Mushroom Research Papers

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Deadly   Mushrooms

You should know how to tell a Deadly Mushroom from all
others.  Who says so?  Stephen L. Peele says so.  He should know.  He has studied them now for a half of a
century.  He is also the only individual
ever awarded a Schedule ONE Researcher’s Permit from the Dept. of Justice, the
Drug Enforcement Administration. That’s the Federal DEA!  This allowed him to even study mushrooms that
produce Controlled Substances!    He
knows some things about mushrooms and shares important points about them, right
here, right now, with you.

  These mushrooms were
grown in a Lab using a sterile agar media

Poison Control Centers and Emergency
Rooms all over the world, have Steve Peele’s phone numbers.  When there is a mushroom poisoning, they know
who to call.  Just after several quick
questions to the attending doctor, Steve Peele will know what the doctor is
dealing with.  So far, he is batting
1,000.  No problems have ever occurred
with the cases he has had connection with. 
Here is a quick “class” on mushrooms. 
Please pay attention.  Because
there are so many mushrooms, you should know which ones to stay clear of.  Here is how.

Just
like all other things, mushrooms are placed in a “Genus”.  Each one has a genus it belongs to, and each
one is its own species in that genus. 
The most Deadly of all mushrooms are in the genus Amanita.  Most of these mushrooms are large, very
stately looking mushrooms.  Because of
this, children are drawn to them, especially bright colored ones like Amanita muscaria, which is a bright
orange to fire engine red.  It is
poisonous, but not Deadly.  Poisonous
mushrooms will make you sick or hallucinate, Deadly mushrooms will kill you!

A
few good things to know about the, two most Deadly Amanita mushrooms:

These
mushrooms have killed more people, than any others.  One of these mushrooms is all solid white.  Just remember, it is all white, Amanita virosa.

Deadly Amanita Mushrooms

All mushrooms in the Genus Amanita, will first appear as
“puffballs”.  When cut in half with a
knife, you will see the young mushroom forming inside.  So, if you see some mushrooms fruiting, and
you see the same ones in a younger stage, and they look like puffballs, this
would point to Amanita.  Always dig a
suspected Amanita up out of the ground. 
I keep a good knife with me just for this purpose.  Go down at least an inch away from the stalk,
and go down 2 inches.  Left the whole
thing out and gently knock the dirt off. 
What you are looking for is known as the “Volva”.  It is a cup-like structure that the stalk
will be growing out of.  You find this
structure in tact many times when the mushroom is an Amanita.  Amanita
virosa and Amanita phalloides,
both very deadly Amanitas, will have this cup-like structure, the Volva. 

All Amanita mushrooms will have a “White” spore print
color.  Mushrooms placed in groups,
usually all have the same spore color. 
Panaeolus have black, Psilocybe have dark purplish tints, Volvariella
have pink, Agaricus have brown and so on. 
For those of you who do not know what a spore print is:

The Spore Print:  The
color of a mushroom’s spore print is a very important part of
identification.  Mushrooms produce very
small spores, thousands and thousands of them. 
These are the seeds of the mushroom. 
You can’t single out one spore without a microscope, because they are so
small and measured in microns. There are about 3,000 microns in 1/8^th
of an inch!  But, if you can collect
thousands upon thousands of them, in a small pile, you can see what color they
are with the naked eye.  You can do this
by taking a spore print.

