The following article is from radicalmycology.com and is a written report all about the recent Radical Mycology Convergence 2011 that was held in Concrete, WA in early September. Amateur Mycology attended the event giving presentations on ‘Green Mushroom Cultivation’ and ‘Forest Floor Cultivation’ techniques. Very soon we will have video clips of the event as well, here at amateurmycology.com, so stay tuned!

-September 14th, 2011-

 Over 200 people gathered in northern Washington state this past Labor Day weekend to learn about the many uses of the fungal kingdom at the world’s first Radical Mycology Convergence. For four days, people gathered from several countries and various cultural backgrounds to teach and learn together about mycoremediation, the use of fungi as a tool to help combat mass pollution and ecological degradation. In an age when so many human caused disasters are occurring throughout the world, the fungi are beginning to be seen as a strong option for tackling some of these great problems long thought impossible to solve.

WHY RADICAL MYCOLOGY?

Access to mycological information is not easy. With a cultural view that fears fungi, a schooling system that undervalues them, and only a small number of courses on advanced mycology worldwide, it is easy to see why the fifth kingdom is so disregarded and misunderstood. As one of the youngest natural sciences, mycology (the study of fungi) has largely been kept in the hands of professionals since its development with much of the official work focusing simply on taxonomy and species edibility/toxicity. However, in the last few decades (and really just the last few years) the greater fungi have started to gain more acceptance and familiarity to those outside of academia as their uses beyond the dinner plate are starting to be realized.

It is surprising to note that most people do not realize that fungi are not only on, in and a part of all living (and once-living) things but that they play an extremely important role in the life cycle of plants as well. Acting like stewards of the forest, certain fungi create complex networks of “mycelium” (that white stuff you see when you pull back a decaying log) underground that serve to channel nutrients and water between plants and to help maintain the health of entire ecosystems. The fungi are also responsible for the decomposition of all woody material, turning dead plant matter in to fresh soil for new plants to thrive in. Without the fungi the world would be piled high in dead trees with no new ones growing.

In the last decade or so, mycologists have discovered that the same enzymes that fungi naturally produce to digest their food can also be used to break down toxic pollutants and petroleum products. Species have been discovered that can digest plastics, disposable diapers, motor oil, DDT, and Agent Orange as well as sequester and concentrate heavy metals out of polluted soil for later disposal. This emerging field of “mycoremediation” has only barely gained a foundation from which to grow on as in-depth research and experimentation in the last few years has been scant at best and suppressed at worst. As such a powerful ally in the fight to save the planet before ecological collapse, the fungi are now more worthy of investigation than ever before*. Thus, the RMC was formed to foster a community of people interested in developing and implementing mycoremediative techniques to provide a resource for peer learning and encouragement.

Through the use of fungi to enact change, we are attempting to radically challenge assumptions about the importance of the fungal kingdom in an effort to help shift our relationship to the Earth toward greater harmony.

WHY A CONVERGENCE?

The intent of the organizers of the RMC in forming the event was three fold: 1) To share mycological information in an accessible manner using the simplest techniques and a minimal amount of equipment 2) To promote the use of mycoremediation techniques & 3) To build an all-inclusive & non-hierarchical network of amateur & professional mycologists. We feel we were quite successful in our efforts to a degree beyond any expectations.

Despite a full schedule all weekend, the RMC went off without a hitch. Workshops included sterile and non-sterile cultivation methods, mycopermaculture/mushrooms in the garden, mycomedicinals, mushroom paper and dye making, and fungi and lichen identification. There were also presentations on ethnomycology in Mexico by professional mycologists from Baja California. Folks from the Amazon Mycorenewal Project spoke on their work to clean up oil spills in Ecuador using oyster mushrooms. And a representative from the Mushroom Development Foundation spoke to their work teaching Indian farmers to grow mushrooms from agricultural waste. All this took place on a communal farm with nightly group fires, a raging talent show and raffle, and great swimming holes. Add in a general sense of commonality and you get an inspiring weekend of learning and building a community where one had not existed before.

Many presenters demonstrated techniques they had developed on their own to reduce the use of fossil fuels and expensive equipment from cultivating mushrooms. James from Amateur Mycology in Colorado stated that he hadn’t thrown away a piece of paper for 2 years as he was turning it all into mushrooms. James also spoke of successes in using mushroom beds as living mulch in a greenhouse to increase plant yields. Another workshop demonstrated tissue culturing in open air using only hydrogen peroxide and alcohol to sterilize your equipment. A big take away message from the weekend was that there is so much yet to be discovered about mycology–and so few people doing it–that it will take the work of amateurs to increase understanding.

