Content shifting to www.wellspingforestfarm.com

The Agroforestry Solutions blog content will be discontinued as of October, 2013.

Instead, fresh blog content can be found on the following websites:

www.wellspingforestfarm.com (new Farm website with my fiance, Liz)

www.farmingthewoods.com (book I am co-authoring with Ken Mudge

This website still offers a variety of good archival posts about mushrooms and other agroforestry practices.

thanks,
Steve

Local Mushroom Logs for sale

Agroforestry Solutions is offering for sale inoculated shiitake logs for 2013. Grow you own gourmet mushrooms at home! Logs come ready to go you just set them up in a cool, shady spot. Full instructions included.

Shiitake logs can be fruited on a reliable schedule with soaking 24 hours in cold water. Each flush produces 1/4 - 1/2 pound of mushrooms or more.Wondering how many to get? SEE THIS POST

All wood was harvested sustainably from forests, where cutting was done to improve forest health.

NOTE: Because of state firewood hauling restrictions logs cannot be sold beyond 50 miles of Mecklenburg, NY.

OPTIONS:

Shiitake (Logs are 4 - 8" in diameter, 36"long)
- 2012 (will fruit this year): $20 each, 5 for $80
- 2013 (will fruit next year: $15 each, 5 for $60

ORDER DEADLINE: April 15th, 2013

Logs will be available for pick up in late April & into May. $25 extra for delivery within 20 miles of Mecklenburg, NY.

TO ORDER VISIT:
www.agroforestrysolutions.com and click on "products". Dried shiitake also available for $10/oz.

QUESTIONS?
Email steve@agroforestrysolutions.com or 607.342.2825

Pattern Languages bridge the gap between theory and practice

       Every time I come across the "pattern" topic in the permaculture curriculum I am both compelled and confused by it. Sure, the cool pictures and "everything is interconnected" message are appealing in their own right, but I've always thought that patterns were these mysterious keys that could help unlock the tools for developing good designs for various systems. Like the weathered but competent knowledge of an old timer farmer-type, who cannot exactly explain why he knows this or does that, but it's simply "how things are done.

The birth of a concept

Since the publishing of A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander in 1977, a handful of enthusiasts have taken an appreciation not only to the content of the book, but also the process by with Alexander and other Architects approached when thinking about how humans could design better cities.

 Alexander and his colleagues traveled the globe in search of patterns, specifically patterns of human settlement, that could be defined as successful by “making people happy” and improving their experience of a city. Patterns that repeated themselves became noted and if they appeared universal, that is, to exist despite cultural, religious, economic, and other differences, they were declared fit for the publication.

Thus, Alexander's definition of a pattern, one that is, "A pattern is a careful description of a perennial solution to a recurring problem within a building context, describing one of the configurations which brings life to a building". (Alexander et al, 1977) provided others with a compelling template for future design.

Most compelling about this proposal is the idea that the individual patterns Alexander and his team observed were like individual words – and like a language they were flexible in how hey were used. The idea of assembling the patterns and also noting the connection of one pattern to a next allows any designer to craft their own language of patterns. In Alexander’s words:

“…a pattern language is about patterns being like words. They stay the same but can be combined in different ways like words in a sentence. They can be used as in a network where one will call upon another (like a neuron network). When you build something you can put patterns together to form a language. So a language for your house might have patterns about transitions, light, ceiling height, connecting the second floor to the ground.

A community might put together a language including patterns about public and private spaces, cars, pedestrians and parking. Using languages helps you to visualize and think about what will really make you comfortable, really comfortable.

Good languages are in harmony with geography, climate, and culture. “

Alexander’s work is a incredible testament to the potential to name and articulate these patterns. He and his team did a rather detailed analysis and assessment in their inquiry, with several notable features:

1) The scholars traveled the world and looked for patterns which repeated themselves "across context"

2) Patterns were rated based on how accurate the authors believed them to be

3) Patterns were arranged from larger scale to smaller scale. Thus a reader could think of patterns on a city-wide scale, down to the details of light or trim in the room of one building

Pattern Languages & Permaculture

The concept parallels Permaculture thinking, which seeks to observe ecosystem patterns and apply them in landscape and farm design. In Alexander’s case, he was focused on cities and people's relationships to the spaces in them. Through this lens he created a complex network of good ideas & templates for urban planners and architects.