Cut the stem off of the mushroom.  Look at the gills (mushrooms in the Boletus
group do not have gills; they have a sponge-like appearance).  Amanita mushrooms are true gilled mushrooms
and will have gills.  The color of the
gills might give you some idea of what the spore color is going to be, but not
always.  Have a pack of assorted colors
of construction paper handy.  This will
always allow you to have the perfect match for taking spore prints.  If the gills are white, be ready for white
spores.  This would mean you will need a
dark colored paper so that a contrast in color is made.  If you take this print on white paper, and
the spores are white, you may not even see the spores. Take this print on a
dark red or blue paper so that they will show up very clearly.  If you see dark gills, there is a good chance
the spores are going to be dark colored, and white paper will be fine for this
one.  Fail proof method…….place the
mushroom over equal parts of both white and dark paper.  When the choice for paper is made, place the
mushroom gills down, cap up just like it was growing.  Cover with a bowl or box to stop any air
movement.  Remember, the spores are very
small and the slightest air movement will float them away.  After about 2 hours, lift the cover up.  Gently lift up the mushroom.  What you should see is a picture of the
gills, made right there on the paper.  It
is made entirely of mushroom spores.  The
longer you let it set, say for 4 or 5 hours, it will get much thicker from all
the spores.  Now you can see what the
color of the mushroom’s spore print is. 
All Amanita mushrooms will have white spore prints.

                                           A
Spore Print From Amanita virosa

                                           
Taken on black construction paper

                                          
(Destroying Angel or Death Angel)

The following are cut sections of paper which have mushroom
spore prints on them.  These are known as
Mushroom Spore Print Samples.  Each one
has plus or minus 10,000 spores.  They
are pictured here in sealed plastic envelopes just as they are banked and sold
by FMRC.  FMRC has held the world’s
largest mushroom spore bank since 1972. 
When viewed under the microscope, they are like human fingerprints.  Because of this, they are very valuable when
identifying an unknown mushroom, both by color of the print, and by their
microscopic characteristics (size, shape, and so on).  This can be used to separate even
look-a-likes.

                                               
Panaeolus cyanescens

                       Showing the Jet Black spore color
that the genus Panaeolus has

                                                          
Amanita muscaria

                       
Showing the white spore color that the genus Amanita has

Boletus bicolor     

Showing the brown spore color of this species and also the different

                         
Mushroom Spores as seen under the microscope 1000X

Psilocybe tampanensis
was first discovered in 1976.  It was
discovered just outside Tampa, FL
(Bradenton),
hence “tampanensis”.

Amanita will also display an expression, from what is known
as their “universal veil.”  This is a
skirt-like ring on the stalk.  Some
mushrooms have this veil, others don’t. 
All Amanita mushrooms will have this veil, though sometimes it is so
fragile, it has disappeared.

Amanita mushrooms usually have “free Lamellae”.  This means that the gills are not physically
attached to the stalk.  Some mushrooms
will have “attached” gills.  This means
that the gills are growing from, and attached, to the stalk.

So, if the mushroom first appears as a puffball, it has a
Volva, it has a white spore print, it has a veil, and it has free gills, good
chance it is an Amanita.  How about this
simple rule I have stated for so many years to beginners, “Never eat a mushroom
that has a white spore print, and you will never it a deadly Amanita.”

Specific Data:

Amanita virosa
(Destroying Angel or Death Angel)……Cap two to four inches across, white, may be
sticky, usually smooth with no warts or bumps, usually free gills, veil, Volva,
no smell at all or a slight unpleasant odor.

Spores……8-10 X 6.5-9.5 microns, short elliptical round
shaped, smooth, thin-walled, and have an *amyloid reaction.  White spore print.

Where found:

By themselves sometimes, but usually several together under
oaks and hardwood forests or in mixed woods. 
Widely found in eastern North America
appearing in summer and fall.  It is all white in color.  This means the cap, the stem, and yes, the
spores.

Specific data:

Amanita phalloides
(Death Cap or Green Death Cap)…….Cap 3 to 8 inches across, pale yellow-green to
brownish green to just green, may have veil patches on the cap, free gills,
Volva, veil, smells bad.  

Spores…….8-11 X 7-9 microns, globose to subglobose – meaning
they are round or almost round.  They are
smooth, thin-walled, *amyloid reaction, white spore print.

Where found:  Several
to many on ground, under or near Norway spruce and oak.  Known from NJ, VA, MN, and CA.  Found in summer and early fall.  

