"I would love to bring my class here on a fieldtrip! I've been interested in mushroom growing for a long time. Reading books is not a nearly as helpful as seeing you. I hope I have a great garden this year."
"I loved detail in the demonstrations - actually did each step. Great food! Nice to have handouts on each topic to reduce note taking - Thanks"
"Awesome as expected"
"Appreciated variety of growing methods reviewed. Greenhouse classroom wonderful + food delicious. Whole experience was a delight. Thank you for so generously sharing your knowledge. :)"
"This whole concept is very exciting. Thanks Tradd, for the fun and interesting presentation"
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR BOOKING RATES AND AVAILABILITY.
For current and past workshops and events, please click here and scroll down the page.
2012-2013 LECTURE AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
Tradd Cotter, Author “Organic Mushroom Cultivation and Mycoremediation for Everyone”
Chelsea Green Publishing, January 15th, 2013 Release Date
POWERPOINTS
All powerpoints are beautiful colored slides, photographs, many with video and time
lapse detailing all aspects of the topics outlined. Slides can be reduced to simplify or
expanded in detail to accommodate and customize the scope of subject matter presented.
Handouts are provided via internet link with applicable PDF’s, excel worksheets, supplier
information, and more for download to minimize paper waste and reduce intensive note-
taking for attendees.
MUSHROOM CULTIVATION FOR EVERYONE
(1 hour powerpoint lecture) – overview/beginner to intermediate
If you think growing mushrooms is too complicated, here’s your chance to see how
easy and rewarding it can be. This workshop will get you growing, and you’ll leave
understanding the best ways to cultivate delicious mushrooms at home or on your farm.
You’ll learn about inexpensive start-up options for beginners, and many commercial
ideas to expand on.
MUSHROOM CULTIVATION FOR EVERYONE
(3-4 Hour Powerpoint workshop) – in depth/beginner to advanced commercial cultivation
If you think growing mushrooms is too complicated, here’s your chance to see how
easy and rewarding it can be. This workshop will get you growing, and you’ll leave
understanding the best ways to cultivate delicious mushrooms at home or on your farm.
You’ll learn about inexpensive start-up options for beginners, and many commercial
ideas to expand on.
This class will energize your efforts and maximize your production! Topics include:
life cycle of fungi; mushroom behavior and intuitive growing; choosing, buying, and
storing spawn; woodland mushroom farming (logs, wood chips, and composts); indoor
production (small and large scale); converting existing structures into grow rooms
(barns, chicken houses, storage containers): marketing your mushrooms (trends, demand,
strategies); organic pest management; alternative product development (powders,
extracts, composts).
MEDICINAL MUSHROOM GARDENS – CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION
(1 hour powerpoint lecture with Reishi Tea tasting)
Learn the incredible properties of many common fungi that have been used for centuries.
Find out about their effects on the human immune system and promising hope for
developing protection and cures for deadly and pandemic diseases worldwide. Explore
some of the most potent medicinal mushrooms and how you can grow them at home in
your garden in this in-depth, but easy to digest class. Learn the cultivation principles
and preparation of medicinal mushrooms for creating powders, extracts, and many other
forms of fungal products that will stimulate your health and enhance your well-being.
MYCOREMEDIATION
(1 hour powerpoint)
“Mycoremediation of Contaminated Soil and Water” - Many species of edible fungi sweat powerful enzymes into the environment capable of molecular disassembly of complex molecules such as hydrocarbons, aromatic chlorinated compounds, and pesticides. Mushrooms native to your area of the U.S. are also well adapted to filter, stun and destroy pathogenic bacteria that accompany failing septic systems, manure holding ponds, and even pet waste runoff. Learn how these mushrooms perform these miraculous tasks and how to develop a living barrier or filtration system that is customized to fit your needs. Talk will focus on biomass expansion, site engineering, and species of mushrooms that can be used for mycoremediation projects.
SHROOMIN’ OFF THE GRID
(1 hour powerpoint)
Low –tech and no-tech methods for high yielding mushroom cultivation with a low-to-no carbon footprint. Solar pasteurization, mycelial magnification procedures, disaster relief modules, utilizing indigenous and invasive plants, mycovermiculture, circular and perpetual food systems designs. A great way to enhance a current mushroom production system or create a revolutionary food system concept of your own.