 

Permaculture co-founder David Holmgren, notes a similar benefit to pattern thinking in his book "Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability"

“Whether we are designing a garden, a village, or an organization, we need a broad repertoire of patterns of relative scale, timing, and geometry that tend to recur in natural and sustainable human systems…

…Further, we need to relearn pattern recognition because cultural innovation, especially media technologies, have scrambled the pattern thinking that was common in pre-industrial societies. This loss of ability to see, hear, and otherwise recognize the patterns of nature may be our greatest impediment in our attempt to adapt to the realities of energy descent…"

We do indeed have a long way to go in improving our abilities to see and implement patterns, one of the challenges being the inherent variability in scale. The principle "Design from Patterns to Details" which Holmgren propose in the same book always makes me think of tooling around on Google Earth, where a user can zoom into a site or landscape feature and with equal ease zoom out to see the large hillside, watershed, or land base the site is a part of. As farmers and permaculture designers, we need to hone these skills to the point where we are making decisions about water systems for our livestock or mushroom log soak tanks while being able to consider the decision in the context of the landscape hydrology, and larger network of streams, rivers, and lakes we are a part of.

While individual farmers, permaculturists, and others may be a ways off from devoting life, as Alexander did, solely to the pursuit of naming patterns in natural and human-designed agricultural systems, we can begin at least by naming the common experiences and observations that support our success. Farmers who cross paths at the local bar or a conference do this all the time, comparing notes about how they did this or what they learned from that. We could consider pattern languages for a number of key systems, for example:

Poultry Forage Systems

Rotational Grazing of Ruminants

“Mycoscaping” or Managing Fungus in the Landcape

Catchment & Storage of Water

And so forth.

            The benefit of such an exercise is to help dispel a complex concept or body of knowledge into more sizable chunks. Or, as Dave Jacke writes in the introduction to his pattern language, “A Forest Garden Pattern Language,” (Edible Forest Gardens, Vol 2, Pg 63)

“It crystallizes many issues and ideas….It serves as both a resource for deisgn ideas and inspiration, and a springboard into the following “how-to” chapters.”

Visual of Jacke's Pattern Language, by Ethan Roland (click to see larger)

            The idea that Pattern Languages offer a template for bridging the gap between theory and practice is compelling. Or, another way to think of it – how do we take what we learn from books, teachers, and classrooms and apply it to our daily grind as we labor on the landscape?

            The maps, sketches, and notations that are part of successful design of systems are also well supported by Pattern Languages, which offer a checklist against design work.

            More recently, a second pattern language emerged via Peter Bane, a Permaculture designer and teacher who wrote The Permaculture Handbook. Peter’s language is named “A Garden Farming Pattern Language” and offers “an aid to designing Permaculture systems on urban and suburban properties and for the creation of garden farms at whatever distance from city centers.”

            Both Jacke and Bane’s languages offer some templates for future language development: they both arrange the collection of patterns from large to small in terms of scale. Both also acknowledge the reality that design is not linear but a network of ideas and concepts. And both offer a provides some context, a problem statement, and a solution statement. Patterns exist independently, in connection to other patterns, and in connection to other pattern languages.

Pattern Languages moving forward

            I have some proposals for developing pattern languages. First off, the idea that many Permaculturists might simultaneously be developing pattern languages for subjects I am less familiar with to share with the network is exciting – but the challenge remains to offer these synthesis as a proposal – that is, something to be offered as a gift for feedback from the community.

            Alexander and his team traveled the globe to see if proposed patterns did indeed appear “across context.” This is a reasonable pursuit in studying cities and buildings as they have been developed in various forms for thousands of years. Permaculture and other integrated agricultural systems don’t necessarily have that benefit – at least in the modern context. We have examples from indigenous cultures to draw on but still lack an understanding of what really works in post-modern agricultural ecosystems.

In addition, we do not want pattern languages to be simply lists of good ideas. They should be grounded in research or at least positive affirmation from numerous sources. “Crowd-sourced” and “Participatory” are words that come to mind. As we author these languages we must proceed with a humble caution, and design methods for collecting feedback so that our pattern languages can evolve. This is true for much of Permaculture, where ideas come from advocates often without the ground-truthing to back it up.