*Amyloid Reaction – When Melzer’s Reagent (a specific type
of mycological reagent) is applied there is a color reaction that is dark, blue
or gray, to blackish-violet.  It detects
the presence of starch-like compounds.  

Whenever you spot mushrooms in your yard where young
children or pets may encounter them, it is usually best to get rid of
them.  Never take chances. 

To learn more about mushrooms, go to FMRC’s website www.mushroomsfmrc.com.

Stephen L. Peele, Curator FMRC 

Florida
Mycology Research
Center (FMRC)

POB 18105, Pensacola,
FL 32523

1-850-327-4378

Email   floridamycology@cs.com

   
                               The War On “Super Bugs”

Here’s
What We Should Do About It!

This article "The  War  On  "Super Bugs" is placed here in Public Domain by its author Stephen L. Peele.  Its free use is granted.

By
Stephen L. Peele, Curator
Florida Mycology
Research Center
(FMRC) 11/09/09

We
are now at the cross-roads with our battle against bacteria and other microorganisms.  Just about every
pathogenic strain of bacteria has developed its own resistance.  It is a resistance that stands against
everything we have.  No matter what antibiotic you purchase through subscription, it has no effect.

These microbes have been given the name “Super Bugs”, or as referred to here, “SB’s”.  Did you know that 2.5 million in
the US contract dangerous bacterial infections each year?  And, more than 100,000 of these DIE.  These types of infections are now ranked the
4^th leading cause of death in America.  These same said infections are the 2^nd leading cause of deaths, worldwide. 

All this SB resistance has now pushed the related drug world market upwards to more than $45 Billion a year.  In 2008, just
about 686,000 people went to the hospital for MRSA alone.  The direct health-care cost was $10 Billion.  The total overall cost was
approximately $118 Billion. 

Did you get a real sense of danger reading that?  How does it make you feel, knowing the best anti-infective drugs we have
are worthless and out of date?  Makes you want to start washing your hands more often, huh?

And now we have all this new attack, HIV, Bird Flu, “Monkey Flu”, and the Swine Flu (H1N1 Strain).  It’s a constant battle,
and to whoever is reading this, it is a war we must win.  Humanity itself could be at stake here, just as it plays out in many science fiction stories about how the human race is wiped out by some microbe.  All these deaths, all these people who meet “The Reaper”, and now even people dying from ear-aches from some resistant strain.

I know there is great promise and grand discoveries of new antibiotics, antivirals, and anticancer/tumor agents, not to mention immune enhancement capabilities, waiting to be found in mushrooms.  I know this is true, for I myself have discovered some of these new
Myco-drugs, and there are many, many, other researchers that have now done the same. 

I know that there is all the armament we need against these microorganisms, in mushrooms.  Think about this.  Some of these new novel antibiotics and other anti-agents from mushrooms, are what some call “Ancient Defense Mechanisms”.  Like the ones molds and
other primitive type growths have.  They rely on their own self produced biochemically-acting agents, to protect them from
attacking bacteria and other microbes.  Without this protection, they would not survive.  Checking out a mold one day, they found
“Penicillin” – one of the most effective antibacterial agents ever discovered……and that’s the end of that story.

All classes of plants and animals produce these type agents.  In mammals, they are known as HDP’s or, Host
Defense Peptides.  Many call these agents our “first line of defense”.  They can stop many attacks, right at first sign of invasion.  These anti-agents produced in humans are also known as “Defensins”.

Here may be the answer on how some of them work so well.  Bacteria contain more negatively charged chemical groups on their cell membranes, than human cells.  Human cell membranes have plenty of cholesterol, while bacteria cell membranes have none.  These new Myco-drugs target in on cell membranes  with phospholipids that have a negative charge, and ones that have no cholesterol.  This means their attack is specific and
selective to bacteria.  It kills the bacteria by rupturing its cell wall.  There has been research done that points to selection, somehow, of even
bacteria.  Meaning that beneficial bacteria are left alone, while harmful ones are killed.  More on this in just a moment.  This mechanism differs from the traditional one.  And even many new traditional types of antibiotics like Tetracycline and Penicillin are waiting to be found.   Bacteria, in order to form a resistance to Ancient Defensive Mechanisms isolated from mushrooms, would have to create a new type of cell membrane.   No wonder these Ancient Defense Mechanisms have proven themselves for millions of years.   

