Growing your own?

[jeremiah]

A friend and I have very fond childhood memories of mushroom picking.
We gathered ceps, birch boletes and chanterelles with our parents.

We now live in London, where such things are not abundant and even when found in parks etc, are likely to have been contaminated by dogs.

My friend has a youngish birch tree in her garden. If we emptied a pack of dried porcini around the birch, is there a chance that anything would come up in a year or two?

[Cowgirl]

I don't know about the porcini but I have see wild mushroom plugs/kits which you put into a tree (I think?) in garden centres maybe have a look at them?

[jeremiah]

I was thinking of the ones that grow in the ground around the tree, not actually in or on the tree.

The plug kits are for the oyster types I think, for dead wood and even for newspapers and books (can't say I fancy those much - what happens to the ink?).

[SpikyPhasmid]

Could you grow one of these plugs on a piece of wood indoors?

[jonbem]

From my experience the indoor kits rarely produce enough that would cover the cost of the kit, or match what you could get for the same price from the shop
see Mushroom Kits

I don't know about outdoor plugs in logs, never tried it.

Jon

[SpikyPhasmid]

That's disappointing, I'm always looking for interesting things I can grow in my room.

[Deb London]

Originally Posted by SpikyPhasmid

Could you grow one of these plugs on a piece of wood indoors?

My feeling is that if your house/flat supports fungal growth, you might want to dehumidify and raise the temperature until it doesn't.

I'd certainly try them on the balcony though.

[Deb London]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

I don't know about the porcini but I have see wild mushroom plugs/kits which you put into a tree (I think?) in garden centres maybe have a look at them?

Originally Posted by jeremiah

I was thinking of the ones that grow in the ground around the tree, not actually in or on the tree.

The plug kits are for the oyster types I think, for dead wood and even for newspapers and books (can't say I fancy those much - what happens to the ink?).

I know someone who had good success with this type of grow your own.

[NickCantle]

The chances of you cultivating a species of your choice in your garden is slim to none. The conditions, habitat, time, substrate has to be spot on, and then the fungus has to push up fruiting bodies.

No chance

[jeremiah]

No chance - or a million to one chance?

I'll give it a go...