Customer Reviews

The Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home

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Contrary to what many cultivation cognoscenti repeatedly say, this book is not the 'bible' of mushroom cultivation. Although the amount of information in this book is impressive, it is limited to a handful of species, and gives exact growth parameters for a few select mushrooms, principally those belonging to Agaricus, Pleurotus, Psilocybe/Panaeolus, and Stropharia. It should also be noted that while some species, such as Pleurotus and Agaricus are relatively easy to cultivate, others such as Stropharia and Psilocybe/Panaeolus may be difficult to cultivate even under the most favorable conditions. As many of the topics in the book are more appropriate for the small mushroom farm, the book is anything but practical for home-based cultivation. As a result, using this book as a basis for hobby cultivation will more than likely take the fun out of cultivation entirely.

That said, the book explains the science behind mushroom cultivation very well, but places considerable emphasis on composting and Agaricus/Psilocybe production. The emphasis on Agaricus is understandable, as it is a commercially cultivated mushroom with mass appeal, but Psilocybe species are covered in a bit too much detail for my taste. More lab techniques are presented in this book than in Stamet's Growing Gourmet Mushrooms, and the authors provide detailed info on starting cultures from scratch, spawn maintenance and propagation, as well as setting up your own lab. One very strong selling point of the book is the authors' elaboration on the importance of good environmental control and how to achieve it, although again, the information on this topic would be more appropriate for a farm than a home. The authors also include two very detailed chapters giving information on invertebrate (insect) and microbial pests/contaminants and provide an excellent chapter on trouble-shooting during cultivation, focusing in particular on microbial pests/contaminants. The book includes a fairly good run-down on cultivation using non-composted substrates, but it could be expanded to include more substrates, more cultivation strategies, and more mushroom species that grow well on non-composted substrates. However, Stamets and Chilton primarily refer to varieties of alder, which is readily available in riparian and montaine habitats in the Pacific Northwest, and while they do provide the reader with material properties on other suitable hardwood substrates such as oak, beech, and birch in an appendix, a future edition should endeavor to show the reader the same techniques using those substrates. The authors end the book with a chapter that briefly explains the fundamentals of genetics and reproduction of edible mushrooms. The book's appendices contain invaluable information such as the construction of air and environmental systems, the composition of various potential substrates, data collection records and conversion tables, all of which do much to enhance its appeal to mushroom farmers. Finally, the book also includes a comprehensive and understandable glossary of key terms, a detailed bibliography, and a comprehensive index.

Essentially, the book's emphasis is on those mushroom species that can be grown with ease on compost with a few commercial species, such as shiitake, enoki, and oyster thrown in to round out the mix. You really have to look elsewhere for more detailed information on the medicinal properties of mushrooms and mushroom growing resources. Additionally, I found the absence of good, reliable economic data on mushroom cultivation, especially from the small farm or business standpoint to be lacking in both of Stamet's texts. While this text in particular was very comprehensive when it came mushroom science, I found myself looking to Stamet's Growing Gourmet Mushrooms for historical, cultural, taxonomic and medicinal information on edibles. Additionally, Growing Gourmet Mushrooms emphasized the edibles more, while this book played up the hallucinogenic mushrooms. Finally, better quality pictures, especially those in color and high resolution, would add significant value to this book.

In sum, while the average hobby cultivator just embarking on mushroom growing may find the information a bit too complicated, those looking to turn their hobby into a small farm venture will find it to be invaluable. To fully employ the techniques and methods presented in this book, the aspiring cultivator would have to invest a considerable amount of time and money. As such, I believe that this book is an excellent complement to a small farm operation. Those individuals looking to embark on hobby mushroom growing should first read Hajo Hadeler's Medicinal Mushrooms You Can Grow, and Paul Stamet's Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. Once the hobbyist is thoroughly familiar with the topic and the ins and outs of micro-scale (home-based) cultivation, I would strongly recommend that he or she pick up this book. As such, I see this as being more for folks who are serious about running a small farm or mushroom business, as most hobby growers would not even take the trouble to set up their own lab, or even maintain starter cultures beyond grain spawn. Thus, I recommend that this book be bought only after more basic information on mushrooms and their cultivation has been fully acquired.

