• Home
  • About
  • Calendar
  • Plant Database
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Board of Trustees Login

Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest

Become a Member Donate
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Trails and Maps
  • Programs and Events
  • Learn
  • Get Involved
You are here: Home / Edible Garden / Fungus and how the garden grows it.

June 26, 2019 by Horticulture Team

Fungus and how the garden grows it.

As you walk through the Edible Garden entrance (directly across from the Visitor Center), you may see some funny little stumps with stakes next to them.

Mushroom totems can be found as you enter the edible garden from Visitor Center Drive.

These are totems which have been inoculated with Lion’s Mane mushroom. Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is one of the many native fungi that call our forest ‘home’. It plays an important role in the decomposition of trees. With the decomposition of trees, nutrients are released back into the soil that otherwise would be trapped within the wood.

These totem are made out of Beech wood, which was harvested from a tree that was downed in a recent storm. The logs were cut into sizable portions and then stacked with the mushroom spawn I’m between each section. We staked them so the wind wouldn’t knock them over, and used hemp twine to tie paper bags over where the spawn was placed. The bags help retain moisture and ensure that insects have a harder time eating the spawn.

In the Edible Garden, we believe in the cyclical nature of well… nature! By showcasing native decomposers we can better educate visitors about the importance of biodiversity and permaculture.

The mycelium pictured here shows great signs of growth.

 

 

It takes six to ten months before we will see harvestable mushrooms from these totems, and that’s under perfect conditions. With that said, I’m proud to report that we have good signs of growth on several sections of the totems.

Hopefully this time next year we will have delicious Lion’s Mane mushrooms to share with you at Isaac’s Café!

 

— Dane DeWitt, Edible Gardener

Filed Under: Edible Garden Tagged With: decomposition, Edible Garden, fungus, Mycology, permaculture

  • Let There Be Light, George Grey Bernard

Thank you to our Corporate Partners!


Thank you to our Corporate Partners!

  • Quest Outdoors
  • Brown Forman
  • WMB
  • Westrock
  • GE Appliances
  • Luckett & Farley
  • Patagonia
  • Delta Dental KY
  • Beam Suntory

Sign up for our newsletter

  • Sign up and receive special information about our programs and events.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FOLLOW US

Copyright © 2019 Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest    |   Bernheim is an Arbnet level 4 certified garden
Privacy Policy | Policies and Guidelines | Research | Press Room  | Site Map

Forest Hill Drive and Guerilla Hollow trails are closed on Friday, January 27 due to high winds. The Arboretum, including the Visitor Center, Playcosystem, and the Forest Giants Trail, will remain open.