Flora and Fauna and Fungus in the House
The Gray Doves in the dining room are lovely. They have been quietly growing for about a month and will soon be big enough to eat.
They are confined to a plastic bag labeled Gray Dove Oyster [Mushroom]. Inside the bag is straw which has been colonized by threads of white mycelium. The exquisite little gray-crowned mushrooms erupted just a few days ago, after I noticed that the straw looked white throughout. Then I took off the two clothespins that had been clamped over the folds of the closed plastic at the top of the bag. I allowed the top of the bag to mostly stand open, except that I used the clothespins to clip together both sides of the open bag. This leaves plenty of room for oxygen to circulate inside the bag, but helps keep it from drying out too fast. I'm spraying it several times a day with a mist from a spray bottle.
I attended a mushroom growing workshop taught by Pam Paulsen, our extension horticulture agent. She had boiled a whole bale of straw, a big kettle full at a time on the stove top in her home kitchen. Then she stuffed it into trash bags and each class participant sanitized their hands and grabbed several hands full and stuffed it into a jumbo-sized clear plastic bag--big enough for two loaves of bread side by side. Next we got a handful of the spores embedded in a media of some kind--the texture of cold refried beans. We "kneaded" the spore mixture into the straw till it was well distributed and then added a bit more straw and worked it around till it was spread throughout.
I also prepared and brought home an oak log inoculated with shiitake mushroom spawn. It has many holes drilled into the log and stuffed with spawn-filled "sawdust." The plugs are sealed over with wax which has been brushed on after being melted. That log is living in the seed house for the time being. It needs to be watered periodically. It won't produce "fruit" till this fall.
I brought the Gray Dove bag home and perched it on the lid of my worm bin. That's the fauna part of my dining room population. Eisenia foetida inhabit the plastic tub with holes drilled along the sides near the top. I give them treasures from my kitchen, although they're not hungry enough to consume all the waste goodies produced there.
I had one creature in the house last week that was uninvited. I was headed to the kitchen from the dining room when I saw that it was already inhabited by a furry little gray rodent that seemed utterly confused. It ran in circles, bumping occasionally into the toe space trim under the base cabinets. Its behavior reminded me of the rabid skunk that I saw once, stumbling and circling stupidly and falling occasionally. This mouse made no effort to run away and hide. What to do?
I wasn't brave enough to squash it, but I didn't want to let it get away either. I was glad when I thought of trapping it under a heavy kettle or a lid. I had to get close to the circling mouse (wearing sandals!) to find a lid. When I got close I spied the plate cover that usually lives inside the microwave. That was perfect, so I dropped it right on top of the mouse. It was plastic and almost clear. Then I quickly perched a 3 lb. shortening container on top of the cover.
The mouse sat still part of the time and circled part of the time. Every time I had to be in the kitchen throughout the rest of the day I gave the mouse a wide berth. I did put a heavy, stiff piece of cardboard nearby so that Hiromi could slide it under the mouse and the lid after he got home. I opened the doors for him as he gingerly carried the imprisoned critter out. I did not inquire what he did with it. Maybe he took my suggestion to make use of the shovel propped against the outside of the utility room.
Plants reside in each of the main rooms of the house--violets in the living room, a fern, a clivia, and a rubber plant in the dining room, and rooted ornamental amaranth cuttings on the kitchen window sill. I rooted those cuttings on a whim after I had to reduce the plants in the cell packs to one in each cell. Since I had direct-seeded the amaranth and the germination was good, I ended up with lots of extra plants. They rooted in a hurry. That's the flora part of what I have in my house.
I love a house with lots of living things in it besides the people. Except for spiders and mice, they're all welcome.
