Enokitake

My little farms in tin pans are occupying both home and studio.  I set up my Enokitake patch in my studio space in order to take advantage of the cooler temperatures.  These mushrooms really like the cold- to get them started they need to be cold shocked by spending a week in the fridge.  To moisten the patch the instructions suggested pouring a tray of ice cubes over them.

I was quite surprised that over a busy period when I didn’t make it into the studio the Enokitake started growing.  I arrived one day to find them creeping up along the edges of the plastic bag.  Unfortunately, I think they were too moist as the stems began to rot right away. I ended up plucking them out and using their caps for some experiments with spore prints rather than eating.  I pulled off the plastic bag in the hopes of drying it out somewhat and trying to start the patch again.

Weeks of growing and still nothing to eat.  I don’t seem to be much of a farmer just yet.