As a culmination to the weekend, we implemented 2 small remediation projects at the host farm to put theory to practice. We set up 2 beds of King Stropharia mushrooms to help decompose the humanure produced at the farm. We also installed various burlap sacks inoculated with Blue Oyster mushrooms around the farm’s spring to help filter the water or possible runoff from a nearby road as well as prevent erosion to the surrounding hill side.

Through the RMC we created an environment that encouraged skill and knowledge sharing by embracing diversity and working toward the greater goal of a healthier planet and way of life. With the advances being made over the last few years, working with the fungi has never been easier than now, at a time when their capabilities are of greatest import. This information deserves to be in the hands of those who want it and the Radical Mycology Convergence was one step among several toward reaching that goal.

NEXT STEPS

On the final day of the convergence an open discussion was held to reflect on the RMC and to discuss ideas for future gatherings as well as how folks plan to implement this information in their local communities. The consensus showed that those present were excited to begin the process of developing a web-based forum or wiki to enable cultivators and experimenters to share techniques and experiences in relation to low-tech cultivation and remediation work. Similarly, free publications will be produced that teach these techniques and demonstrate case studies of the work people are doing with fungi. Also, a decentralized formal network will be created of groups of people doing this work so as to stay connected, organize future/regional RMCs, and to collaborate as desired.

A truly unique event, the first Radical Mycology Convergence was a huge success drawing in all types of people to live and learn together. The RMC demonstrated the power of a shared concern for the future of the planet to overcome personal differences in political or worldviews and the need to embrace novel ideas for tackling some of the world’s problems. We found that out of their backyards and garages, people are developing novel ways to work with the fungi to reduce their waste streams, filter their water, produce food and potent medicines easily, as well as work to clean up their local landbases thru remediation work.

The meme of radical mycology is only just developing. Time will tell how common this information and these techniques will become in the future. For now we invite those interested in learning more to follow the links and articles at www.radicalmycology.com.

In sporidarity,

The Radical Mycology Convergence organizers

radmycology@gmail.com

* This is not to say this information addresses the problem of eliminating the manufacturing of these products. Rather it provides a way to actually deal with existing problems alongside efforts to stop their proliferation.

PHOTOS BY Charlotte RMC

James and I just got back on the 7th of September from the Radical Mycology Convergence 2011. One of the organizers of the event got on the local short wave radio station, KOWA, in Olympia, WA yesterday to talk about the RMC and plans for the future. Check out the interview below. A written report of the RMC to come soon. Stay tuned.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Visit http://radicalmycology.wordpress.com/ for more information!!

Our most recent project has been to expand our mycelium onto a large amount of substrate. We have been acquiring large quantities of wood-chip from the City of Littleton, as well as wheat straw that we have been inoculating with various mushroom varieties for use over the summer. This spawn will be used for many purposes including starting a brand new mushroom farm called Jackie’s Farm in Brighton, Colorado as well as for many types of mycorestoration and mycoremediation. Since Oyster mushrooms have been known to be great mycoremediators we have mainly been expanding an oyster mushroom that we have dubbed ‘the ground oyster’. It was found in Denver last year in a golf course growing in the middle of a green. At first James and I figured it was growing on a rotten root that must have extended into the green, however, much to our amazement it was growing from the dirt itself. Under closer inspection it was concreting the soil and rocks together with mycelium. Not only that, but it was one of the largest clusters of oyster mushrooms we had ever seen. This strain of oyster mushroom has shown particular vigor in culture and grows through it’s substrate with lightning speed and efficiency. The picture shown above is a handful of the ‘ground oyster’ mycelium holding the pieces of wood together with much tenacity. There is a little picture gallery to look at below showing some of the things we were doing yesterday. Check back soon for updates on this matter, as well as a tutorial on how to expand mycelium many different ways.

