The "Compost tea FAQ" is done for now. I'm going to
spread a few copies around. If anyone wants to see
a copy, yell and i'll post it.
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The rough draft of "fungi in the Garden" is now done
and i'm busy begging for comments, If anyone has time
to look this over and nit pic, wax philosophical, or
smirk about spelling errors, please do. Even more useful
would be questions.
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Fungi in the Garden FAQ
-----------------------
Revised 6-20-2000
http://www.xprt.net/~jko/faq/fungi.htm
Why should i be interested in fungi?
Building soil tilth is closely connected with fungal
activity and many diseases are both caused and solved by
fungi. Some plants are so dependent of fungi that they
can't survive without them. This relationship can be at
the root zone or in the leaves. It is now known that some
fir trees have a fungi which activate when the needle is
attacked. This in essence is the immune system and
adapts in areas where the tree is unable to adapt.
It is also suspected that the decline in forest and
farm soils is related to fungi diversity loss. This view
seems to be mainly among mycologist at present but
the supporting evidence is growing.
Some interesting facts about soils and fungi:
* Of the estimated 6 million species of fungi we have
cataloged about 50,000.
* An important component of soils are actinomycetes
and few people are aware they exist.
* Fungi can selectively modify soil pH
* Fungal die off is an early sign of ecological collapse.
All this indicates fungi are one of our biggest
frontiers to be explored.. part of a bigger frontier
called soil.
If we encourage fungi won't that also
encourage fungal diseases?
It is usually a question of balance. The fungi are
always around and we want to make sure their predators
are also around. Often those predators are other fungi.
Also, some non fungal pests can be controlled by fungi,
so usually we end up gaining more than we lose.
Can i buy fungi and add them to the garden?
Yes, many people add sprays which contain fungi. Often,
these are mycorrhizal fungi which form relationships with
plants. The brewing of compost teas is another way to
improve the fungi balance. One major consideration
is fungi habitat. If we fail to build good habitat
then it may be necessary to buy replacement fungi
each year, not a very sustainable approach and possibly
expensive.
What is ideal fungi habitat?
It is doubtful that all the fungi in the world will be
known or all the roles they play. This makes precise
answers difficult but we can make some generalities.
Fungal dominated soils occur in forests and grass lands
with the following charactericts:
1. Stable perennial plant cover to interact with.
2. Mulch layer as food supply. (For prairies it
is reversed, root death provides the food)
3. Mostly undisturbed soil (not tilled)
Another characteristic is diversity and change. It is
common for a fungi to find a home and spread slowly
consuming its preferred food and leaving a open center.
This appears as a ring of mushrooms after a few years. It
is called a fairy ring and may not seem interesting,
but consider this: a fairy ring 150 miles across was
discovered in the American midlands. This suggests slow
change everywhere these rings are growing and interacting.
The diversity factor consists of fungi populations
eating each other, being eaten by just about everyone,
and constantly changing. It is impossible to predict
all the soil interactions so one answer is diversity.
Have the good guys present and ready to fill the niche.
How do i know if my soil has a good fungal balance?
Observation is the best method. Soil tests do not
work very well when dealing with living tissue and
diversity. Some of the clues come from plants and
others come from looking at the soil. The smell,
feel, and moisture retaining properties are all
clues. Weeds are probably the best indicator of
all. If we can identify the weeds and know what
environment they prefer we can predict how similar
crops will perform.
Some plants who prefer fungal soils:
conifers, grape, apple, forest plants, most
deciduous trees, citrus, strawberries
Plants which respond to additions of mycorrhizal fungi:
melons, tomatoes, asparagus, corn
Plants which prefer the balance shifted towards bacteria:
broccoli, kale, lawns grass
So how do i use all this information about
fungi in my garden?
Increasing soil bioactivity and being aware of how
balance works is a good place to start. Another is
to look at all the techniques which use perennials
mixed with annuals to build habitat. This includes:
alley cropping - nitrogen fixing trees coppiced to provide mulch.
