Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation

Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation

With innovative new methods for urban and off-grid growing, making mushroom-infused beers, morel cultivation, and more

What would it take to grow mushrooms in space? How can mushroom cultivation help us manage, or at least make use of, invasive species and thereby reduce dependence on herbicides? Is it possible to develop a low-cost and easy-to-implement mushroom-growing kit that would provide high-quality edible protein and bioremediation in the wake of a natural disaster? How can we advance our understanding of morel cultivation so that growers stand a better chance of success?

For more than twenty years, mycologist Tradd Cotter has been pondering these questions and researching for answers. In Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, Cotter offers readers an in-depth exploration of best organic mushroom cultivation practices, for both indoor and outdoor growing of a wide variety of species. He also shares insight into his groundbreaking research on challenges such as cultivating morels, “training” mycelium to respond to specific contaminants, and perpetuating spawn on cardboard without the use of electricity.

For those who aspire to the self-sufficiency gained by generating and expanding spawn rather than purchasing it, Cotter covers lab techniques, including low-cost alternatives that make use of existing infrastructure and materials. Readers will also discover information on making tinctures, powders, and mushroom-infused honey; making an antibacterial mushroom cutting board; and growing mushrooms on old denim jeans.

More than a cultivation guide, Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation is about healing the people and the planet, one mushroom and one cultivator at a time, reversing destructive cycles into creative forces. Cotter urges readers to think with an opportunistic yet minimalistic approach, much like a mushroom, taking what it needs to survive and then returning resources to its ecosystem.

Geared toward readers who want to grow mushrooms without the use of pesticides, Cotter takes “organic” one step further by introducing an entirely new way of thinking—one that looks at the potential to grow mushrooms on just about anything, just about anywhere, and by anyone.

Tradd Cotter

Tradd Cotter is a microbiologist, professional mycologist, and organic gardener, who has been tissue culturing, collecting native fungi in the Southeast, and cultivating both commercially and experimentally for more than twenty-two years. In 1996, he founded Mushroom Mountain, which he owns and operates with his wife, Olga, to explore applications for mushrooms in various industries and currently maintains over 200 species of fungi for food production, mycoremediation of environmental pollutants, and natural alternatives to chemical pesticides. His primary interest is in low-tech and no-tech cultivation strategies so that anyone can grow mushrooms on just about anything,