[Show as slideshow]

Truffle, Truffle, who’s got the Truffle? Tuber spp. are ectomycorrhizal ascomycetes that produce ascocarps known as truffles. The origin of the word truffle appears to be the Latin term tuber, meaning “lump”, which became tufer- and gave rise to the various European terms: French truffe, Spanish trufa, German Trüffel, Dutch truffel and Croatian tartuf. These ‘lumps’ fetch quite a high price. In 2001, Tuber magnatum truffles sold for between US$1,000 and $2,200 per pound on average! However, the record price paid for a single white truffle was set in December 2007, when Macau casino owner Stanley Ho paid US$330,000 (£165,000) for a specimen weighing 3.3 lbs!

So what makes these mushrooms worth so much money? Truffles are an ecto-mycorrhizal mushroom that grows underground. Ecto-mycorrhizal fungi are notoriously difficult to cultivate, as they must be in association with a specific plant/tree to survive. But to top it all off, they are very difficult to find as they are always underground. Many truffle hunters must use dogs or pigs to sniff them out.

However, truffles can be cultivated. As early as 1808, there were successful attempts to cultivate truffles, known in French as trufficulture. People had long observed that truffles were growing among the roots of certain trees, and in 1808, Joseph Talon, from Apt (département of Vaucluse) in southern France, had the idea to sow some acorns collected at the foot of oak trees known to host truffles in their root system. The experiment was successful: years later, truffles were found in the soil around the newly grown oak trees. In 1847, Auguste Rousseau of Carpentras (in Vaucluse) planted 7 hectares (17 acres) of oak trees (again from acorns found on the soil around truffle-producing oak trees), and he subsequently obtained large harvests of truffles. He received a prize at the 1855 World’s Fair in Paris.

These successful attempts were met with enthusiasm in southern France, which possessed the sweet limestone soils and dry hot weather that truffles need to grow. In the late 19th century, an epidemic of phylloxera destroyed many of the vineyards in southern France. Another epidemic destroyed most of the silkworms in there, too, making the fields of mulberry trees useless. Thus, large tracts of land were set free for the cultivation of truffles. Thousands of truffle-producing trees were planted, and production reached peaks of hundreds of tonnes at the end of the 19th century. In 1890 there were 750 square kilometres (190,000 acres) of truffle-producing trees. In the 20th century however, with the growing industrialization of France and the subsequent rural exodus, many of these truffle fields (champs truffiers or truffières) returned to wilderness.

The First World War also dealt a serious blow to the French countryside, killing 20% or more of the male working force. As a consequence of these events, newly acquired techniques of trufficulture were lost. Also, between the two world wars, the truffle fields planted in the 19th century stopped being productive. (The average life cycle of a truffle-producing tree is 30 years.) Consequently, after 1945 the production of truffles plummeted, and the prices have risen dramatically. In 1900, truffles were used by most people, and on many occasions. Today, they are a rare delicacy reserved for the rich, or used on very special occasions. In the last 30 years, new attempts for mass production of truffles have been started. Eighty percent of the truffles now produced in France come from specially planted truffle-fields. Nonetheless, production has yet to recover its 1900s peaks. Local farmers are opposed to a return of mass production, which would decrease the price of truffles. There are now truffle-growing areas in the United States, Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and the UK.

In 1999, the first Australian truffles were harvested in Tasmania, the result of eight years of work. Trees were inoculated with the truffle fungus in the hope of creating a local truffle industry. Their success and the value of the resulting truffles has encouraged a small industry to develop. A Western Australian venture, The Wine and Truffle Co, had its first harvest in 2004, and in 2005 they unearthed a 1 kg truffle. In 2008, an estimated 600 kilograms (1,300 lb) of truffles were removed from the rich ground of Manjimup. Each year The Wine and Truffle Co. has expanded their production, moving into the colder regions of Victoria and New South Wales.

In June 2010, Tasmanian growers Michael and Gwynneth Williams harvested Australia’s largest truffle from their property at Myrtle Bank, near Launceston. It weighed in at 2 lb 6.2 oz. Ms Williams told ABC Radio in Australia that it is valued at approximately AUS$1,500 per kilo.

Next week in Part 2, we will discuss the lab techniques needed to grow Tuber spp. in vitro. I hope you all had a very Happy New Year and will check back with us soon.

