Have you ever discovered a mushroom on a hike and wondered if it is edible? Did you think about how it got there and suddenly realize that you don’t know much about mushrooms at all? Could you imagine why a just God might create such suffering? We are here to demystify mycology (the study of fungi, including mushrooms) for the curious, novices, hobbyists, outdoorsy types, hippies, or anyone else who will listen. There are many reasons to appreciate mushrooms, whether you are coming from a culinary, scientific, or spiritual angle.
Compared to other biological science disciplines such as botany, zoology, and their many respective subsets, our knowledge of the fungal kingdom is quite hazy. Indeed there are many stones left unturned in the field of mycology. This is why it is such an exciting time to learn about fungus:
There is still so much to discover.
There are around 10,000 distinct mushroom species that have been discovered and named. Experts estimate that is but a fraction of the species that exist today. There are HUGE discoveries to be made still. We are early to this journey. In an age where it seems that there is nothing left to discover, there is actually a vast ocean of secrets to explore.
Even an newbie can make a meaningful contribution.
I hope that the previous paragraph didn’t scare you away. There is plenty that an amateur can do to benefit the discipline. Get out and experiment, record your surroundings, identify everything you can. There is a variety of mushrooms known to mushroom hunters as LBMs, or Little Brown Mushrooms. There are so many mushrooms that are little and brown that most do not waste their time attempting to discern their species. Often they are inedible or even poisonous. I wonder how many undiscovered species you could find in your very backyard, could you only tell what you were looking at. It’s not science until you write it down and post it on the internet. That shouldn’t be too hard because…
Technology makes it easy.
We are fortunate to live in a time with such stunning access to information and communication. With the secrets of mycologists throughout the years at your fingertips, you can save yourself a lot of time not having to make the same mistakes as others. This also gives you the ability to help your fellow scientists, explorers, chefs, with techniques, procedure modifications, ID strategies, or any other useful info you may have picked up on your journey. Technology also gives you the ability to have useful tools and equipment arrive at your doorstep in the matter of days! Less waiting, more doing. You can even have some of your steps automated by others. For instance you could buy a dozen sterilized grain bags for your own grow or experimentation. This saves you a lot of work by not having to spend the time making the bags yourself, or having to come up with the right equipment to make these properly. ##FUTURE: ADD LINK ABOUT STERILIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR MYCELIATION MEDIA##
More options in the kitchen
I wish more people knew how boring store bought mushrooms are. There are only about three types you can regularly buy and they are terribly bland. Why don’t you become an expert identifier and forage for local gourmet mushrooms. Make sure you aren’t trespassing, and never eat any mushroom that you aren’t 100% sure of it’s ID. As they say: “There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters.” You can also grow your own tasty mushrooms? It’s not hard to do. In fact you can skip all the hard work and buy a precolonized block of growing medium that is ready to fruit for you! But I should say that the process of growing, cooking, and eating your own mushrooms is rewarding and addicting.
Why not?
Even if you didn’t discover a new species, couldn’t find any gourmets, and you lost your trusty mushroom hunting knife that day, you still spent a day out in the woods and what could be better than that? Even if you never start that mushroom business you’ve always dreamed of, set up that inoculation lab you’ve been day dreaming about, or get on the Joe Rogan podcast, I bet you learned a lot and had a lot of fun in the process.
I’m glad you found this site.
Click around and find an interesting article to read. I plan on making articles about topics over a wide range of topics. Cultivation, recipes, foraging, identification will be my main focus, but believe me, there is a wide breadth of information in each of these categories. I will also beginning stocking the online store as this progresses.
If you are new here, welcome. I hope I can provide you with quality information about whatever realm of mycology you are interested in. This is my first article and I will be writing more and updating this site as time goes on. I hope to add more functionality and items to the online store ASAP!