But true gilled mushrooms, the Basidiomycetes, are much more evolved, than lower class of fungi and molds.  True gilled
mushrooms are the most evolved and most high, in the fungus world.  They are many times referred to as the Highest “Class of Fungi”, or fungi-perfect.  It is these types of mushrooms that will have many proven antibiotic and antiviral agents, and they will be much more advanced, much more evolved, and also have a proven track record.  This is true, as the mushroom under said type of attacks, would not be here.  It has fought its war, and has won.

Think about these new, novel mushroom compounds.  We know they work, and what if they come from a mushroom that humans
eat, or can eat, with no side effects?  What you have is a real weapon.  A weapon that never existed before.  A
weapon agent that would have no trouble, because there has never been a resistance for it.  No bacteria or virus
has any resistance to it.  They have never seen this before; therefore there is no resistance, or defense.  If the mechanism involves the destruction of the microbe’s cell wall membrane, how could the microbe ever develop a new cell wall? 

All my years of research into the “Ancient Defense Mechanisms”, has shown me it is far more complicated than I had ever thought. 
It is tuned with such precise settings, that I am amazed at what I learned one day. 

In the early 80’s, I was working with a Doctor who had connections with St. John’s University.  I had a theory that certain mushrooms must
have their own Ancient Defense Mechanisms.  How else could certain groups of them ever grow?  How did they survive this massive attack by
microbes?  We both agreed on a species of mushroom to investigate, and it was soon after, a great discovery was made.

As the mycelium (the cotton like growth that is the vegetative growth state of a mushroom) grew, it produced strong antibiotic and antiviral agents.  This find alone, answered many questions, but what was discovered next was even more sacred. 

I published an article about the PSTMP Compound.  I have it posted up at FMRC’s Website www.mushromsfmrc.com
under Mushroom Research Papers.  It not only halted the biological clock in hundreds of tests, it had other, very
unusual properties.  One of these was tested by the University of Arizona, and in over 100 insects that were tested, every one showed activity of a new insecticide never before known of.  Most of these were never investigated because of government mycophobia toward me and my
research…..and they forbid me to release any more mushroom isolated extractions under the threat of heavy fines.   

Dr. Samuel B. Lehrer at Tulane University launched a “Mushroom Spores As Aeroallergens” research project, under a grant.  He contacted FMRC for help and consulting, concerning mushroom spores.  We established very fast that mushroom spores are major fungal aeroallergens in
and around the Gulf Coast Area, and probably throughout much of the United States.  Stephen L. Peele developed a way to capture
enormous amounts of mushroom spores from specific species of mushrooms, in gram weights.  This turned out to be a most
valuable tool.  These spores provided “skin-pop” preparations that were used to detect allergic reactions to specific
species of mushroom spores.  A whopping total of over 80 grams of mushroom spores from one specific mushroom, not only
solved specific allergic reactions some people were having, but also was enough to make an anti-allergic preparation that stopped said attacks.  

Eventhough specific mushrooms were known for their medicinal use for many centuries back by Chinese and other Eastern healers, we are just now starting to look at them, in a scientific manner.  These very same mushrooms right now, are being used to fight cancer/tumors, blood
cholesterol, and even AIDS…….a prediction I made and was published in several documentaries and articles thru the 80’s. 
Antitumor effects of hot water extracts from several mushrooms have now been discovered, including new and unknown polysaccharides, specifically beta-D-glucans.  This lead up to discovering “Lentinan”, a proven, very powerful antitumor substance.  Japan has recently isolated
“Krestin” from the Turkey Tail mushroom.  It fights a number of cancers.  Its use is so good; it is covered by the Japanese Health Care Plan!