(adapted from the Truffle- Wikipedia article)

While walking through Whole Foods in Boulder, I noticed that they had a wonderful selection of mushrooms for the Thanksgiving season. Bluefoots from France, Maitake from Oregon, Oysters from Colorado, King Trumpets, Black Poplar mushrooms, Shimeji mushrooms, Shiitake mushrooms, Enoki mushrooms, but what got my attention, was the huge bowl full of Chanterelles. The wonderful orange and gold color and smell gets me every time. I had to pick out a pound to bring home for the holidays. But all this got me thinking about growing Chanterelles, so I did a little research and found out some interesting information. First let me explain a little bit about mycorrhizal fungi and give a little background on the genus Cantharellus before we get too far ahead of ourselves. The word ‘mycorrhizal’ comes from Greek; ‘myco’ (fungus) and ‘rhizal’ (root). Mycorrhizal fungi have adapted a clever way to survive, by associating themselves with a specific vascular plant or plants, so as to uptake various carbohydrates (starches and sugars) that aid in the fungi’s development. The fungi achieve this by encasing/injecting mycelia into the roots of the plant, while not harming the plant’s growth. In fact, through this symbiotic relationship, the plant receives various minerals and nutrients (some of which are generally unavailable in some climates, locked up in the rock/soil), a greater ability to absorb water, resistance to parasitic fungi (i.e. blight) and soil-borne pathogens, as well as resistance to many toxic heavy metals. As you can see, this situation is very advantageous for both the plants and the fungi. So beneficial in fact, that it is believed that this is the most widespread form of symbiotic association found in the entire plant kingdom and according to dated fossils, is a relationship that is at minimum 400 million years old (for more information, and something cool to check out, Google ‘The Rhynie chert’). That is a long time to live together. Can you imagine the connection plants and fungi must have? Do they ever get sick of each other? Are fungi and plants emotional beings? These are all questions for a different blog post. Let’s get back to the topic at hand… Chanterelles! Chanterelles are a part of the genus Cantharellus which abounds with many very beautiful and very delicious fungi, all which happen to be… you guessed it, mycorrhizal fungi. For a cultivator of mushrooms, growing mycorrhizal mushrooms is a very daunting task. As I just explained above, you need specific plants to partner up with specific fungi. Did you ever see that MTV dating show, ‘Next’? There are multiple ‘dates/contestants’ picked for one person to go on a date with. This person must choose which of the contestants was what they were looking for in a mate. The mushroom cultivator is like the matchmaker in this situation. The only problem is that just like dating, each species of fungi needs different things than others for the relationship to work. Just like in the show, some relationships are more compatible than others. But beyond just finding the correct partner plant to grow with, the cultivation of Chanterelle mycelium is more difficult still. As you probably already know, mycelium is the organism of the fungi that produces the fruiting body/mushroom. To grow the mycelium away from its host plant’s roots means the cultivator must have a medium to grow it on that contains all of the essential nutrients that the host plant and environment are feeding to the fungi. While searching for information on this subject, I found a very interesting patent invented by Eric Darnell (Chanterelle Mycelium US Patent #6173525) that explains a process of selecting a viable strain of Cantharellus cibarius, the golden chanterelle. If you would like to read it in its entirety, Click Here. In this process, he uses a media called Modified Fries Medium (a medium generally used in test tube plant culture) or Murashige and Skoog Medium with several of his own additions including activated charcoal. He uses these mediums because chanterelle mycelium has very slow/non-existent growth on the standard mediums, Malt Extract Agar (MEA) and Potato Dextrose Yeast Agar (PDYA). They just don’t contain the right types of nutrients for these mycorrhizal fungi. He then also adds several antibiotics that keep the co-inhabiting bacteria and fungi sequestered. These live in symbiosis with the fungi in the wild, but would proliferate in the Petri dish and slow the growth of the chanterelle mycelium. After 17-53 days, chanterelle mycelium begins to grow inside and through the agar. He is then able to transfer pieces of the mycelium to new MFM Petri dishes, this time without antibiotics as they are no longer needed. The co-inhabiting fungi and bacteria are left behind in the previous Petri dish. They then performed genetic sequencing on the mycelium they had isolated just to make sure that it was indeed Cantharellus cibarius mycelium they were growing. Sure enough, they had come up with a way to grow chanterelles in vitro. Cool and exciting stuff! But to top it off, in 1997, E. Darnell and F. Camacho produced the first ever successfully cultivated Cantharellus cibarius in a potted 16-month old Pinus sylvestris with a mycelium grown for only one year in culture. (In fact the photograph of the chanterelle at the top of the post is the first ever cultivated chanterelle) Hopefully with time, Eric Darnell can make this idea a commercially viable concept. Recently, Darnell started a Swedish company called Cantharellus AB to do just that, but has had mixed success. Many different animals and insects love his concept for chanterelle orchards, and have been giving him problems consuming and disturbing his mushroom harvest. They have planted thousands of inoculated trees that should start producing in 10 years. So far, the study of mycorrhizal mushrooms and their cultivation is still in its infancy, but is rewarding for those who have the patience to study these amazing and delicious fungi. For more information visit Eric Darnell’s Cantharellus Site or Chanterelle Mycelium US Patent. Another interesting pdf I found at David Arora’s site that he helped write is called A New, Commercially Valuable Chanterelle Species, Cantharellus californicus sp. You should check it out! Well, that’s all for now. Have a good and happy Thanksgiving!
References below:
Danell E & Camacho F (1997) Successful cultivation of the golden chanterelle. Nature, 385: 303. In the same issue of Nature on pages 299-300, Professor Roy Watling presents “The business of fructification”
Oh and all the pictures from this post were from Eric Darnell’s site with link above.

