Botany and Mycology :)

I'm so pleased to hear you share similar interests, and that you desire to eat what you grow, which is just wonderful!

In 2012 I have grown, Leeks, red onions, spring onions, celeriac, jeruselam artichokes, globe artichokes, florence fennel, pak choi, potatoes, kale, broccoli, runner beans, broad beans, french beans, spinach, rocket, swiss chard, canary chard, rhubarb, courgettes, strawberries, lots of herbs, and many flowers to fill the gaps and attract the insects.  It has been a war against slugs, snails, and later catterpillas, and rain, but well worth the battle!

In fungi, which is a little more difficult (aseptic technique required), I am currently growing; Shiitake, Grey Oyster, King Oyster, Elm Oyster, Reishi, and a selection of other store bought cloned specimens, which I don't have the names to hand.  It is a great hobby, and really allows the scientist in us to come out (sterilising everything in a pressure cooker and innoculation in a glove box, it's like biohazardous lab stuff :).

If you ever need some tips on anything, just ask, although planning is the key to it all, with the winter being the perfect time to plan your garden for the spring sowings, and if the mycology tempts you, then researching the equipment needed and the stages of spawning, substrates (like seed compost-Grain, to potting soil-wood chips/straw..), and growing parameters, like humidity and temperatures for fruiting.

You sound like a budding cultivator in the making, and it is so enjoyable, even when the insects have beaten you to the harvest!!!

What would you like to be growing? 

I'm so pleased to hear you share similar interests, and that you desire to eat what you grow, which is just wonderful!

In 2012 I have grown, Leeks, red onions, spring onions, celeriac, jeruselam artichokes, globe artichokes, florence fennel, pak choi, potatoes, kale, broccoli, runner beans, broad beans, french beans, spinach, rocket, swiss chard, canary chard, rhubarb, courgettes, strawberries, lots of herbs, and many flowers to fill the gaps and attract the insects.  It has been a war against slugs, snails, and later catterpillas, and rain, but well worth the battle!

In fungi, which is a little more difficult (aseptic technique required), I am currently growing; Shiitake, Grey Oyster, King Oyster, Elm Oyster, Reishi, and a selection of other store bought cloned specimens, which I don't have the names to hand.  It is a great hobby, and really allows the scientist in us to come out (sterilising everything in a pressure cooker and innoculation in a glove box, it's like biohazardous lab stuff :).

If you ever need some tips on anything, just ask, although planning is the key to it all, with the winter being the perfect time to plan your garden for the spring sowings, and if the mycology tempts you, then researching the equipment needed and the stages of spawning, substrates (like seed compost-Grain, to potting soil-wood chips/straw..), and growing parameters, like humidity and temperatures for fruiting.

You sound like a budding cultivator in the making, and it is so enjoyable, even when the insects have beaten you to the harvest!!!

What would you like to be growing?