A template to follow

            In Edible Forest Gardens, Dave Jacke provides an excellent analysis of pattern and pattern languages in relationship to design and Permaculture. This section of text is a “must read” for anyone thinking of writing their own pattern language. It is important to build knowledge on the basis of other knowledge, and thus we need to look at preceding Pattern Languages and build upon their strengths and weaknesses.

For starters, we can use the following template when writing an individual pattern:

Name: of the proposed pattern

Context: describing the circumstances in which the problem is being solved

Problem Statement: describing the issue to be revolved

Solution: Offering single or multiple solutions and relevant commentary

As patterns are assembled, they can be linked together. Patterns as a language should be arrange in order from large to small in scale, and grouped as deemed necessary by the author into similar themes.

The specific context and limitations in developing the pattern language should be expressed clearly at the beginning. And finally, the methods for encouraging the language to exist as a participatory effort should be described.

Imagine a group of languages that help landowners, farmers, and gardeners more efficiently assemble elements and the connections between them. Imagine the potential to discuss and develop a language over time that gets stronger and more transparent in its message. Toward this end, I am offering to begin develop two pattern languages, which I will gladly share with anyone wanting to participate in their development.

Book website

The first will be part of an upcoming book I am co-authoring with Ken Mudge on Forest Farming. (www.farmingtheforest.com) The pattern language is in the beginning states and will offer patterns for the practice of Forest Farming in the Eastern Hardwood Forest type. We will be consulting with case study farms we visit as well as through an online directory of forest farmers we are creating to discuss and receive feedback so that the language may be further developed.

Second, as part of the culmination of a grant I received to study ducks through NE-SARE, I will begin to offer a pattern language for raising ducks. I have found that duck rearing is considerably different from chickens and other poultry and see a pattern language as a good method to distinguish those differences.

Pattern Language writing offers an exciting and creative way to describe our experiences and have meaningful discussions about our work in such a way that is documented so that we can grow as we learn. Like many things it is the process of crafting a language that is of most benefit; indeed the end product is merely a synthesis of that process.  I hope you will join me in writing a pattern language of your own someday.

Steve Gabriel, steve@agroforestrysolutions.com

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS 
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Post from Ithaca's Food Web

Ithaca's Food Web is a great blog from Allison Fromme - thanks for the write up! 

EXCERPT:
"The ducks did eat the slugs, but the weather last summer was unusually dry, so the slugs were not as problematic as previous years. Steve says his biggest surprise was that one breed, the Muscovy, ate both slugs and the mushrooms -- not ideal if you aim to sell mushrooms. "The heritage breeds (Cayuga and Swedish blue) were notable foragers, often exploring the forest floor before heading to the food trough," he says. "

FULL POST: 
http://ithacasfoodweb.blogspot.com/2013/02/an-elegant-solution-ducks-devour-slugs.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=email&utm_content=542458&utm_campaign=0

2012 Results of Duck Research Part 1

Rouen Ducks in the Woods

As mentioned in previous posts, in early 2012 I received funding from NE-SARE, to study the integration of ducks into my mushroom laying yard as possible slug control. I also sought to compare different breeds for this task and to see how marketable duck products were to the local region. This past season I was fortunate to work with farmers, chefs, researchers, and extension folks as I raised 45 ducks of four breed types in my roughly 1000 log shiitake mushroom operation.

One of the signs you are onto some good stuff is when, after an experience you are left with more questions than answers. I feel like the first year of this two year study was in part an effort to see if the questions I was asked were appropriate, or even useful.

My specific interest in the project was to explore the relationship between three separate systems (woodlot, shiitake laying yard, and duck rearing) and seeing if they are compatible when combined into a single system. The original impetus was to use biological control (ducks) to deal with slug problems inevitable with mushroom production. The three main questions I am asking are:

I. Are ducks effective and reliable slug control in log-grown mushroom cultivation?
II. Is the forest affected in any negative way from the presence of ducks?
III. Are ducks economically viable as an additional income stream?