SUMMER AND TROPICAL MUSHROOM CULTIVATION
(1 hour powerpoint)
Hot, summer weather deters many mushroom growers from attempting fruiting during
summer months or in more tropical climates, but there are a few great edibles that can be
grown in intense heat under primitive and low-tech conditions that make them profitable
candidates using locally available growing substrates.
Will cover cultivation strategies for paddy straw (Volvariella volvacea) , Giant Milky
(Calocybe indica), Almond Portabella (Agaricus blazei/brasiliensis/subfrutescens), and
more using tropical manures and native plant by-products such as hyacinth, banana
fronds, sugar cane, invasives and other common tropical plant debris.
RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING WITH MUSHROOMS
(1 hour powerpoint)
Are you wondering how you can help reduce pollution and lessen your impact on landfills? Join Tradd Cotter to learn how to grow edible mushrooms on trash you thought you couldn’t compost! Turn cardboard, cereal boxes and more in to fresh mushrooms, and then add
your leftover “fungus farm” to your garden to attract worms and enrich the soil. Create a circular system that’s a winner!
Learn everything from recycling and composting household items using fungi to bioremediating oil spills and toxic waste with native mushrooms. Tradd Cotter from Mushroom Mountain will delve deeper into the fungal kingdom than ever before,
describing new research with medicinal compounds and remarkable new applications
for fungi in agriculture, medicine, and bioremediation. A must-see for the experienced
naturalist, budding young scientist, or environmental decision makers in the area.
URBAN MUSHROOM CULTIVATION
(1 hour powerpoint)
Rooftop, Patio, and Indoor Techniques (includes recycling, composting, hydroponic
designs, intercropping with plants) for cultivating mushrooms in and around cities
where space and resources are thought of as obstacles. This lecture breaks the mold
and explores the ways to successfully cultivate in small spaces, using growing materials
commonly found or used or recycled from kitchen and home waste, converting it into
edible mushrooms for you and your neighbors!
Soul Mates For Life: Native Plants and their Fungal Partners"
(1 hour powerpoint)
In order to sustain life on this planet, a complex matrix of organisms has evolved to
orchestrate the balance. Our very existence relies on the bonds between them. Plants and
fungi have merged and performed sacred vows, and continue to unveil their brilliance
and benefits of collaborating with nature. We have a lot to learn from these relationships,
and understanding the respect they have for each other can teach us more than just
soil biology, they can help us speak their language. Our native plant communities are
communicating through their own internet, reaching out to other organisms to help repair
the ecosystems that perpetuate life on this planet.
HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS
Workshops may require additional materials such as take home items (logs, straw kits,
etc) depending on cost of attendance and availability. Handouts are provided either
in hard copy or via internet link with applicable PDF’s, excel worksheets, supplier
information, and more for download to minimize paper waste and reduce intensive note-
taking for attendees.
If you think growing mushrooms is too complicated, here’s your chance to see how
easy and rewarding it can be. This workshop will get you growing, and you’ll leave
understanding the best ways to cultivate delicious mushrooms at home or on your farm.
Inexpensive start-up options for beginners.
This class will energize your efforts and maximize your production! Topics include: life
cycle of fungi; woodland mushroom farming (logs, wood chips, and composts); indoor
production (small scale)or ganic pest management.
Much more in-depth than the 4 hour workshop, this class delves deeper into minute
details, concepts, and theories that provide growers with the most intuitive grasp of
mushroom cultivation at any level. Topics include: review of life cycle of fungi;
mushroom behavior and intuitive growing; choosing, buying, and storing spawn;
woodland mushroom farming (logs, wood chips, and composts); indoor production (small
and large scale); converting existing structures into grow rooms (barns, chicken houses,
storage containers): marketing your mushrooms (trends, demand, strategies); organic pest
management; alternative product development (powders, extracts, composts)
Designing and maintaining water filtration units. Biological and chemical pollutant
remediation. Herbicide degradation. Soil testing and better management practice
precedents. Mycopesticides – Entomopathogenic fungi in the U.S., discovery and
isolation, challenges in a chemical dominated industry. This hands-on version of the
shorter powerpoint allows attendees to design and build a filtration system given a
site survey and theoretical pollutant situation to solve. Bean and worm assays will be
constructed, example data will be given for statistical reporting and experimental analysis
for publication standards.
