How, When, and Why of Forest Farming

Unit 4 : Mushrooms
Section: 1

Introduction

Growing gourmet or medicinal mushrooms (specialty forest mushrooms) as a component of a Forest Farming system can be a satisfying and profitable venture if your forest site has the appropriate conditions and you have the appropriate resources, including a market, to make a go of it. This module should help you determine if “specialty forest mushrooms” are a good option for forest farming under your particular circumstances. You should consider carefully both the pros and the cons of SFM production before you begin. This module will provide a discussion of the critical issues, a video illustrating the the log inoculation process, and other How-to resources for shiitake mushroom production, as well as a step by step guide (including video) for growing Shiitake mushrooms, and links to other resources about shiitake and other specialty forest mushroom production.

Pros and Cons of Growing Mushrooms

Is there a place for specialty forest mushroom production as part of your forest farm? Before deciding consider the following advantages and down-sides of growing mushrooms.

The Advantages (Pros)

The Down-Side (Cons)

Considerations

What do you need to consider for growing specialty forest mushrooms? Below is a list of the most important considerations for growing any species of specialty forest mushrooms.