Project Overview
Commodities
- Vegetables: Kale
- Miscellaneous: mushrooms
Practices
- Crop Production: cover crops, cropping systems, intercropping
- Education and Training: demonstration, workshop
Proposal abstract:
New England is home to many small farms seeking new and innovative means to bring consumers closer to their
food source. Mushrooms are a valued commodity and are sold in nearly every supermarket across the country;
however, local mushrooms are infrequently available and represent an untapped market for small-diversified
farms. Mushroom production requires technical expertise for success and this is one of the main reasons this crop
remains underdeveloped on a local scale. This project will investigate the viability of sustainable mushroom
production by interplanting oyster mushrooms with vegetable crops to increase food production per square foot,
improve productivity of small farms, add organic matter to the soil and increase biodiversity.
Project objectives from proposal:
Our goal is to evaluate the concept of interplanting oyster mushrooms in-between rows of fall vegetable crops
(forage radish and kale). We will explore the questions of will the concept of interplanting oyster mushrooms
produce acceptable mushroom yields and what methods will achieve the best yields? We plan to test two
different types of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp. and Hypsizygous spp.) with forage radish and kale to
evaluate mushroom yield. In addition, we will also evaluate the rate of mushroom inoculum needed to produce
acceptable oyster mushroom yields. Lastly, we will examine the effects of the mushroom production on the soil
health and vegetable crop production. This method of outdoor production could see mushroom production in 3-4
weeks, a more timely return than the expected 9-12 month wait in log production (Fungi Ally pers. comm.).