They are confined to a plastic bag labeled Gray Dove Oyster [Mushroom]. Inside the bag is straw which has been colonized by threads of white mycelium. The exquisite little gray-crowned mushrooms erupted just a few days ago, after I noticed that the straw looked white throughout. Then I took off the two clothespins that had been clamped over the folds of the closed plastic at the top of the bag. I allowed the top of the bag to mostly stand open, except that I used the clothespins to clip together both sides of the open bag. This leaves plenty of room for oxygen to circulate inside the bag, but helps keep it from drying out too fast. I'm spraying it several times a day with a mist from a spray bottle.
I attended a mushroom growing workshop taught by Pam Paulsen, our extension horticulture agent. She had boiled a whole bale of straw, a big kettle full at a time on the stove top in her home kitchen. Then she stuffed it into trash bags and each class participant sanitized their hands and grabbed several hands full and stuffed it into a jumbo-sized clear plastic bag--big enough for two loaves of bread side by side. Next we got a handful of the spores embedded in a media of some kind--the texture of cold refried beans. We "kneaded" the spore mixture into the straw till it was well distributed and then added a bit more straw and worked it around till it was spread throughout.
I also prepared and brought home an oak log inoculated with shiitake mushroom spawn. It has many holes drilled into the log and stuffed with spawn-filled "sawdust." The plugs are sealed over with wax which has been brushed on after being melted. That log is living in the seed house for the time being. It needs to be watered periodically. It won't produce "fruit" till this fall.
I brought the Gray Dove bag home and perched it on the lid of my worm bin. That's the fauna part of my dining room population. Eisenia foetida inhabit the plastic tub with holes drilled along the sides near the top. I give them treasures from my kitchen, although they're not hungry enough to consume all the waste goodies produced there.
I had one creature in the house last week that was uninvited. I was headed to the kitchen from the dining room when I saw that it was already inhabited by a furry little gray rodent that seemed utterly confused. It ran in circles, bumping occasionally into the toe space trim under the base cabinets. Its behavior reminded me of the rabid skunk that I saw once, stumbling and circling stupidly and falling occasionally. This mouse made no effort to run away and hide. What to do?
I wasn't brave enough to squash it, but I didn't want to let it get away either. I was glad when I thought of trapping it under a heavy kettle or a lid. I had to get close to the circling mouse (wearing sandals!) to find a lid. When I got close I spied the plate cover that usually lives inside the microwave. That was perfect, so I dropped it right on top of the mouse. It was plastic and almost clear. Then I quickly perched a 3 lb. shortening container on top of the cover.
The mouse sat still part of the time and circled part of the time. Every time I had to be in the kitchen throughout the rest of the day I gave the mouse a wide berth. I did put a heavy, stiff piece of cardboard nearby so that Hiromi could slide it under the mouse and the lid after he got home. I opened the doors for him as he gingerly carried the imprisoned critter out. I did not inquire what he did with it. Maybe he took my suggestion to make use of the shovel propped against the outside of the utility room.
Plants reside in each of the main rooms of the house--violets in the living room, a fern, a clivia, and a rubber plant in the dining room, and rooted ornamental amaranth cuttings on the kitchen window sill. I rooted those cuttings on a whim after I had to reduce the plants in the cell packs to one in each cell. Since I had direct-seeded the amaranth and the germination was good, I ended up with lots of extra plants. They rooted in a hurry. That's the flora part of what I have in my house.
I love a house with lots of living things in it besides the people. Except for spiders and mice, they're all welcome.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
8:21 PM
2 Comments:
Bill's order of worms came today. Since we don't have chickens they will produce compost for us.
He was also ready to start mushrooms but the guy that taught the class said your logs need to be harvested at a certain time(I don't remember the appropriate time). So yes, you two cultivate some of the same interests.
By
Unknown, at 5/04/2016
For shiitake, it's important that the bark stays on the log. If it's harvested after the sap starts to rise, the bark slips off too easily. Your environment would be much more hospitable to shiitake cultivation outdoors than ours is. I presume you also have far more ready access to oak logs--both significant limitations here.
By
Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige), at 5/04/2016
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