Many new mushroom compounds that have great medicinal uses are being found every day.  Not just the next new antibiotic or
antiviral weapons will come from mushrooms, many or all of the new and most effective ones will come from mushrooms. 
I have been researching and saying this now, since 1972.  In 1993 I published “THE  MUSHROOM  RESEARCHER”.  It had one of the
largest listings of “Mushrooms That Indicate Medicinal Properties” ever
compiled….358!  It also lists 130 references, 53 toxic mushrooms and spore identifications.  This book was published way before many
“Medicinal Mushroom” books began to appear, and has yet to be matched.

Yes, it is now time to find these new drugs, and the place to look is mushrooms.  My day is here now.  I now see it all happening.  I once wrote in the said Mushroom Researcher Book “May the word now go out to all private and scientific sectors, here is your sword.  Polish it well for the final kill.”

I will begin to approach old research contacts and renew these interests once again.  I will also contact some other
research groups that I think might be interested in this approach.  If you, or your research team, whether private, government, or University/College, want to get involved with this very exciting new frontier of mushrooms…..Contact Stephen L. Peele, Curator FMRC,
POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523…..Email:  floridamycology@cs.com.....Business
Phone 1-850-327-4378…..website: 
www.mushroomsfmrc.com    

                                ---------------------------------------------

                             Growing Portabello Mushrooms At Home

                                          Copyright 1999 FMRC

                                ----------------------------------------------

                                Galerina autumnalis – getting a close look at the Mushroom that “Coined” the phrase “Little Brown Mushrooms” LBM’s.

That’s right, this Little Brown Mushroom will kill you dead!  Just the same as any deadly Amanita.  Pay attention and live.

As mentioned in the #78 TMC April 2008 Issue, Glenn sent me some Galerina autumnalis spore prints and dried samples.   I ran the following microscopy.  The spores are all 10 microns by 5 microns.  Not much other variation was noted.  Elliptical in shape.  Spores appear “roughened” or Rugose-like (wrinkled).  They have a good thick wall.  When tested under Melzer’s Reagent, the reaction was “Nonamyloid” (this means there was no color reaction to the said Reagent).  These are all the traits of Galerina autumnalis.      

                                                 Microscopy photograph by Stephen L. Peele   1,000X

Enlarged Galerina autumnalis Mushroom Spore Prints showing their Rust/brown-like color.     Photograph by Stephen L. Peele

If you have never taken a spore print before, you need to do it just one time.   Chances are you will be so impressed with yourself, and so intrigued by what you see and learn, you will be a hooked shroomer for sure.  Mushroom spores are like their seeds, only very small.  They are so small, they are measured in microns.  There are about 3,000 microns in 1/8^th of an inch!  So a spore that is 10 microns long, like this one, cannot be singled out and seen unless you have a good microscope.  However, if you can pile up thousands and thousands of these spores together, you can see the image they make, and see what color they are.  This is exactly what happens when you take a mushroom spore print.

Because mushrooms are grouped and placed in Genera by the color of their spores, taking a spore print to find out their color, is a very important part of identifying the mushroom.  Did you know, because of this, all mushrooms in the Genus Agaricus have brown colored spores.  Mushrooms in the Genus Pleurotus (Oysters) will have light colored spores.  Mushrooms in the Genus Amanita will have white spores……and this Galerina mushroom will have rusty-brown colored spores as seen here.

