Okay, so I'm not referring to a foray into hallucinogens...it's a bit more tame than that. This week I placed my order for 4 logs inoculated with shiitake mushroom spawn from Mycosource. Apparently I just have to soak them in cold water, rap them with a hammer once or twice, and forget about them in a shady place for awhile. Word on the street is that I should be able to harvest a couple of pounds of fresh shrooms...ahem, I mean shiitakes, from each log...for the next 4-5 years! To a novice backyard garden geek like me, the idea of growing my own shiitake mushrooms this season with next to no work is mind boggling in it's own (non-hallucinogenic) way.
Shiitakes are gaining recognition for their health benefits. They contain lentinan, a component praised for anti-tumour properties. There is also evidence that shiitakes can lower cholesterol and stimulate the immune system. If that doesn't get you interested in mushrooms, then maybe the fact that they are just so much fun will. Get a load of these cool facts about growing mushrooms:
You soak the log in cold water to simulate winter...then they grow, you harvest them, and you soak them in cold water to simulate winter again which shocks them into growing again. Cooler still is the reasoning behind the hammer raps. The idea is that the jarring from the hammering simulates a tree falling in the forest onto the log. The mushrooms get the message that there is a new log to colonize and to get a move on and grow already!
Oh, the magic of mushrooms...heehee.
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