Growing Edible Mushrooms in Central Texas

Angel Schatz radiates passion for understanding the ecosystem of central Texas and making gardening with mushrooms accessible to anyone who shares interest. Not only is she part of the leadership team of the Central Texas Mycological Society, but Austin Organic Gardeners as well; harmonizing vegetable gardening and mushroom growing, particularly by using recycled mushroom blocks.

Angel Schatz radiates passion for understanding the ecosystem of central Texas and making gardening with mushrooms accessible to anyone who shares interest. Not only is she part of the leadership team of the Central Texas Mycological Society, but Austin Organic Gardeners as well; harmonizing vegetable gardening and mushroom growing, particularly by using recycled mushroom blocks.

Golden oyster mushrooms growing with cardoon in Central Texas.

Mary: Hi Angel! Could you tell us a little about Central Texas Mycological Society and what y’all are up to?

Angel: Hello! Central Texas Mycological Society formed in 2019. Like most Mycological organizations we are primarily focused on in-person community education and conservation. We were just getting started. We have made the most out of "these uncertain times" by moving our education online with our two monthly, online events. Early this year we began a Mycology in the Garden video series that is going strong and has become a great fundraiser.

Angel: Like everyone else, the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Alliance moved their annual conference online and approached us about putting together a video on low-tech mushroom growing outdoors. At the same time our Vice President Sam the Fungi, approached us about his new business idea of diverting spent mushroom blocks from the waste stream. We thought it would be great to apply this approach in teaching people how to extend the life of an old mushroom grow block and also partner with local mushroom farms to keep the rich organic matter of spent mushroom blocks out of the waste. We are teaching our community how to grow mushrooms outdoors with minimal tech, building healthy soil, AND diverting organic waste from land-fills. (Side note: North Spores online education and videos were a huge help and inspiration in helping put this together.)

A recycled mushroom block giveaway in Angel's yard.

Mary: Gardening with mushrooms is not only good for emotional well-being but also for environment. It's a great goal to make it accessible to as many people as possible. What methods of growing mushrooms do you cover and with which species?  

Angel: Here is a link to all the parts of the series and the species.

Part 1: How Fungi Benefits the Soil

Part 2: Grow Mushrooms on Wood Chips in The Garden (Oysters, Blewits, Wine Caps)

Part 3: Grow Mushrooms in a Straw Bale (Oysters)

Part 4: Grow Mushrooms in Containers (Oysters)

Part 5: Grow Mushrooms on Logs (Reishi)

Part 6: Grow Mushrooms using Trench Composting Method (Oysters)

Straw bales inoculated with blue oyster spawn.

Mary: Awesome! Were there any special considerations about which methods to use in different spaces or with different species?

Angel: We were worried that the straw bale method might not work or it might be too dry in Texas. So far, it has been flushing every other week with the spring rains and humidity. Most of the blocks that we are giving away are blue and golden oysters and they tend to out-compete molds and do well in a non-sterile environment.

Mary: You’re in the Austin area, right? How does the climate affect your grows and what’s your approach to managing heat, sun exposure, and humidity?

Angel: In Texas, it is much hotter and mushrooms tend to go dormant during the dry summer months. Our outdoor mushroom growing season starts in October and ends around May/June. We try to teach our community to try to time up your outdoor growing when these mushrooms fruit in the wild in our area. The app iNaturalist is very helpful in being able to determine this. You can search by species, location, and time of year.

Mary: Are there any other challenges or benefits to growing in your area?

Angel: Growing lion’s mane outdoors is challenging if you are not consistent with watering. I do love when they turn pink though.

Mary: How do you care for your grows while they’re incubating?

Angel: Water regularly and for species like blue and yellow oysters, try to use rain water. Try to time growing mushrooms outdoors during the rainy season. We want to encourage water conservation and use of natural resources.

Mary: Trying to conserve water is always worth reiterating. What’s the timeline from inoculation to harvest on your grows and what’s the seasonality of fruiting like there?

Angel: Each method is different and it really depends on consistency of watering and humidity. With the wood chip method, we saw oyster mushrooms fruiting within weeks of inoculation. We had good rain and the garden at the Zilker Botanical Garden (where we did the demo). The bucket method took about three weeks. The straw bale method took the longest and took over two months to really get going. Now it is flushing every few weeks and breaking down the wheat straw. The trench composting method also shows results within a few weeks. Of course, log inoculation takes a bit longer, we have yet to see any results.

Purple and golden potatoes grown with recycled mushroom blocks, cardboard, coffee grinds, and moldy leaves.

Mary: You’re also doing some research on removing invasive tree species by growing mushrooms on their wood. We’re very curious about this sort of application for fungi. How’s that project going?

Angel: We have a horrible invasive species, the Ligustrum Licidum, Glossy Privit. A few members inoculated it with reishi and I don’t have an update on it but I have seen reishi growing on stumps of Ligustrum so I know that it will decompose it.

Mary: Please keep us updated on that! What other types of growing have y’all tried out and is there anything in the works we should keep an eye out for?

Angel: We have been experimenting with using mushroom blocks in compost to accelerate decomposition and using the blocks as mulch for moisture retention in the summer. We are looking for more ways to use recycled mushroom blocks in the summertime when it is too dry and hot for growth.

Sweet potato containers inoculated with spent blue oyster blocks.

Mary: If you could trial growing with any method or species of mushroom without resource limitations, what would it be?

Angel: We currently have a member who is studying mycology as a graduate that is experimenting with growing chicken-of-the-woods. Personally I would like to try to cultivate chanterelles and morels. I have seen videos of morels being farmed using the slurry method and by simulating the soil structure in nature. I’ve also seen the patent on cultivating chanterelles but have not seen any videos demonstrating it.

Mary: Do you have any wisdom you’d like to share with folks who are curious about growing, just getting started, or might live in a similar climate?

Angel: Most of what you need to grow mushrooms is probably available for free in your community or even your own backyard. If you can, try to recycle old mushroom blocks grown at the many mushroom farms popping up in various parts of Texas and the US. We keep a map of Texas mushroom companies on our website so people can find this as a resource to either buy spawn or get spent mushroom blocks.

Mary:It's true, mushroom growing can be quite simple. We know it’s hard to choose, but do y’all have any particularly beloved mushrooms?

Angel: Right now, it’s lion’s mane. My jam every morning is a matcha lion’s mane latte. I just tried it on ice today and it is even better! It was also 90 degrees in Texas.

Mary: That sounds so revitalizing, especially for summer. What’s your favorite way of preparing your mushroom harvests and do you ever use them medicinally?

Angel: I prefer to use them culinarily. I really like to cook. I recently made a vegan lion’s mane chowder that was so delicious. I try to eat mushrooms that I grow or forage everyday and am so thankful I can with the help of our myco community in Central Texas.

I’ve been also making a bunch of oyster jerky recipes because I have so many fruiting mushrooms on the straw-bale. I shared it at a recent CTMS foray and everyone liked the spicy marinade the best!

Medicinally, I use powdered mushrooms that I have grown or foraged in teas. Turkey Tail, Reishi, Red Banded Polypore, Lion’s Mane. I haven’t gone so far as making tinctures. Although, I would like to. I just need equipment, etc.

Mary: You'll have to share those recipes with us sometime! Symbolically speaking, which mushroom would Central TX Mycological Society be and why?

Angel: This is easy. We would be the official state fungus: the Texas Star, Chorioactis geaster. You may recognize the Texas Star Mushroom because it is part of our logo. Chorioactis geaster is unique to Texas and is only found in one other geographic location, which is Japan. Scientists are perplexed as to why it is so geographically distributed. 

Mary: I love that! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.