Summary of Activities

As a way to summarize the season, here is what I did, month-by-month:

JAN - APRIL
In the beginning months of 2012 I spent time talking to duck growers, researching materials and supplies, and placing orders for materials and ducklings for a May delivery. Through conversations I decided that I should open the study to include more breeds & heritage breed ducks and that the season would conclude with a tasting event to see if consumers had a preference amongst breeds.
          
MAY
The ducklings arrived and were raised in metal stock tanks for 2 weeks, then given grass forage during the day for 2 more weeks. Ducklings were given free choice of grain during this time and there were two groups, which would remain throughout the season:

Group #1: 10 Rouen, 15 Muscovy, 1 Chinese Goose (protection)

Ducks + Mushrooms + Forest

Group#2: 10 Cayuga, 10 Swedish Blue, 1 African Goose (protection)

SEE THIS POST FOR MORE

We only lost the Chinese Goose (strangled, sadly in the net fence) and one Rouen who also became entangled in some baling twine and had to be killed early.

JUNE
In early June three yards were set up with logs: one for each group and one as a control. Each section had roughly 120 logs. The duck house was also completed and put into place. The ducks moved into the site on June 10th, when we began taking data on mushroom yields, slug damage, duck weights, feed measurements, and any observations made by myself or my help, Joshua.

JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER
During these months work was limited mainly to feeding (.2 lbs per duck, 2x each day), watering, mushroom harvesting, and observations. Three randomly selected ducks from each breed were captured once per week and weighed. We learned many things about duck behavior and the differences in breeds.

OCTOBER
The ducks were taken to a local slaughterhouse on October 16. We stretched the kill date this long to see if there was any benefit to weight gain – or if weights would level off. Ducks were all sold to a local restaurant who also hosting the tasting event.

Cooking up for the tasting

NOVEMBER
The tasting event occurred November 6th. We had 16 participants including chefs, farmers, extension associates, and consumers. Each breed was minimally prepared and served in a blind test in two rounds; round one was breastmeat, round two was leg. Participants tasted the varieties and made notes on a worksheet. Everyone agreed that the most surprising element was that there was such a difference in taste between breeds. The Pekin (donated from a local farm) was the consistent favorite, while the Muscoy received poor marks and the three heritage breeds (Rouen, Blue, Cayuga) had positive marks with many participants noting more interesting flavors, in comparison to the Pekin which was deemed a “safe eat” for general consumers.

Expert Duck Farmer Mike from Kingbird

Results?

I will frame the results thus far in reference to the main questions this project seeks to answer:


I. Are ducks effective and reliable slug control in log-grown mushroom cultivation?
 
The answer to this is inconclusive, with the largest reason being the drought we had this growing season – the mushroom yard simply had less slugs present than normal. We did begin to see some slugs toward the end of the summer – and there is some anecdotal evidence that ducks can be effective at slug control IF mushroom logs are located near to their food, water, and housing.

We had almost 0% damage at the site where Muscovy/Rouens lived – once the mushrooms were fenced off as the Muscovy would actually try and eat them! But, foot traffic and foraging by ducks around the log fruiting area did seem to have a positive effect on reducing slug pressure.

The fruiting area in the Cayuga/Blue pen was located away from food/water/shelter of the ducks and slug damage was comparable to the control. It seemed the ducks just didn’t spend that much time down by the logs and thus didn’t clean up the slug population.

SEE THIS POST FOR MORE ITEMS I LEARNED ABOUT DUCKS

Muscovy - not our favorite.

II. Is the forest affected in any negative way from the presence of ducks?
 
Despite the fact that our farm by nature rotates animals and believes that continuous grazing or foraging of one area leads to negative effects, for the research I decided that in 2012 we would let the ducks forage in one area continuously to observe effects. As a result, there was noticeable impact to forest litter from the movement of the various duck flocks – though it was substantially more in the Muscovy/Rouen pen then the other duck pen. From this perspective ducks had a negative effect on forest health. As a result, ducks will be rotated in 2013 between different plots.

The ducks would also forage understory vegetation at will – which was both a pro and con as there was a large population of sugar maple seedlings (didn’t want to thin) but also of buckthorn (which is good to eradicate). As a result, in 2013 I will identify and cage vegetation that we want to ensure doesn’t get damaged by the ducks. They can feel free to pursue the unwanted vegetation.

