27 replies to this topic

[Myc]

What do you mean by "cold frames"?

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Cold_frame

I'm talking about a modification of this design.
Essentially, above ground planter boxes where the "bottom" of the box is the earth. No clear, hinged lid required.
Produce fully colonized spawnblocks, place them at regular intervals throughout your frame. Fill in and around your blocks, cover to a nice depth if you have the space. Leaf mulch, compost, and other yard waste materials as a casing layer....
I don't recommend grass clippings. Found out the hard way that the grass mats down and inhibits gas exchange.

This project could take up as much or as little space as you have. Depends on how hard you want to work at it.

[oakchild]

Hmm. That could work. One thought though, This would need to be built of plywood and the KT will definitely try to colonize the box itself. I am a little worried about it absorbing the chemicals in the plywood glue.

I could build the boxes out of 2x4s instead, but for the scale I am looking at it would get expensive rather quick.

I was toying with the following idea:

• Building a 20'x30'x10' frame out of 2"x4"s.
• The ceiling would have braces running in the 20' direction with a spacing of about 18".
• Line the walls with 4 mil black plastic and the ceiling with 4 mil clear plastic.
• Add a cheap door at one end by sewing a long zipper into the black plastic.
• Cut out some large squares from the black plastic and make some tyvek patches to cover the square holes for gas exchange.
• Make substrate logs by filling substrate and spawn into 10' lengths of 10" diameter 4 mil plastic air ducting.
• Running down the center of each substrate log would be cardboard gift wrap tubes filled with moist pasteurized vermiculite to work as a moisture reservoir.
• The substrate logs would be hung from each of the ceiling rafters with a spacing along the 20' direction of about 3' with 8" spacing from the walls.
• the moisture reservoir would be allowed to drain at the bottom and have automated watering at the top. Watering would start a week after full colonization.

I could put 120 substrate logs in such a room. We would probably run 2-3 flushes of each log then use the spent substrate as compost for the garden. The substrate would primarily be wood chips with some straw mixed in.

I am going to test the moister reservoir idea with a couple of shorter logs in my closet in about a few weeks. To warm in there for the King Trumpets to fruit, so I will probably be running that test with Pearl Oysters.

Blessings,
Oakchild

8-)

[oakchild]

Dinner was delicious by the way!

Such a nice texture and really soaks up the favors well.

:eusa_droo

The prints were bigger than my hands! Plenty of prints (well small pieces thereof actually) to go around for anyone interested.

Blessings,
Oakchild

8-)

[wildburr]

Oh definitely interested in a print of that :love: :thumbup:

[oakchild]

Shoot me a PM with your safe addy! :thumbup:

Blessings,
Oakchild

8-)

[oakchild]

We typically don't write recipes down. We just go into the kitchen and wing it. So this is as close to a recipe as you get.

Here is a good one for King Trumpets:

• In a medium sauce pan dice some red onions and a some olive oil and salt an pepper. Let the onions cook on medium heat
• Add diced yellow tomatoes and yellow bell peppers, and simmer.
• Let the mix in the sauce pan reduce and loose moister.
• meanwhile, slice your king trumpets lengthwise and lay them out in a casserole dish.
• Melt some butter or Gee and drizzle over the mushrooms.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper on the mushrooms.
• Bake the mushrooms at 200-300 until they are starting to sweat. then turn off the oven.
• When the sauce has reduced moister significantly, add crushed garlic to taste and simmer 5 more minutes. (I am a fan of adding garlic late so that the flavor is not degraded).
• pour the sauce over the mushrooms and bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes.
• while the mushrooms are baking, dice a lot of fresh basil leaves, and grate some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
• Remove the mushrooms from the oven and cover with most of the basil leaves then layer on the mozzarella, then the Parmesan.
• Broil until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Keep a close eye on it here. It doesn't take long and it is easy to burn your cheese if you don't pay attention.
• remove from oven and garnish with remaining basil leaves.
• Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Blessings,
Oakchild

8-)

[Mandrake]

Still got any prints available? I would love to try and grow these!

Mandrake

[Lazlo]

Hey Lazlo,

One thing I noticed when harvesting these beauties is that they are deeply rooted in the substrate. I used the twist and pull method to harvest and they tore up a lot of substrate with them.

Do you cut them with a sharp knife to harvest, or is that going to be an unacceptable contamination vector (leaving the root).

Blessings,
Oakchild

8-)

I twist and pull myself. Getting as much of the leftover stem butt off of the substrate as I can. I don't worry with getting every last bit of it, as it doesn't have an ill effect.

Those look really nice!

Fresh Brewed. We both sterilize and pasteurize compost. Either way works fine.