First, you must select the color of paper that you are going to take the mushroom spore print on.   If the spores from your mushroom are white, and you use white paper, there is a good chance you will never see the spores.  You sometimes can get an indication from the color of the gills.  If gills are white, or light colored, the spores could be also.  If the gills are dark, there is a good chance the spores will be dark.  Dark colored spores can be easily seen on white paper, and white or light colored spores can be seen easily on dark colored paper.  Get yourself a pack of colored construction paper and you will have a good selection of color to pick from.  In instances where you are really not sure what color the spores are going to be, cover both a dark sheet and white sheet of paper with the mushroom. You cut off the stem right at the mushroom.  Lay the mushroom down on the paper, gills down.  Cover with a bowl or box, anything that will stop the air movement around the project.  After about 2 hours, lift up the bowl or box.  What you will see will be a designed patterned after the gills.  It is made completely of mushroom spores.  And now, you can see what color they really are.  If you have this mushroom, the picture of the gills will be rusty-brown in color.  If some other color, most good mushroom field guides give the spore color of the mushrooms it lists.  Match the color of the spores with the picture of the mushroom, and check all other notations.  With the spore color, you have a better chance of identifying the species of mushroom you have.  

        Galerina autumnalis     Photograph by Glenn Esterson

Galerina autumnalis (Peck) A.H. Sm. & Singer  DEADLY  POISONOUS

Cap 2.5 to 5.0 cm broad, convex, with or without a small discreet umbo, light tan in dry weather, dark brown when moist, glabrous, margin faintly striate, viscid, flesh thick, light brown, watery, gills Adnate, close, broad, rusty-brown.   Stalk 1.5-67.0 cm long, .3 to .7 cm wide, equal, brown, streaked with white fibrils, dry.  Partial veil fibrous, leaving a thin, superior, white ring.  Odor mealy.  When dried, these mushrooms will exhibit a "Metallic" like copper-brown shine, similar to Psilocybe cubensis that sometimes does this.

Spores:  8.5 to 10.5 microns elliptic, rugose, thick wall, nonamyloid.  Spore print rusty brown.  Cheilocystidia bottle-shaped to fusiform, thin-walled.

Habit & Distribution:  Scattered to abundant on well-decayed, often moss-covered, hardwood and conifer logs.   Widely distributed being found almost everywhere.  Appearing in the fall and in the early spring.  There is also a Galerina marginata noted in many references.  The two seem to be very close in description, and may very well be the same mushroom.  In any case, both are Deadly!  slp/fmrc 

                                   ----------------------------------------------------------

    I  Want  To  Grow  Mushrooms

By Stephen L. Peele, Curator FMRC                  Copyrighted Material 1980’s

                From Past “TMC” Back Issues

FMRC                                              ISSN:  1078-4314

POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523

Republished for www.mushroomsfmrc.com    March 1, 2008

A free and most helpful publication dealing with growing mushrooms.   Presented as a public service.  Permission to copy and transmit this document is only granted when it is done so in its entirety.  Portions or parts of, are not authorized to be copied.  All information must be present on any copies made.

     First, let me start off by telling you that there are no closely guarded trade secrets on growing mushrooms.  There are Patents on only just a few. 
And for the most part, that information is available.  Not all mushrooms can be produced under lab conditions, but for the most part, growing mushrooms can be compared to a 6^th grade science project.  There is no need to pay for travel room & board, and several hundred or thousands of dollars for a special class on growing mushrooms just to learn how to transfer a piece of agar, or insert a wooden dowel plug into a log. 

ARE   YOU  CRAZY?  And yet, this practice goes on routinely by so-called experts.  Any and all information you need on growing mushrooms is available here at FMRC www.mushroomsfmrc.com just as it is on many other sites.  Want information on how to grow Shiitake Mushrooms?  Our #4 TMC (1/85) Back Issue explains it all.  There will be more about this Mushroom Cultivating Journal in a moment. 

     The biggest reason why people do not have success at growing mushrooms is “Contamination.  Stop contaminations…..and you can grow all the mushrooms you want.  It is hard for the common and ordinary person to understand that just one cubic foot of air holds thousand of contaminants.  Bacteria, virus, mold spores, pollen, yeasts, and all the other microorganisms…..they are all here.  Their only purpose in life for all the time they have existed, is to find the agars and sterile grain jars you prepare to grow mushrooms on.  You can ruin all of your work by just lifting up a petri dish cover or by opening up a grain jar for only seconds.  Once in, they out grow and kill off your success.  Beginner mushroom growers have much better luck using nature’s way, a natural mushroom growing substrate such as an oak log.  Not too many bread molds and the like, can make it on oak wood.  The mushroom like Shiitake will thrive on the oak log without any, or very little, contamination.

