Ample rain from late summer storms have fungus in full bloom

It looks like the soaking rains from the likes of Hurricane Irene as well as reminents of Tropical Storm Lee are making conditions very ideal for wild mushroom harvests all up and down the east coast. NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday is reporting abundant wild mushroom fruitings in the Northeast. Harvests are so abunant as to even gardner a segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. On the other hand, the Huffington Post is also reporting that these same ideal mushroom distribution and fruiting conditions will also bode well for a bumper crop of funkadelic fungi.

Either way, we wanted to make mention of this. If you have mushroom patches or mushroom logs working, get out and check 'em. We pulled a nice little late-summer crop from our mushroom logs just last week. If things have been mild and wet where you are, it might be worth lacing up the hiking boots and getting out to check some of the good wild mushroom spots. We always love seeing our customer's wild mushroom hunting photos and would love to repost them in the blog (with your permission).

Everything Mushrooms online v2.0 up and running!

Everything Mushrooms online v2.0 is alive and operational! As you can see, the website has a fresh, updated look. We've switched website platforms, moving to a system that allows us to manage our fluid inventory a little more effectively, while at the same time offering our customers a professional and easy to use online shopping experience. Our new website will also allow us to incorporate and produce more mushroom specific content.

The Recent News section will be updated regularly with posts from our staff about new and upcoming stuff, random mushroom musings, and mushroom related news items. Our Info Zone will contain updated prodcut instructions, how-to quides, instructions videos, an expanding recipe section, and much more! Please check back with us often as our website's content will be updated and refreshed frequently!

We also want to take this opportunity to solicit feedback. Are features of the new system not working well for you? Need to report a bug or error? Something about the new system got you all hot and bothered? Please contact us with your feedback, bug reports, or suggestions!

New Chatper Mycomedicinals, times they are a changing

If you're a frequent browser of the vitamin and supplements isle at your local co-op, grocer, pharmacy, blah, blah, then you're aware of the plethora of brands and manufactures producing unregulated and untested supplements. Even mushroom based supplements are finding their way into more "mainstream" retail locations. Just the other day I saw both reishi and cordyceps being sold at a local Walgreens.

The herbal supplement market being what it is, an industry completely unregulated by any governing body or federal agency; we take the task of selling mushroom based supplements VERY SERIOUSLY. Needless to say we are very discerning regarding the sourcing and companies we are willing to resell. New Chapter, a company of high regard and reputation in the supplement business, has been selling a line of Mycomedicinal products for the last four of five years. We've sold this product, largely in part due to the relationship New Chapter had with renowned mushroom promoter, enthusiast, and author Paul Stamets. Not only was New Chapter sourcing it's mushrooms domestically, but they were sourcing them directly from Paul.

This all changed recently. New Chapter is no longer sourcing mushrooms from Paul Stamets, and has revised the line of mushroom based products they are manufacturing and selling. Their mushrooms are now sourced domestically, grown on organic and bio-dynamic substrates, and now contain more actual fruiting bodies than before. They have a team of three degreed mycologists overseeing research and development, promising a tested 15% beta-glucan level in all products. Sounds to me like the changes may be for the better.

So as a result, we're "blowing out" all the older Mycomedicinal New Chapter products at a 30% discount. We're making way for the six new Lifesheild Mushroom products New Chapter will be providing. One thing to keep in mind: New Chapter does not currently plan to offer a new maitake supplement, so get the older product while you can. If you are a fan of maitake, we'd encourage you to write New Chapter and prompt them to add this product to the lineup.

Fresh mushrooms on the way!

Fans and patrons of our store have always been a little disappointed to find Everything Mushrooms really doesn't specialize in supplying fresh mushrooms. Our traditional "excuses" point to our business model being built mainly on our mail-order and internet sales. We just don't ship fresh mushrooms. We ship plenty of mushroom growing supplies, spawn, books, mushroom kits, crafts, dried mushrooms, ect. We have also been limited by our facilities. The old shop on Broadway just didn't have the appropriate or adequate space for producing fresh mushrooms reliably. Well... all that has changed.

With the move to our new location on Sevier Ave we have greatly expanded capacity. More room, cleaner space, and even some outdoor areas that we can play in. We alluded to "why we moved" in an earlier blog, and this is a big good part of it. We've been dying to grow our fungi and provide fresh mushrooms for the local market.

By local, I mean REALLY local (our mushrooms will probably only make it as far as the Market Square Farmer's Market as well as selected kitchens and restaurants in downtown Knoxville). We aren't in the mushroom farming business, but we are in the business of Everything Mushrooms. It only makes sense that we have a supply, even if it is a limited one, of fresh mushrooms.

We have just setup our first stable demonstration indoor grow room, soon to be featured on our website with its very own "mushroom grow cam." This indoor grow space will provide mushrooms year round, tasty varieties like: oyster mushrooms, shiitake, lion's mane, and pioppino. We're also converting a good deal of space at the back of our parking area into a mushroom demonstration garden. This outdoor garden will feature mushroom log stacks for shiitake and oyster as well as raised garden beds for king stropharia, the garden giant mushroom. It'll be an educational opportunity allowing us to expand our workshop schedule as well as demonstrate just how easy it is to incorporate mushrooms into YOUR garden. But the best part... it'll be a "pick your own garden." See some mushrooms you like, pick 'em. We'll weigh them and off you go! See a log you want to take home, just grab it, pay and roll! We plan to have most of this in full tilt-operation by mid April, but it may be a little longer before the outdoor mushroom garden is bearing fruit.

