GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

Figure 297. Azureus Stamets holding 4 lb. specimen
of S. rugoso-annulata.
GROWTH PARAMETERS 337
first used by wild collectors—whether they
were aware of it or not.The trimmings from the
base of the stem, resplendent with thick white
rhizomorphs, quickly re-grows when placed in
contact with moist wood debris. Collectors of
wild mushrooms found this mushroom growing
in their backyards, aggressively seeking compost
piles, sawdust or straw mulched soils. With the advent
of commercial spawn, debris mounds are
now designed and constructed with Stropharia
rugoso-annulata in mind.
Our family grows Stropharia rugosoannulata
in two ways. Our preferred method is
to inoculate wood chips provided by our
county utility company. (We live in a rural area
with little automobile traffic.) The mixture of
wood chips is mostly alder, with some Douglas
fir and hemlock mixed in. Our only prerequisite
is a minimum of leafy matter, which means
we like to acquire our chips before mid-April, a
perfect time for inoculation. Trucks dump sev-
eral loads of chips into a pyramidal pile. Using metal rakes (and a tractor), we spread the pile until it is
a depth of about one foot. (Down-hill sides of the pile can get up to three feet in depth. The exposed
surface face of the down-hill slope, provides adequate aeration and discourages activity from anaerobic
organisms.) Upon this pile we use a 5 lb. bag of sawdust/chip spawn per 100 square feet as our
minimum inoculation rate and up to 4 units of spawn for a concentrated inoculation rate. For the first
four days, I heavily water using a standard yard sprinkler. Subsequently, I water for 1/2 hour in the
morning and evening, unless of course, it's been raining.
In two to three weeks, rhizomorphs can be detected in their first stages of growth. In eight weeks,
island colonies are distinct and abundant, usually separated by a few feet. The inoculated spawn creates
island colonies which quickly become iceberg-like in formation, seeking the moist chips below
and stimulated by the bacteria and nutrients near the wood/soil interface. These pyramidal colonies
gradually expand to the surface. In twelve weeks, a large contiguous mycelial mat has formed. Provided
that temperatures at ground level exceed 60° F. (15-16° C.), fruitings can be abundant
beginning in late July to the end of September. Stropharia rugoso-annulata, like Agaricus augustus,
the Prince, is a summer mushroom in the Pacific Northwest of NorthAmerica. The mycelium is, however,
tolerant of extreme temperature swings, thriving in a 40-90° F. (4-32° C.) window.
Breaks or flushes of mushrooms can first be seen as smooth, reddish "stones", as if strewn into the
wood chips by a playful child. As soon as they are touched, you realize that these "stones" are primordia.And
forprimordia, they are enormous, measuring aninch ortwo across.The cultivatoris well advised
to establish a standard walkway so that young mushrooms, unseen, are not crushed underfoot.
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