Mixing alders and potatoes for example. This
appears to provide sustainable yield. The
alders work in conjunction with actinomycates
at their roots.
Forest Gardens - This technique mixes perennials with annuals
and attempts to build a diverse eco system.
Several books exist on this topic.
The study of agroforestry includes other systems with similar
characteristics.
Other things to consider are no-till and limited crop rotation.
Where soils need to be tilled the use of compost teas can
help restore the soil life balance. Teas can be brewed for
increased bacteria by increasing the sugars or for fungi
by increasing the cellulose, starch, and gums..
Year round gardening is another good technique. Having plants
around also helps their supporting fungi to survive. If we
combine this with mulching and a few perennials our
diversity is maintained and the soil is much more adaptive.
What about pesticides and herbicides?
Caution to the point of complete avoidance is the
safest approach with pesticides. Some of the natural
compounds are useful, but where possible building healthy
eco systems with predators is much preferred. Often
this is more labor intensive and can impact profits.
On the other hand, it provides meaningful work and
connects us back to the land.
Can i grow edible mushrooms in the garden?
Yes, but reliable results are difficult without careful
procedures. There are also problems with identifying
mushrooms which need to be considered. We are surrounded
by fungal spore looking for a home and this presents some
problems. In commercial mushroom about half the work
is maintaining spore and propagating it. This spore is
then used to quickly inhabit a sterile medium. Even these
commercial methods sometimes fail.
Some things gardeners can do are: 1. buy an easily
identifiable mushroom spore which is ready to use. 2.
Inoculate a local tree or build a sterile medium. 3.
After the harvest spread the spent medium in the garden as
mulch or add to the compost pile.
Another method is to obtain a known mushroom from the store
or other source. This can be mixed with a dilute molasses
slurry and left to grow. The result can be sprayed in
a good habitat and may take up residence (see THE FARM web
pages for techniques).
Which mushrooms are recommended for home
gardeners?
Gardeners should first decide it they have a site
suitable for mushrooms and then pick types that will
fit the habitat. Here are some candidates:
Oyster, one of the easier mushrooms to grow but it
can be confused with other mushrooms. Habitat
would be compost piles or a prepared medium.
King Stropharia, can be grown in soils amended with
chopped straw.
Shiitake, can be grown on wood
Shaggy Manes, can be grown in manured soils and
near compost piles.
The Mycorrhizal species (chanterelles, king boletes, matsutake,
and truffles) are possible candidates for seeding by slurries
or inoculated trees. This seems to be a controversial
issue still. A few people claim success and others are
questioning the results.
A good source of information on mushroom gardening can be
obtained from Paul Stamets books and from local mycological
societies. Trial and error procedures can be risky with
mushrooms so good information is important.
Where can i find more information?
Compost tea FAQ
http://www.xprt.net/~jko/faq/tea.htm
Fungi Perfecti
http://www.fungi.com/
Don Chapmans inoculants
http://www.bio-organics.com/acreart.html
Canadian site for agroforestry
http://www.ecoforestry.ca/default.htm
Agroforestry site with newsletter
http://www.agroforestry.net/afg/index.html
MycoWeb
http://www.mykoweb.com/links.html
The Farm, Summertown, Tennessee intentional community
http://www.thefarm.org
Books
Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms
by: Paul Stamets
The Hidden Forest
by: Jon R Luoma
(Special thanks to Guy Clark for translating
the following book into eco-speak)
The Nature and Properties of Soils
Nyle C. Brady
Disclaimer
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This FAQ probably has errors and would benifit from
additional information in some areas. If you see potential
improvement please help others and yourself by sending comments
to jeff owens at:
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web Page: http://www.xprt.net/~jko
or to the ecopath discussion list at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
This FAQ can be found at:
http://www.xprt.net/~jko/faq/fungi.htm
text version available, email author
@UnCopyright - This FAQ belongs to you. Pass it on, put your
name on it, modify it, consider it a seed to be planted.
