starts in mid june till frost.
1 Like
Oh no. I didn’t mean chipdrop spraying stuff. I meant the property managers of the places aborists and landscape companies are removing/acquiring material from. It would be an unknown unless you could find out where the chips came from.
I don’t think most homeowners spray trees with anything. I’ve been more worried about getting tree of hell, bittersweet or some other horrible invasive. But, I’ve never heard of anyone finding anything grows from their chips and take over. I have gotten 5 loads now from arborists I found in the neighborhood, and everyone has been super nice and forthcoming about what trees are in the truck. They’re just native, old or unwanted trees on peoples small lots. Here, the roadside work is all done by one company and I would 100% avoid them.
The “worst” chip drop story was a good friend who got 15+ of all pine and was upset that it was “sticky.” The gardens we planned and they planted are growing beautifully.
4 Likes
I’m just catching up with this thread. Winecap is common here, popping up in mulch. Years ago, when I developed an interest in foraging for wild mushrooms, it was the first species I harvested – partly because it is available, partly because it is so easy to identify. [Various amanitas are common too, but I leave those alone. :)]
Years ago, I planted a bed of winecaps (purchased spore) on/in ~12" of wood chips. The bed produced more mushrooms than I could ever use. I never did that again.
But meanwhile, I started to use wood chips as mulch under orchard trees and berries. Winecaps appeared spontaneously. Once you’ve got them, I don’t think you ever have to worry about never seeing them again, provided you supply some fresh chips. If you simply let some mushrooms mature, they’ll send billions of spores everywhere.
In some places, I grow potted figs on top of the wood chip mulch. One thing I’ve observed is that winecaps tend to flush just after I’ve watered a pot to overflowing. So I think you could use water strategically to control flushing.
3 Likes
You can do it with damp/wet cardboard as well.
2 Likes
I put a bag each, of north spore spawn in 2 community garden plots last year.
Each year we get fresh wood chips to line the paths and I top my plots off with them.
Might have been an issue on my part. I think I had the spawn bags for months before putting them out.
1 Like
and straw but it doesnt last as long as woodchips. you can even use softwood chips .its not as good but i talked to folks in AK and they get shrooms off spruce chips.
1 Like
what are your raised beds made of? if anything other than cedar id make sure to pull the chips away from the bottoms of them or the mycelium will digest the wood. mine are on fine gravel so no woodchips were touching.
Just regular home depot wood. The community garden renews them parodically.
1 Like
They might keep coming for years back east, with the rainy, humid summers. They might even be native back there.I had them years ago here and not a single one, so I started a new patch this year.
John S
PDX OR
1 Like
put down at lest 3-4in. of hardwood wood chips every spring and they wont need much if any extra water. i even lay my prunnings on top and they will colonize that as well. blowing your grass clippings on the mulch helps as well.
1 Like