Mamas and Mushrooms

Now what, you ask, do mamas and mushrooms have in common?  We are all part of the Circle of Life. And now I will show you, in great detail, how we inoculated our mushroom logs on Mother's Day.

We begin with logs.

These are from our woods.  There are some black cherry, maple and aspens.  Micah cut them a few weeks ago.  Now they are ready to go.  

Next comes the drill.  Micah rigged up a piece to his drill so that he could quickly insert the bit into the wood and it would only penetrate as deep as each spore.

Next we place our spores (here we're using oysters, shiitakes are next) into the holes.

Spores

Putting the spores in.

Hammering the spores in

Next comes the wax.  It's GMO-free soy wax.  And it is heated to a high temperature to keep everything sterile.  The spores are sealed, as is the end of each log, to try and keep out competing fungi.

The wax heating in a crockpot

Dripping it on

And that is the whole process.

When the logs are done they look like this

  

All in all, I think Micah and I were more excited than the kids.  They got bored...

And hungry...

And ended up watching a movie in the garage.

But I don't know how you can be bored when you are playing with fungi and have this view to look at...

I mean, fungi are absolutely fascinating.  You're probably laughing at me right now and calling me a homesteading geek.  That's ok.  But if you are one of the billions of people who eat everyday, then fungi plays an important role in your life.  

Here is an illustration of what happens to the dirt we farm

Copied from http://www.renewallgardenproject.net/Superpower_Index.html

When we eat conventionally farmed food, we deplete our soil.  No soil, no food.  Soil is alive.  Any farmer who knows what they're doing, farms soil, not crops.  (I don't consider myself to be a farmer who knows what she's doing, yet.  But I'll get there.)  Build the soil, get more crops.  Better soil, better crops.  You get the idea.  But farmers who treat the soil like nothing more than ground, lose the most important asset they have.  And the craziest part is that, with good farming techniques, your soil should actually improve and grow from year to year.  No depletion necessary.  How?   A healthy balance of carbon, nitrogen, air and water.  Fungi in the soil are vitally important in breaking down the elements found in dirt and making them available for plants.  Here is another example of the symbiotic relationship of plants and fungi:

Mycorrhizal fungi live within the roots of most plants in a mutually beneficial relationship (symbiosis). They help roots scavenge more nutrients and water from the soil in exchange for sugar to make the molecules they need to live and grow. These fungi extend long threads, called hyphae, outside the roots. The hyphae transport phosphorus and other nutrients into plant roots. Mycorrhizae also enable plants to use water more efficiently and resist pests. - http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/ar/archive/may01/fungi0501.htm

Okay, maybe you find this all boring.  So I'll put it in the words of Joel Salatin. "More organisms live in  one handful of healthy soil than there are people on the face of the Earth.  How dare we treat the soil like dirt?"

Shavtiel playing in the dirt when he was three. 

And that's just the microscopic stuff that helps grow all your food.  The actual mushrooms you eat are so good for you, I can't even list all the great stuff they do.  So here's an abbreviated list.

1. B vitamins are vital for turning food (carbohydrates) into fuel (glucose), which the body burns to produce energy. They also help the body metabolize fats and protein. Mushrooms contain loads of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin B3 (niacin)

2. When it comes to antioxidants—the substances that help fight free radicals that are the result of oxidation in our body—we’re more likely to think of colourful vegetables than neutral-hued mushrooms. But a study at Penn State university showed that the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC)—a measure of a food’s total antioxidants—of crimini and portobello mushrooms were about the same as for red peppers.

3. A study done on mice and published by theAmerican Society for Nutrition found that white button mushrooms may promote immune function by increasing the production of antiviral and other proteins that are released by cells while they are trying to protect and repair the body’s tissues. A later study showed that these mushrooms promoted the maturation of immune system cells–called dendritic cells–from bone marrow. According to he researchers, this may help enhance the body’s immunity leading to better defence systems against invading microbes.

4. Many varieties of mushrooms contain good-for-your-bladder selenium and, like us, they produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Oyster mushrooms are a good source or iron. Plus, they're low in calories.

5. Mushrooms contain rich quantities of potassium that helps to reduce the blood pressure and keeps the heart healthy. Mushrooms contain mineral selenium, which along with vitamin E, helps to protect the body cells from the damage caused by free radicals. The cooper present in mushrooms helps to maintain the health of the cardiovascular system. 

6. Provides roughage to the body.  Although mushrooms contain high quantities of water, but about 10% of it

is fiber. Regular intake of mushrooms help to provide the body with the much needed roughage that helps to prevent problems like constipation. Thus it helps to support the smooth running of the digestive and excretory systems.

7. Niacin provides numerous benefits to the body. Most of the enzymatic functions in the body depend on the quantity of niacin taken in through various foods. These include the production of sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Niacin also helps to maintain the health and functioning of the nervous system and many other working parts of the human body. Mushrooms contain rich quantities of niacin that helps the body to produce energy from sugar and helps to make the skin healthy and glowing.

8. THEY TASTE REALLY GOOD! (Not scientific, but still true.)

Facts from http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-mushrooms/ and http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/nutrition/5-health-benefits-of-mushrooms?slide=1

Now remember, there's healthy mushroom obsession:

And unhealthy mushroom obsession:

If you think you've developed an unhealthy mushroom obsession, just come and visit us here on the farm.  We'll have you inoculating fungi til you can't take it anymore.  That'll clear you right up!

Happy Mother's Day!