Another impact that is likely positive was the large amount of manure left in the forest. I realized in hindsight that it would have been great to sample the soil and the beginning and end of the season to get a comparison. We will begin this practice in 2013 to help better understand the possible impact.


III. Are ducks economically viable as an additional income stream?
 
This question needs to be answered from multiple angles. For starters, the basic numbers are:

INCOME
218 lbs, 8 oz of ducks @ $5.50/lb = $1,201.75

EXPENSES
Feed: 20.5 weeks with 126 lbs feed/week @ .30/lb = $774.90
Slaughter = $130
TOTAL = $904.90

DIFFERENCE = $296.85

This simple calculation does not include infrastructure, labor, or other expenses involved in set up. (any initial investment) As for the labor, we consistently spend 30 minutes a day on chores (about 71 hours total) and another 30 hours on building, repairs, etcs. If we account for labor alone, then my hourly wage is less than $3/hr.

Ducks on the feed with our guard goose, Gary.

This is unfortunately the reality with much of farming. I was aware of this challenge and it remains one of the reasons to “stack” the duck chores with mushroom cultivation – where I get two yields for my time. For instance, while waiting for water to fill I was often harvesting mushrooms. So, there is potential.

Further, we can look for ways to reduce costs. Since my market was a restaurant, I need to take birds to the facility. I could market direct and do my slaughter on-farm but I think this would result in even less profit. I can certainly reduce feed costs – I fed the highest rate consistently for research purposes, and Muscovy were the only ones that consistently ate it all. Through rotation and breed selection I bet feed costs can be reduced by 10% - 20% or more. I can also get my feed custom mixed locally if I buy in quantity – I have yet to assess if this is cheaper but it likely is. I could also raise more birds, in effect more meat for the time invested. But 50 birds feels like a pretty large amount to manage, so I am hesitant about getting too many more.

The question of economic viability also contains more questions. For one, are the services (pest control and manure) of value to the farm? Of course, but at what price? And does it justify 50 ducks? I think that 6 – 12 ducks could easily fulfill the slug protection I am seeking. The key is to find that balance point between time, stocking rate, and costs.

Some notes on specific breeds. Muscovy tended to head directly to the food, eat as much as you gave, then forage. The Cayuga and Blues both foraged first and often left a considerable amount of food. The Rouens seems to want to follow this pattern also, but were in competition for food with Muscovy so often tried to eat first (“flock mentality”) Overall, the Rouens didn’t get a fair shot and ended up MUCH smaller then they should have been by several pounds – probably a result of stress living with the overbearing Muscovy.

From the restaurant perspective, our chefs were happy with the birds and sold out of them all almost instantly. There is clearly a demand there – especially in higher range restaurants. They (and others) mentioned wanting duck and having a hard time finding it. They actually felt the Muscovy were a big too big and would have a liked a 4 – 5 lb bird – they liked the taste of the heritage birds but said they were a little on the small side – so if I could offer a slightly larger Rouen/Cayuga/Blue or offer the same size at a lower price per pound, they’d be happy.

Outlook for 2013

All the data collected has been entered into a database and while we have some clear patterns there is still some work to be done to process and further analyze some specifics. During the Winter months research and system design will occur to decide what two breeds will be raised in 2013 and how management will differ. While in 2012 the goal was to sample breeds and make some general observations, 2013 is about system optimization. The birds will be rotated from forest to field and feed will be more limited to improve profitability. The data and observations from both years will be used in the final report, as well as booklet on duck management I tend to produce.

I’ve learned a lot this season and have many items I will change in 2013 to improve results and further my understanding of this potential system:

1)    Pen size will be smaller and restricted to areas right around mushroom fruiting zones
2)    Ducks will be rotated from forest to field to diversify their diet as well are reduce the impacts from continuous grazing the woods.
3)    One two breeds will be raised separately; 25 ducks each of (likely) Rouen and Cayuga. They will also be mixed male and female, with observation of traits for breeding
4)    Grain inputs will be limited and offered at a lower rate while trying to maintain weight gain
5)    Muscovy will NOT be raised (because they are high impact, they EAT the mushrooms, and they were not a favorite of the tasters)
6)    Desired vegetation will be fenced before ducks forage an area.
7)    Soil tests will be conducted at the beginning and end of 2013 season.
8)    Hopefully rainfall will be more normal and we’ll see more slug activity!


