343
The Genus Trametes (turkey tail) 349
The Genus Volvasiella (paddy straw) 353
Acknowledgments 357
Glossary 359
Bibliography 363
Resources and Suppliers 367
Index 369