     Because of this contamination problem, you must set up a room where sterile transfers can be made.  If you plan on growing mushrooms on sterile grains, or produce agar cultures, this is a must.  No “Skip Arounds”.  Methods used for a sterile area can range from HEPA Filters, Dual Element Ion Generators, or just a closed off area that has been made clean.  You must also ensure that all of your items that go into the sterile area are also themselves “sterile”.  This is usually done with a pressure cooker.  A good closed off sterile area can be made easily by building your own “Inoculation/Transfer Box”.  This will be discussed in just a moment.  HEPA Filters can run as high as 6 to 7 thousand dollars.  Some people have built their own saving money.  As this article is fashioned for people who might want to get started in growing mushrooms, but don’t want to make an investment of thousands of dollars, the least expensive ways are discussed here. 

  You can also save money by developing your own mushroom growing strains just like nature does, by using the mushroom’s spores.  The mushroom’s spores (their seeds) are so small, just a small smudge can have 10,000!  FMRC has offered the world’s largest mushroom spore bank, of its type, to the public since 1972.  There are also “Culture Banks” that offer pure live cultures of different species of mushrooms.  FMRC no longer provides any live mushroom agar cultures.  Mushrooms clone very easily.  Because of this, there is a free way to obtain mushroom cultures.

     You can obtain live mushroom cultures free.  How?  Whenever you have a fresh mushroom, you actually have the live culture.  All you need to do is take a small piece of flesh from the inside (this flesh will be sterile) and lay it on agar, and a lot of times, also on sterile grain.  Sterilized grains such as rye, barley, and even “bird seed”, make good growing substrates for many types of mushrooms.  You will need a pressure cooker in order to sterilize (kill all living matter) in your grain.  Glass vessels such as canning jars, made to take heat, are often used to sterilize the grain.  Many, like the common button mushroom bought at you local store, will take right off on either, producing the normal physical growing state of the mushroom, its mycelium.  Just hold this mushroom’s live mycelium culture at 68 F degrees.  And, keep this one in the dark away from light.  The fact is you can obtain pure mushroom live cultures from just about any mushrooms you buy at the store, or find out in the wild!  Building up your own culture bank can really save you a lot of money.  For growing information on different species of mushrooms, see the Back Issues of “The  Mushroom  Culture”, The Journal of Mushroom Cultivation (TMC).  These are listed in our online Catalog following our Spore Bank Listings.  How much money have you saved so far?

     The “TMC” Mushroom Journals also have their own way in helping you with acquiring mushroom spores to help increase your own private culture collection.  This is because this Journal is the only Color Mushroom Journal that comes with a free Mushroom Spore Print Sample affixed inside, in each Issue!  It is published 4 times a year, and is only $30.00 for a full year’s subscription.  (Outside USA must add an additional $20.00 for airmail postage…..$50.00 total.) 

     One of the best books to own that will help greatly is “Growing Mushrooms Without Contaminations”, by Stephen L. Peele.  It is our best seller.  Everything you will need to know for both “Sterile” and “NonSterile growing is discussed.  You can order it directly by requesting it and enclosing a $25.00 payment made out to FMRC.  No other charges.  Post Paid within the USA.  (Out of USA add $7.00 – a total of $32.00) 

     So far, I have briefly shown you how you can save possibly thousands of dollars, getting started growing mushrooms.  More savings are discussed in the next two topics here, “How To Build An Inoculation/Transfer Box”, and “What Mushroom Should You Grow?”  You have made a very wise choice, learning about mushroom cultivation.  Why?  For the past 5 years, it has been on an average, a $900 Plus million dollar a year industry here in just the USA.  And with a surprise, about 300, or less, registered growers!