While driving through Littleton, Colorado James and I came across a park that had many different species of mushrooms growing in it. What first got our attention was large fruiting of Agaricus in the area, and as we were working on the Colorado Agaricus Project, this park was an interesting find. Unfortunately for us, most of the Agaricus found in the area were the yellow staining, foul smelling and poisonous Agaricus xanthodermus (the bane of most Agaricus hunter’s existence) and the giant mushroom of culinary disappointment, Agaricus bernardii. However, in one corner of the park, a cottonwood stump had been chopped to just above ground level. This stump had Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus pulmonarius) growing out one side, and Velvet Foot Mushrooms (Flammulina velutipes) out the other! Luckily for the Amateur Mycologists, we are able to culture these fungi in sterile lab conditions, as well as establishing them on cardboard for a more ‘natural’ form of storing the mycelium, making them the newest members of the Amateur Mycology Culture Library. Remember… the Amateur Mycology Culture Library page has an updated list of species in cold storage, and make sure you check back soon to see a full explanation of cardboard/stembutt culture from the exact oyster mushroom cluster pictured above!

James and I have been spending the past 3 months amassing mushroom species in pure culture and putting them under cold storage. You might be thinking, “what the heck is he talking about?”. To explain a little more clearly, we are ‘cloning’ wild mushrooms. This process is done by extracting flesh or spores from mushrooms that we have collected in the wild, and growing them in petri dish or test tube on different types of ‘media’. This media gives them nutrients specific to the species of fungi we are trying to grow. Now, when we talk about growing mushrooms, you first must isolate the part of the fungus that produces the mushrooms. Mycelium is a network of hyphae, or chains of cells, that are able to uptake water and various nutrients, as well as excrete digestive enzymes to digest it’s food, which in turn produces the mushroom. The mushroom is actually the fruiting body or sexual reproductive organ of the mycelium that produces spores to grow more mycelial networks. Under cold storage (i.e. 38 degrees F) the mushroom mycelium’s growth slows to a crawl. This allows the cultivator to store the mycelium until it is ready to use. To see a complete list of the different species we have go to The Amateur Mycology Culture Library page. We update it regularly.

Clitocybe nuda, otherwise known as the wood blewit or the bluefoot mushroom, is fairly rare here in Colorado favoring more temperate climates of Europe and North America. This week we found quite a few of them in Denver. It was amazing to see a fairy ring 30′ in diameter fruiting these beautiful purple mushrooms, and the best part is they are edible! The French, the Dutch, and the English cultivate it for export all over the world. In fact, just recently I was in Whole Foods and noticed they had bluefoots imported from France. The good news is we also have this mushroom as a part of the Amateur Mycology Culture Library, and is destined to be an integral part to our mycoagriculture projects next year! I tried cooking some of the ones I found in Denver in a stir fry this evening and they were absolutely amazing. They also kept their wonderful purple color, which gave wonderful contrast with red bell peppers and snap peas. Delicious!

Paul Stamets, author of ‘Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Save The World’. He is obviously one of the smartest people on earth. Everyone should see this quick TED.com video, plus if you haven’t already, check out the other videos they have. All of the ones I have watched are amazing. Also, check out Paul’s You Tube Site for his latest short videos!