Mushroom farm!!!!!!!!!

MY IDEAS AND VISION FOR CREATING A MUSHROOM FARM:

I’ve been stuck by a lightning bolt of revolutionary genius and random-ness….. I’m going to start a mushroom farm! Yeah! Actually it’s not completely random. I attended this amazing VABF (Virginia Agriculture Biological Farmers) convention and took this workshop where Tradd Cotter of Mushroom Mountain explained the entire process of mushroom cultivation and mycorrhizae (the symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi.) it was an extremely visionary and enlightening class, Tradd explained that mushrooms could not only serve as a food source (that happens to be richer in protein than meat *wink wink vegetarians* but can also help create more top soil and decompose waste. I never knew that mushrooms could be used to clean up oil spills!! The knowledge behind fungi is freaking mind blowing!!  Anyways I absorbed every last drop of info Tradd had to offer, I picked up every pamphlet and researched mushroom cultivation for days on end. I can now confidently say that I am mentally prepared to go on this journey where I am going to grow mushrooms and possibly, yes, become a mushroom myself…. Kidding ha-ha

WHAT IM PLANNING ON DOING:

First of all, I’m going to start off small, I’m going to invest in some white button mushroom and portabella mushroom spawn. The spawn is basically a mix of saw dust (also called the substrate) and mushroom mycelium (stage of mushrooms before they actually fruit.) I’m going to add some spawn to a mushroom bed that I’m going to develop in my backyard and nurture it until mushrooms pop out of the ground. As I probably should have mentioned before, mushrooms can eat essentially anything, wood, compost, coffee grounds, anything. I definitely have a lot of compost due to the fact I have a large family and we eat a large amount. After I perfect the art of growing a small amount of mushrooms I seriously hope to market them and I have already spoken to some neighbors as well as some of my teachers who expressed great interest in buying from me. After all, mushrooms are delicious and well as pretty expensive. I’ll be growing them 100% organic so that’s a huge plus in my opinion. I’m super excited to start this experiment and I’ll be sure to post on every part of it.

Go mushrooms!! :D

Organic Farming Convention

VABF convention

I went on an adventure!! Yeah, it’s called an organic gardening/horticultural convention. I really had an amazing time and learned loads of stuff that I would absolutely love to share with everyone! The convention was focused on self-sustainability and organic food. I went to this convention with my mother, who actually runs a CSA (community supported agriculture) in our backyard! She has a few clients who have come to rely on her for fresh produce every week. She also throws in freshly made bread along with the nutritious, 100% organic vegetables. I always tell her she’s too generous and honestly she is. She won’t let anyone visit our house without giving them a bag of food to take home with them. ANYWAYS, back on track. At this convention I met so many interesting people who all went to either take the classes offered there or to promote their business. Some grew mushrooms for a living, (see my post about my idea to start a mushroom farm) others were soil scientists spreading the word about pesticides and the harm it does to the dirt. I felt completely at home due to the fact we were basically all environmental hippies striving to live off the land and learn as much as we can about eating healthy and growing organic food.  I really learned the importance of growing your own food and avoiding pesticides which poison us inside and out.

One guy who was there was named Tradd Cotter who actually runs Mushroom Mountain, a mushroom growing and researching facility in South Carolina. His workshop was mind blowing and inspired me to go out and start my own mushroom farm. He was such a pro that it took my breath away. Another workshop I attended was about this amazing couple that own a CSA in New York, they have about 250 clients and own a huge farm as well as horses and cows. They supply their clients with everything, milk, vegetables, eggs, meat, and even fire wood! My mom particularly enjoyed this class due to the fact she has a CSA, I think she definitely felt inspired to expand her business and gain some more clients as well as her gardens. There was another class that was really interesting. This man made a speech on how he raised hundreds of chickens solely on compost that restaurants gladly supplied him. Do you know what that means? No more buying grain, which happens to be quite expensive nowadays.  I was so shocked that I quickly asked him if that meant he made a humungous profit, but he told me that he paid the workers that worked on his farm well. Understandable. Overall, I had the most amazing time and I learned more than I would ever learn just reading a book. I fully intend on using what I learned to my best interest by helping my mom in the garden, eating more locally grown food and attending more conventions in the future!

War against plastic baggies!!

You know those little plastic baggies that everyone uses to pack their sandwiches or little snacks in?.... Their evil! Plastic itself is evil and accumulates in landfills just waiting to suffocate us with its never-decomposing plastic-ness… I know that’s not a word but its fitting. Since I believe in the “REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE” way of life, I’m going to show you a couple ways I REDUCE my use of plastic baggies every day.

 As some of you know, I pack my lunch every day for school because the issue of school lunches is an story all on its own that I don’t feel like getting into right now. The usual things I pack for lunch include soup, tofu scramble, egg salad, or beans and rice. (If you want any recipes to anything just comment below) I also pack trail mix and dried fruit for bus trips or after school activities. It is for these little snacks that I created a wonderful little baggie made from reusable material and waterproof lining. I love my little baggie and I’ve made plenty as gifts for friends and family members. You can pick up reusable sandwich bags at practically any kitchen store or even online. Their not only good for the environment, but they also come in lots of cute designs and sizes. Another feasible alternative to plastic baggies are what I’ve come to know as “the snap on lid containers.” I’ve got about 5 of these, all ranging in size from big to small. I like to use the big one as a storage container for left overs and the little one for trail mix when I can’t find my trail mix baggie. Their easily washable, durable, and cheap. Think of all the money you can save by not buying plastic baggies every week and using a great reusable container instead!

Of course, some people are extremely hard headed and can’t grasp the idea of giving up plastic bags. Some like the idea of just packing their lunch in a plastic baggie and then filling it with trash so that they can just throw it out when their done eating, (this makes me cringe, seriously.) If you’re not open minded to the idea of reusing or taking that extra time to wash out a small container every day, then I really question why you’re reading this post in the first place.

As a last resort, if you REALLY must use plastic bags, then I implore you, at least reuse the plastic baggie a couple times. If it’s dirty or sticky then by all means, wash it!! (You CAN do that you know) it’s a pain in the butt but hey, at least you’re trying right?

So yeah…. I hope your taking what I’ve written to heart and making plans to run out to buy some reusable bags and containers. On top of that I hope your planning on actually using them haha! If you want, I can write an instructional post on how to make a reusable baggie, it’s actually not that difficult!!

*don’t you just love my little trail mix bag? I look soooooo cool at school when I eat trail mix out of it lol:D