For the mom who has everything…”Hey, Mom–I got you this fungus!”
We had to have some trees close to the house taken down, and decided to try to make lemonade–or rather, Lion’s Mane–out of that particular lemon. It’s always fun to try something new, mushrooms are delicious, and this type isn’t going to be mistaken for a deadly Amanita. There’s some interesting research about this type in particular increasing Nerve Growth Factor, which possibly might work to help prevent dementia.
The simplest way to grow mushrooms outside is to inoculate hardwood logs, like the maple and cottonwood we just happened to have lying around, after the tree-cutting carnage. What you do is slice them into short segments and put the “spawn”–it looks just like quinoa–in between the pieces as you stack them in a shady spot, then water and wait. It was an easy setup, rather than a mess, though the logs wanted to slide off, since the spawn works like mini ball bearings. To counteract it, we connected our upright “totems” with lintels, so we really do have a mini ShroomHenge. One can also grow Lion’s Mane indoors in special bags. Lots of places sell the spores; I got mine here. (affiliate link) I’d been prepared to wait for months to a year, but I already have babies peeking out of the cracks! Apparently, once they get going, the fruiting might go on as long as seven years–certainly more cost-effective than the capsules I’ve tried.
What do YOU get the mom who has everything?
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