Speaking of mid April... word around the shop is that we'll be planning a big-ole spring fling. About the only thing certain at this point is the date: April 17. Ohh, and another thing we're certain of... you'll have fun, so plan on coming down with friends and family and getting your funky fungi on!

Gearing up for shiitake pluggin' season, workshops updated

At this point Spring feels like a distant memory. I vaguely remember sometime back in ought-9 when the leaves began turning green, the crocuses and tulips pushing up. With more snow rolling through today, the fondness of warmer temps and green landscapes only grows stronger.

However, here at the Mushrooms Shop we're in full blown Spring anticipation mode, getting all our little spawns in order for the Spring rush. This means a massive expansion of mycelium, the little white "root-like" tissue of the fungus. Mycelium begins it journey on our petri dishes and culture syringes, then onto specially prepared grains where it is allowed to grow and flourish. Next it can find its way onto 6lb blocks of sawdust, or into bags of hardwood dowels. The next step is up to you...

So while the mycelium army is growing and spreading through our lab and incubators we are currently accepting "pre-orders" for spring mushroom plug spawn. If your project is large, or you just want to guarantee your spawn by a certain date please give us a ring, email, tweet, ect and we'll be happy to take your name and info.

Plug spawn for some species is just now becoming available, we anticipate shiitake mushroom plug spawn to be ready for shipping again in the next two weeks. We intent to keep all our varieties in stock throughout the season, but if you plan to work with 50 or more logs this year please let us know. We have suggestions that may minimize your wait time for spawn and decrease your overall project costs.

On a related note: we've updated our mushroom workshop schedule for classes into March. The March and April classes fill up quick, as people start getting their mushroom gardens prepared. Be sure to call 865.329.47566 and reserve a spot. Through May we plan to have at least two Saturday and two Wednesday evening shiitake log workshops each month.

The Manchurian Mushroom returns!

I'll be honest with ya, we're split on this one. About half of the Everything Mushrooms crew digs Kombucha tea, the other half think it's about the most disgusting thing on the planet. Either way, we all tend to agree the health or medicinal benefits are usually overstated. There does seem to be evidence to support the claims of mild detoxifying effects from the acetic acid and lactic acid in the beverage. As such, Kombucha tea is usually sold as a "detoxifying" tea, popular names include the Synergy brand.

For those that don't know, Kombucha is a tough rubber-like skin, which is actually a complex symbiosis of yeasts and bacteria. The skin, or Scooby (scO-bee), is grown on an infusion of tea and sugar, allowing the yeast and bacteria complex to proliferate, producing an acidic and sour “cider-like” beverage usually referred to as Kombucha tea. Often called the “Manchurian Mushroom,” it is not a mushroom at all.

So, if you like cidery (is that even a word?) or vinegar flavored drink, you will find Kombucha tea pleasant to drink, easy to brew healthy beverage. Ohh, I guess the important part of this post is to let everyone know we are once again producing Kombucha Starter Cultures and have a limited supply in stock. Scoobies will come in cycles, so if you miss them now, more will be ready in 2-3 weeks.

Updated workshop schedule, more to come!

This is probably old news, but Everything Mushrooms recently moved. We'll post more later on the why, how, and what it means for our future. The new facility at 1004 Sevier Ave in South Knoxville has increased capacity for mushroom workshops, and we're going to get them started ASAP. We hope to expand our workshop offerings with new classes, below you'll find our first updated workshop schedule:

January 27, 6:00pm - Shiitake Mushroom Log Workshop: Fun and casual hands-on workshop to learn the process of making mushroom logs. Discussion will include care and maintenance. Workshop will last approximately one hour and you will make your own Shiitake Log to take home to your garden. $20 fee - all materials supplied. Please call to reserve a spot as space is limited. About one hour.

February 6, noon, Saturday class - Shiitake Mushroom Log Workshop:Fun and casual hands-on workshop to learn the process of makingmushroom logs. Discussion will include care and maintenance. Workshopwill last approximately one hour and you will make your own ShiitakeLog to take home to your garden. $20 fee - all materials supplied.Please call to reserve a spot as space is limited. About one hour

February 10, 6:00pm - Shiitake Mushroom Log Workshop: Fun and casual hands-on workshop to learn the process of making mushroom logs. Discussion will include care and maintenance. Workshop will last approximately one hour and you will make your own Shiitake Log to take home to your garden. $20 fee - all materials supplied. Please call to reserve a spot as space is limited. About one hour.

February 20, noon, Saturday class - Shiitake Mushroom Log Workshop:Fun and casual hands-on workshop to learn the process of makingmushroom logs. Discussion will include care and maintenance. Workshopwill last approximately one hour and you will make your own ShiitakeLog to take home to your garden. $20 fee - all materials supplied.Please call to reserve a spot as space is limited. About one hour.

The schedule will soon be expanded through the rest of the spring. We expect to hold at least two Saturday and two weekday shiitake log workshops a month. Check back frequently for updates to the Workshop Schedule.