Food for Fungi

A neighbor recently offered old textbooks for people to pick up. I responded saying that I'd like the oldest ones with non-toxic ink and paper so I can use them as a medium for mushrooms. This sparked a new set of neighborly connections with people who also grow mushrooms. One is a post-doctoral student at UC Davis who specializes in mycelium (mushrooms). We shared an interest in recycling farm products, like straw, and using mushrooms as means to grow food and create soil nutrients. This fellow then said, "I'd like to grow on some local grains." Lucky dude! I gave him some of my Red Fife, and it's now the nutritious medium for mushrooms.