312: Kevin Fitzgerald on Marvelous Mushrooms.
Getting to know more about the popular culinary fungi.
After spending years in communications contracting and feeling unfulfilled Kevin decided to start farming and settled on mushrooms as something that fit his interests and could be profitable on small scale. Starting on a hobby scale he has grown from mini green house and small humidifier to full size room fully climate controlled. He grows mushrooms for both culinary and medicinal uses.
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In This Podcast:
His space was limited and he wanted to start a small food growing business, then Kevin Fitzgerald found his perfect match in growing mushrooms and selling them at the farmers market. He talks with us today about the mycelium that is a favorite of many foodies, and has such potential to nourish while also helping the environment. He has even started selling mushroom kits that can help the home grower start off on their own mushroom adventure.
Listen in and learn about:
-
- Growing 100 lbs a week of mushrooms
- The rainbow of mushroom colors
- Oyster mushrooms, Shitake Mushrooms
- How to identify a mushroom in your garden
- What to notate when you are identifying mushroom species
- Why he focused on growing mushrooms
- How this small business fits his science love as well
- Dealing with mold which happens almost everywhere
- Feeding mushrooms, and why he does not use logs
- The life cycle of a mushroom
- Working with the mycelium
- How mushrooms work with other plants
- Using mushrooms as a post-defense mechanism
- Some health benefits of mushrooms that have been studied
- Using mushrooms to buffer your yard from your less-than-organic neighbors
- Adding mushrooms to the remediation toolkit between commercial agriculture and the water ways
- Mushroom kits and how to set them up at home
- Where he sells his mushrooms,
- Two restaurants he sells to: Trail Crest Brewing Company restaurant which serves a smoked mushroom side dish
- Café Monarch restaurant in Scottsdale
- Bringing mushrooms into the agriculture system to help make it more sustainable
- Garden and yard inoculation to help promote growth, including Wine cap mushrooms
- Making mushrooms in the corner of your yard
As well as:
His failure – He can’t seem to get Golden Oyster Mushrooms to grow – yet!
His success – His kids, and his willingness to redefine himself to doing something more holistic and matters in the world
His drive – Just his nature, as long as he can find things that interest him
His advice – Keep getting inspired, get mushrooms on your plate
Kevin’s Book recommendations:
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World
How to reach Kevin:
Website: SVHarvest@wordpress.com
Facebook: @sunvalleyharvestLLC
Email: svharvest@yahoo.com
At the Market: Uptown Farmers Market
UrbanFarm.org/SunValleyHarvest
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