HAVE YOU EVER grown mushrooms? Or perhaps they’ve just grown themselves in different parts of your garden at different moments of the season and you’ve wondered: why there, and why then? I know I do; I’m fascinated by fungi. I asked John Michelotti of Catskill Fungi to encourage us to try cultivating some edible ones and to go take a mushroom walk too, to get to meet some of the incredible diversity out there.
John (with cultivated shiitake, above) is a self-described “mushroom guy” and has studied fungi with some of the country’s top mycologists. On his family farm in Big Indian, New York, he cultivates indoor and outdoor mushrooms, and provides guided mushroom classes, cultivation courses, private consultations, and even creates mushroom health extracts. John is also part of the Amazon Mycorenewal Project (CoRenewal), researching the utilization of fungi to remediate oil spills in the Amazon Rain Forest.
Read along as you listen to the April 1, 2019 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
how mushrooms grow, with john michelotti
Q. I’m just going to ask you: I know it’s like a po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe thing, but I always worry when I say fungi. Is it supposed to be fun-guy or fun-gee or [laughter] … what do you say?
A. It’s pretty interchangeable. I say fun-guy. It’s quite interchangeable as far as that goes.
Q. O.K. I’ve heard you say that your mission is to spread the information about the benefits that fungi, as I say it, have to offer. Like, for example … some of the benefits?
A. Oh, they’re really pretty amazing. When I teach medicinal mushroom workshops, the focus is on people and
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Nasturtiums or Tropaeolum majus are also known as Indian Cress as the peppery leaves can be eaten. However, the best reason for growing Nasturtiums is the large volume of red, orange or yellow flowers you can get on a trailing plants that is planted in poor soil.
Commonly known as the Winter melon and Chinese watermelon, Ash gourd is native to Japan is found commonly throughout India. When touched, the fruit leaves an ash-like residue on hands. That’s the reason behind its interesting name! Here’s all you need to know about growing Ash gourd!
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