Morels. Chanterelles. Portabellas. If you can’t get enough mushrooms, why not try growing them yourself? Join mushroom hobbyist Lowell Dietz for a Clallam County Master Gardener Green Thumb Gardening Tips Zoom presentation on July 28th from noon – 1:00 p.m. Find out more on the soil and cultivation needed for growing these fabulous fungi.

Find a direct link to the Zoom presentation here.

Or join by phone: 253-215-8782

Meeting ID: 920 0799 1742

Passcode: 70939

When Lowell first ventured into mushroom farming, he made an interesting discovery. He created a byproduct known as biochar while trying to extract more heat from wood fuel used to cook straw for mushroom cultivation. Biochar is black carbon produced from biomass sources like wood chips or plant residues. It can act like a sponge and serve as a habitat for many beneficial soil microorganisms that are known to promote soil and plant health.

“The mixture proved to be similar to the regenerative soil created by ancient farmers along the Amazon and its tributaries,” Lowell observed. Then when he added the biochar to another natural byproduct—worm castings—a healthy mushroom-growing environment was born. “Soil bacteria stash nutrients (normally outgassed by plants) into biochar ‘lockers’. Gardeners can use this information to create soil that does not need fertilizer,” Lowell said.

Lowell is a carpenter who grows oyster mushrooms; a hobby that he says pays for itself. After moving to Sequim in 2006, he learned of vermiculture—the cultivation of annelid worms (such as earthworms or bloodworms) for use in composting—in a Master Gardener event. He started selling composting worms in 2008 and so far, he has sold over 109,000 worms. Lowell’s mushroom farm also sells plastic bags stuffed with colonized straw, or “mushroom growing kits.” After learning that bacteria were responsible for healing a health issue, he became a “gut bacteria evangelist” and determined it was his mission in life to reveal natures “secrets.”

Green Thumb Education Series Presentations are held from 12 to 1 pm on the second and fourth Thursdays of most months. Talks are currently only being offered by online streaming, due to current social distancing concerns with COVID-19. Please see instructions for accessing the live stream. Presentations and associated printed materials will be archived on the local articles and archived presentations portion of our website. These events are free, but donations to help support the WSU Clallam County Extension Master Gardener program are appreciated.