(The image above does not show the exact color of the mushrooms. It was taken by the only camera available at the time, and is not the photo we would have preferred to put here. It does show the characteristic shape of a Russula cap. This mushroom was picked right after rain, so the cap is shiny and somewhat slimy - this is normal.)
A light yellow, pale olive brown, light pink, or other pastel colored Russula mushroom that is dried in a carefully controlled environment to preserve the viability of the spawn. Instructions to extract spores are included. (Kit includes a metal tin of dried spawn, and instructions for preparing the habitat for growing in the wild.) Brookhaven Woods strain.
We have NOT identified the specific Russula! Russula identification is very difficult, even microscopically, so we have not even tried. The test for Russulas is taste, and this is a sweet edible. AS LONG AS YOU KNOW IT IS GOOD TO EAT, SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATION IS NOT NECESSARY. All Russula types here have been taste and dinner tested.
Russulas are considered to be a choice edible all around the world, and this is one of the easier mycorrhizal mushrooms to grow.
Russula mushrooms are a mycorrhizal mushroom, which grows in symbiosis with specific trees. The Russulas listed here grow under Douglas Firs, and will likely grow under other firs.
Mycorrhizal mushrooms take time to establish. They may take many years. You MAY sow MORE THAN ONE type of Russula on a tree (we have two varieties growing on the same tree here), and they also grow with SOME other types of mycorrhizals. They have all been found within the same vicinity, in approximately equivalent growing conditions, within days of each other.
Dried mycorrhizal mushroom spawn must be sown directly into the natural environment, according to our instructions. NOTE: It is VERY important that you follow ALL of our instructions for cultivating these mushrooms - they do not work if you don't. Sowing these mushrooms is EASY, but does require a blender, and non-chlorinated water.
Each order of dried spawning mushroom contains enough to create two batches of active spores, which may be cultured and expanded, and then sown into the desired substrates.
Dried Spawn is EASY to use! Just reconstitute in water, and either finely chop or use a blender, and pour the resulting spore and mushroom mixture over your substrate or onto the ground where they need to be sown.
Packaged in metal tins for longest storage and viability. We do not use plastic in handling this product (plastic leaches chlorides, which are fungicidal in effect), and our products are not exposed to chlorine or other harmful chemicals during growth, processing, or handling on our property. You may be assured of the highest quality and maximum growth potential.
NOTE: Dried spawning mushrooms must be selected and handled correctly to produce viable spores. They must also be used correctly to extract spores, and then to culture the spores into the receiving medium. Our proprietary methods ensure viable spores, and we give you instructions for culturing them in a non-sterile environment. (If cultured improperly in a non-sterile environment, things go terribly wrong.) You are not only paying for the mushroom spores, you are paying for our expertise in both the processes we carry out before you see the product, and the instructions we give you for using the spawning mushroom.
Cross contaminations DO occur with non-sterile mushroom spawn (they seem to occur with alarming frequency with supposed sterile spawn as well!). In general, these contaminations are harmless, they may produce other non-edible, or other edible mushrooms, but for the most part, the mushroom you paid for will outnumber the contaminations by many times, and will not establish ahead of the desired mushroom.
Additionally, when using non-sterile methods to culture in natural materials, prior colonizations of unwanted fungus may occur, resulting in the fruiting of unexpected, random mushroom types. This is not at all a disaster, and normally does not cause problems. These mushrooms will typically be inedible, and may be ignored - in our experience, the cultured mushroom still establishes well and will produce well in spite of the interlopers! The chance that a poisonous look-alike would grow instead is virtually non-existent - because dangerous look-alikes don't grow in the same environment as visually similar edible species.
We do advise that you KNOW YOUR MUSHROOM - and that you know what it looks like, so you correctly identify anything coming up. This is wise in every instance, because even when you are using "sterile" kits or materials, rogue mushrooms may grow.
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