In My Garden: Mushrooms

My son Luke and I go wild mushroom hunting several times a year, everytime I visit Olympia, Washington, and really enjoy hiking and foraging in the woods. We always go to different places and when backpacking or camping the mushrooms really add a lot to what we are cooking. (Note: It is very important to learn all about mushrooms before you pick and eat anything. There are many mushrooms that look almost identical to the safe ones but can be deadly.)

I don’t have as many types here along the coast in Southern California but it’s still fun finding and identifying them here.

Luke sent me three mushroom kits this year, one Lion’s Mane and two different Oyster mushrooms. I grew them in my greenhouse. They were very easy to grow and a lot of fun to watch the changes in growth day by day. They grow very quickly. My wife Laura cooked the mushrooms into pasta dishes and stir-frys. Really good.

There are many great books for identifying mushrooms if you want to try your hand at foraging. But there are also many mushroom growing kits available online, and they are a much safer option for the novice mushroom hunter.