“How  To  Build  An  Inoculation/Transfer  Box”                      

By Stephen L. Peele, Curator FMRC

FMRC, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523                                 Copyrighted Material

     One of the bet and cheapest ways to build your own Inoculation/Transfer Box (ITB) is to start out with an aquarium.   A 10 to 20 gallon one does fine.  Many times you can find one that has a small crack and will not hold water.  You can get a good deal on these.  Set it up on the work table and pull your chair up to it.  Pull the aquarium toward you down flat, so that you are now looking into its opening.  The top will now have a glass side, the opening is now on its side and horizontal, not vertical.  Pull it up to the edge of the table so that it is flush.  Now take some clear plastic and tape it all up the left side, top side, and right side.  Cut the plastic so that it hangs down about 8 to 10 inches.  Do not tape the bottom piece.  Your arms can go up through this bottom piece and gain access to the inside.  Clean the inside with Lysol or some other cleaner.  Wait 2 to 3 hours for any vapors to escape which will explode.  Lysol will explode!  Other cleaners like a strong bleach work just fine (10%), and not explosive.  Once the ITB has been cleaned, it should be fine unless once again contaminated somehow.  It should be cleaned before each use.  You can put on elbow length gloves, but cleaning your hands and arms good first, seems to work just as well.  All inoculating and transfer tools along with all other items must of course be kept  sterile at all times.

 “What  Mushroom  Should  You  Grow?”

By Stephen L. Peele, Curator FMRC                                Copyrighted Material

FMRC, PB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523

     Unlike other plants people grow, mushrooms serve many purposes.  Mushrooms can be grown for profits, research, food source, and to satisfy one’s own personal tastes.  Unlike other vegetables, you can dry your mushrooms if you do not like the price they are currently bringing.  Can’t do that with watermelons or tomatoes.  You have to take what is offered, or they rot!  To be successful with your choice of mushroom, there are some major questions you must ask yourself:

     What temperature does the mushroom like?  Can you provide the needed temperature without costly overhead (building, heat/cooling, lights, so on)?  What kind of substrate (growing needs) will the mushroom require?  If available, try to find the cheapest source.  Say for example you lived on a farm and had plenty of free horse/cow manure.  This would mean you could grow mushrooms on compost and have no substrate costs.  If you can get oak logs free or cheap, then you should think about mushrooms that grow on oak logs.  When you grow mushrooms at little or no cost, you have a very high profit product.  If you have to pay out a lot of money for your substrate, you do not have the same profit margin.  Using this technique will insure a higher degree of success.  Say for instance you want to grow a mushroom because it is selling for $20.00 a pound.  You need oak logs in order to grow this mushroom.  Because of where you live, oak logs are very expensive.  Your profit ends up being $8.00 a pound.  If you had free compost and only got $10.00 a pound, you would make more money by growing this compost mushroom.

     If you are new at growing mushrooms, I would strongly suggest our publication “Growing Mushrooms Without Contaminations”.  This publication will explain everything.  It lets you know right up front what you will need, and what you will be called upon to do.  It covers sterile and NonSterile techniques.  Also check our Catalog for the Back Issues of our Journal “The Mushroom Culture”.  Many of these Back Issues give growing directions for specific species of mushrooms.  Use this information to help you decide what mushroom you will grow.  It is also strongly recommended that you join our “Independent Mushroom Grower’s Network.  All of the IMGN benefits are discussed in our MAIN Catalog.  This Life Time Membership comes with many money saving benefits.  Like, $200.00 worth of FREE Spores!  All the Back Issues of TMC from #01, the first one, to #69 “The Gospel of Mushrooms” CD-Rom……and so much more.  Go and learn more about this old and unique mushroom association to:                   www.mushroomsfmrc.com/gpage2.html

     Thousands have joined worldwide.