I bought this book and have been very impressed with the wealth of knowledge and in depth detail in which all aspects of mushroom growing are described.Anyone who is excited about the prospects of growing mushrooms at home for personal culinary use or even the possibility of a commercial venture will find this book a "bible" . The oyster mushroom kit that I purchased from the authors from their catalog was so good as to want you to go into the business (with their permission I am sure ). There will be no regrets if you are thinking of buying this book for the most up to date and accurate info. around!

This book is a excellent reference and guide for the intermediate to advanced mushroom grower. The emphasis is not necessarily on growing at home because the techniques described in the book require a pretty sophisticated lab. To grow mushrooms in the average kitchen with the dog walking by and shaking would be difficult using the info from this book. Of course if you buy the laminar flow hood from the author then things will be much easier for 800 dollars. The book is weak on sterile technique methods needed to sucessfully cultivate without laminar flow hoods.
Overall the book is a very comprehensive outline for successful cultivation indoors and outdoors. I reccommend it

Between both of paul's books, I have been unable to find anything even close. I consider this book to be the mushroom cultivation bible. I must agree with the statement above that it is written for a bigger cultivation operation than your bathroom. But there are so many differant scenarios for the home lever cultivator that there is no way a book could cover them. So Paul did what I believe he should have and wrote a book on the best way to grow mushrooms and left it up to us hobbyists to come as close as possible to achieving the optimum.

I did not really understand just how comprehensive this book is until I recieved it in the mail. This book has everything and it is all in large print and worded well so it is easy to read. The majority of photos are black and white However there are some high resolution color photos in there as well. This is one of those books that you can pass down to your kids. There should not be a reason why your not going to buy this book.

Great price and Great Service! Ordered and received in five days.

I bought this book expecting it to help me, as a complete beginner learn how to grow mushrooms. The techniques used in this book are much too complicated for the average hobbyist. The investment of time and money required to grow your first mushrooms was startling and intimidating. I would not reccomend this book to any beginner.

I often refer to this book at the "bible", also. And it's writen by the "Cultivation God" himself. I already knew how to cultivate before i bought this book, and had a fairly wide knowledge of the subject. The amount of information in this book is unbelievable. I was just shocked. And, in a sort of response to the person who said there's too much info - if you're going to cultivate mushrooms, the more information the better. You can get buy with just a step-by-step guide, but you won't be very successful, and if you run into problems, or want to do more, then you're not going to know what to do. If you really want to cultivate mushrooms, and you really want to enjoy it, then you've got to get this book. It's easy to understand, and gives some basic information on the life cycle and properties of mushrooms. Ask anyone that cultivates, and knows a lot about cultivating, and they'll tell you that this is a must have book. It's probably my favorite book i've ever bought. Get it!

I have read this and several other mushroom cultivation books. This book, coupled with Stamet's Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, makes for the absolute best reference materials for growing your own mushrooms.

That said, I'll mention the only thing that may disappoint a reader. His treatment of agar techniques in either of his cultivation books leaves a little to be desired. If you feel uncomfortable working with petri dishes after reading his sections on it, you may wish to check out "Laboratory Excercises in Microbiology" (ISBN 0-697-35443-1) by Harley and Prescott. It is a little more than a fellow needs to know about microbiology, but it is an excellent reference for aquainting on with aseptic agar techniques.

Aside from this, Stamets has certainly beaten the competion with this book!

This book excellently describes exact details for mushroom cultivation in a very understandable fashion. It gives precise parameters for several commonly cultivated mushrooms and a lengthy list of common contaminants and their cure. The book gives methods for small time cultivation as well as professional large-scale production. In general, it is a great primer on the subject of mushroom cultivation.