David Sewak - Mycelial Mayhem: Growing Mushrooms for Fun, Profit and Companion Planting

Praise for Mycelial Mayhem

Mycelial Mayhem is a comprehensive and personal tome on the production, business, promotion, and problem solving for the independent mushroom grower. Although my interests lean toward mushroom art more than mushroom production, I am looking forward to having my own copy for its valuable resources.

Taylor Lockwood

This lively, companionable book demystifies mushrooms for those of us seeking clear explanations and checklists combined with infectious enthusiasm and some stunning photos, to nudge us towards starting out cultivating, wild collecting and marketing this diverse class of crops, which can complement our other gardening and farming ventures.

Pam Dawling, author, Sustainable Market Farming

Usually Im out in the woods looking for wild mushrooms, not cultivating them, but after reading Mycelial Mayhems approachable primer to this age-old art Im ready to invite the mysterious and captivating kingdom of fungi right into my own home.

Langdon Cook, author, The Mushroom Hunters

This is the book that I will recommend for all beginning mushroom growers. Whether you want to grow mushrooms just for your own use or are considering them as a business, you will find this is a practical, down to earth, and enjoyable book to read. It covers everything the beginner needs to know including the basics of mushroom biology, how to grow, wild collecting, incorporating mushrooms into your landscape, cooking, and how start a mushroom business. The niche business and supplement income section is excellent and appropriate for someone considering any kind of small-scale agricultural business.

Jeanine Davis, PhD., Associate Professor and Extension Specialist
North Carolina State University,
and lead author, Growing and Marketing Ginseng,
Goldenseal and Other Woodland Medicinals

Mycelial Mayhem draws us into the wild, weird, and wonderful world of the fungal kingdom with irresistible wit and wisdom. Emphasizing culinary glory, responsible foraging, nutritional and health benefits, the role of fungi in healthy ecosystems, and the barely explored possibilities of profitable business, this charming and very well-informed book is both welcome and indispensable for the beginning cultivator or curious cook.

Peter Bane, author, The Permaculture Handbook

Copyright 2016 by David Sewak and Kristin Sewak.
All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh.
Cover images iStock

Printed in Canada. First printing May 2016

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Mycelial Mayhem should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below. To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada (250) 247-9737

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Sewak, David, author

Mycelial mayhem : growing mushrooms for fun, profit and companion planting / David and Kristin Sewak.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-86571-814-2 (paperback). ISBN 978-1-55092-621-7 (ebook)

1. Mushroom culture. 2. Edible mushrooms. 3. Mycelium. 4. Mushrooms.

I. Sewak, Kristin, author II. Title.

SB353.S47 2016 635'.8 C2015-907723-0
C2015-907724-9

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. The interior pages of our bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-registered acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine-free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-registered stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com

Dedicated to Papap,
from the old generation of mushroom hunters,
and our children,
Aedan, Cassidy and Sage,
the next generation of mushroom hunters.
Keep spreading the spores.

At times, writing this book has been nothing but mayhem, but we mean that in a good way. Still, without the inspiration and support of many, Mycelial Mayhem would not have been possible. Wed like to thank our family and friends for all of their love and support throughout the years. Youve collectively made us who we are, so thank you all.

To the people who have inspired our mushroom-growing journey, Papap Martin Vrtis, Nana Judith Vrtis, Dr. Sewak, Violet Sewak, Jody, Kutka, and Hasha Venn of Tsoma Farms our family and fungi-friends, Joe Krawczyk and Mary Ellen Kozak of Field & Forest Products, Susan, the head chef at Green Gables Restaurant, thank you. Indirectly, wed like to thank Paul Stamets and the wealth of knowledge you have provided the world, along with David Arora and Sepp Holzer, through your books and examples. We stand on your shoulders and hope we are spreading the spores in rhythm with your visions.

Our appreciation is also owed to our logger friend, Ron Gillingham, for the constant supply of logs he provided to us and for teaching Dave how to cut wood without killing himself. Ron always told Dave, You cut like a girl in a skirt!

Thank you, Rigel Richardson, for your assistance and knowledge during your summer mushroom-growing apprenticeship with us, and for being brave enough to leave the big city to stay with us hillbillies in your hand-built yurt. Rigel and Dave perfected the art of road hunting for mushrooms by driving around after rains to find wild chicken of the woods and oyster mushrooms in the state forest. Try it, you may be surprised what you find! Thank you, Lindsay Pyle, also one of our mushroom-growing apprentices. Rigel and Lindsay, continue to spread those spores of mushroom knowledge and inspiration.

To Ernie Lee of Keelboat Farms, thank you for your insight with part of the book.

To the team at New Society Publishers, Ingrid Witvoet, Greg Green, Sue Custance, Sara Reeves and EJ Hurst. Wed also like to thank Linda Glass, our copy editor, for helping us make this book a better product. Thank you for the opportunity to share our knowledge.

Dave says, Without a doubt, thank you, Kristin Sewak (because Dave loves to say he writes like Jack Kerouac, and he does!). Massive bursts of stream-of-consciousness writings that jump around, weave, and bob and with maddening punctuation! Without you, this book would have been a jumble of gibberish. Also for your faith to believe and see, as in the garden in the front yard, the bird bath stump and every other crazy idea that popped into my head like the chicken coop...but thats a different story for another day!