We continue to increase mushroom production and will have about 1000 logs in production next year. In addition to the meat birds we are looking to raise Khaki Campbell ducks for eggs. We are in the planning stages of our farm but will mix duck flocks, grazing sheep on rotation, and trees crops as our main system. Rather than offer the ducks water in tubs, we are looking to design more “natural” duck habitats as part of the rotation – small in ground ponds and wetlands, planting forage, etc.

Our focus is shifting from annual to perennial and tree crop production and believe that duck qualities make them the perfect animal in this system. One of our primary goals in our farm is to continuously try to reduce outside inputs, especially grain feed as it is energy intensive and also rising each year in cost. We are already convinced ducks can thrive on less feed than chickens but recognize that it is likely impossible to raise poultry from 100% onsite forages. We aim to continue to drop feed costs and would like to see at least a 40 – 50% reduction in outside feed. We also question if raising poultry for meat markets is inherently unsustainable, especially when compared to ruminants, who can largely be fed from maintained pasture and on-farm feed (hay). Perhaps ducks are better in the long term for egg production, or as a small flock for their ecosystem services. Still, with just starting out as a farm and the demand for duck meat very high, we feel compelled to try and work some meat production into our farm for several more seasons, and feel like heritage breeds, that are smaller and better foragers, better align with our goals.

Extension Meat Man Matt Leroux

Thanks and Praises

I'd like to thank the following folks for their support this season:

Roger Ort of Cooperative Extension of Schuyler County has been instrumental in consulting on duck questions and sourcing materials, feeds, etc. His experience is very valuable as a new farmer.

Hazelnut Kitchen, a wonderful Trumansburg restaurant, was willing to purchase all my ducks and communicate on their experience with them from a restaurant perspective. They also hosted the tasting and have been great partners in this learning.

Matt Leroux of Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County offered support organizing the tasting and some of the thinking behind a successful tasting.

Joshua Pezet was the hired help for this season and with his research experience was really great in helping analyze and re-design the research as we went. He was also a great and trustworthy companion in this experiment.

Professor Ken Mudge at Cornell University has been helpful in mushroom information, and feedback on our research integrity.

And, much thanks to all the participants in the duck tasting event. More on that in a subsequent post. 

Reviving the Wood Economy

As summer melts into fall I'm compelled to begin posting to the blog again. It's not that I didn't have anything to post during the summer, but its simply the result of so many hours spent outside, and so little time on the computer. This past growing season proved to be the busiest yet; as my partner Liz and I purchased land, moved and built a yurt we bought from some folks over the hill, and managed 50 ducks and 1,000 mushroom logs. All of this on top of part-time employment for Cornell Cooperative Extension and Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute, teaching gardening and permaculture to the public. It's nice to have some time to write again.

In fact, I've been prepping myself for the next blog post for some time, but there wasn't a topic that seemed to grab me at first. This website and blog was originally created to discuss and promote agroforestry strategies and concepts in a time where we need to rapidly step away from the consumption of fossil fuels and our dependance on unsustainable agriculture processes. It has long been my notion that the agriculture I want to participate in is one the leaves in its wake a forest; that someday when I walked away trees would be left in my footprints. This notion is what has led to my interest in forestry, in mushrooms, and in grazing animals underneath a canopy. And recently reading and article about vehicles powered by wood, I began looking thinking about this in a bigger picture sense;

Our area is threatened with a push from industry to drill deep into the ground and extract natural gas in order to feed our addiction to dense, ancient, and non-renewable forms of energy. While arguments from both sides highlight this possible benefit or that possible risk; the reality is that we simply don't know what hydrofracking is capable of, except that it is likely to have adverse effects. Inevitably a truck will spill (or dump) fracking waste; inevitably a well casing (or many) will fail and leach chemicals into the water table, inevitably many incidents will happen. As one example among piles of them, Dr. Anthony Ingraffea of Cornell University established that Marcellus Shale well casings have failed at a rate of 6.2% in Pennsylvania in 2010 and 2011, and this was based on data from the the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. At a lecture I saw him present he asked, "would you get on a plane whose engine failed 6.2% of the time?"

