Aryana Libris

Authors : Stamets Paul - Chilton J. S.
Title : The mushroom cultivator A pratical guide to growing mushrooms at home
Year : 2001

Link download : Stamets_Paul_-_The_mushroom_cultivator.zip

Foreword. Ever since French growers pioneered The cultivation of the common Agaricus more than two hundred years ago, mushroom cultivation in the Western world has been a mysterious art. Professional cultivators, fearful of competition, have guarded their techniques as trade secrets, sharing them only with closest associates, never with amateurs. The difficulty of domesticating mushrooms adds to the mystery : they are just harder to grow than flowering plants. Some species refuse to grow at all under artificial conditions; many more refuse to fruit; and even the familiar Agaricus of supermarkets demands a level of care and attention to detail much beyond the scope of ordinary gardening and agriculture. In the past ten years, interest in mushrooms has literally mushroomed in America. For the first time in history the English-speaking world is flooded with good field guides to the higher fungi, and significant numbers of people are learning To collect and eat choice wild species. In the United States and Canada mushroom conferences and forays attract more and more participants. Cultivated forms of species other than the common Agaricus have begun to appear in specialty shops and even supermarkets. The reasons for this dramatic change in a traditionally mycophobic part of the world may never be known. I have been fascinated with mushrooms as symbols of the unconscious mind and think their growing populariTy here is a hopeful sign of progress in The revolufion of consciousness that began in the 1 960s. A more specific reason may be the rediscovery of psychedelic mushrooms— the Psilocybes and their allies—which have thoroughly invaded American society in recent years. The possibility of collecting wild psychoactive mushrooms in many parts of North America has motivated thousands of people to buy field guides and attend mushroom conferences. The possibility of growing Psilocybe cubensis at home, one of the easier species to cultivate, has made many people eager to learn the art of mushroom production. As they pursue their hobby, fans of Psilocybes often find their interest in mushrooms broadening to include other genera that boast nonpsychoactive but delicious edible species. Other mycophiles. uninterested in altered states of consciousness, have grown so fond of some edible species as to want better access to them than foraying in the wild provides. The result has been a demand from a variety of amateurs for the trade secrets of professional cultivators. ...