Brainstorm of the potential wood economy

The reality with fossil fuel extraction is that it is extremely resource intensive. It does not give back to the communities it takes so much from. It is not a technology that is within local means of control and access; you and I cannot personally gain access to natural gas, and so are forced to purchase it from a multi-national corporation. The only possible benefit is money for a few; and yet even this potential boom is a short term gain. I personally am tired of seeing proposed "solutions" such at these which have at best a small benefit and at worst destroy our homes and communities. If we do not believe and seek to find win-win-win situations, we are certainly destined for ultimate failure, that is, the collapse of society. There are plenty of examples of systems that benefit communities, individuals, economies, and the environment. And the good news is that by nature these systems have to be decentralized, localized, with the tools and means of production in the hands of the people.

I'm really not spouting some utopian fantasy, but a simple truth. When we engage with biological systems (versus industrial) as the basis of a local economy, we very quickly see the possibility of these win-win-win situations. And in the end, the goals we set for our communities determine the outcomes we seek. As I stated, my goal is to leave in my footprints a healthy and diverse forest. But I have to eat, and I have to make a living. Enter the Wood Economy; a necessary and appropriate system where wealth is not in dollars but in our local resources; it is not far away in holes buried deep in the ground, it is all around us in the cultivation and maintenance of a healthy local environment. It is not dependent on far away decision making and policy of the 1% in some government office, but in the backyards, farms, and community centers of out local neighborhoods, towns, and counties.

The wood economy starts in a typical northeastern forest; a small patch of woods that was likely left at some time in recent history by a farmer, who either couldn't farm the site because it was too steep or rocky or wet, or left the woods so he/she could harvest some firewood or maybe some timber. If we view the forest as a library of genetics, then the reality is that most of the good books are long gone; harvested and sent to the saw mill. The exception are a few large trees still in the hedgerows, their genetics the story of thousands of years of adaption to disease, pests, and climate change.

We also have perhaps the only benefit of a rapid decline in the percentage of our population as farmers; the abandonment of farm fields and the regrowth of another generation of forests; most less than 100 years old. The forests most of us walk through today are young, vulnerable, and immature. I often call these "teenage forests," as they are trying to find their way in the world. And they are. We can leave these forests to sort themselves out over the next several hundred years, and they might do just fine. But today's forests have an unprecedented amount of stress due to pests, disease, and a changing climate. We also inevitably need wood products. So, if we are to usher in a healthy forest economy, if we want to give our forests the best chance in the face of everything coming their way, we need to participate in steering their growth and succession.

The good news is that there is plenty of positive intervention we humans can enact on our forest ecosystems. This is how I began farming mushrooms. As noted in a previous post, often a young forest benefits from a thinning around 20 - 25 years in age; and it just so happens that the size of the logs (4 - 8" in diameter) are perfect for mushroom cultivation. A win-win-win! Sold at $16 - $20/lb, mushrooms give me an economic incentive to spend time in the woods, a job in other words. The forest benefits from the thinning. And my community benefits from a highly nutritious and medicinal food.

As I thin the woods for mushroom logs, I also inevitably end up with firewood. So, two yields for my efforts - and now incentive for harvesting not only sugar maple, oak, and beech (preferred for mushrooms), but also red maple, ash, hickory, and other hardwoods. My friend and co-forester Lance Ebel of New Leaf Environmental also found a market for "camp-wood" - i.e. the $5 bundles campers pick up when they come to our area state parks for a camping trip. Outdoor fires are not like woodstove fires - you don't want the hardwoods but softwoods that burn hot and bright. And so, we now have an incentive to pull spruce, pine, and basswood from the forest. Finally, a recent surge in interest for gardens has grown the demand for black locust for fence posts, as it is highly rot resistant. As we harvest these products, the key though is that we leave the healthy trees and take the damaged, diseased, or undesired species - thereby leaving the forest better than we found it. This is the beginning of the forest economy.

There are so many possible ways to branch out from here. (pun intended!) Over the next multiple blog posts I'll zero in on some of these concepts, all of which together offer opportunities for jobs, improved environmental health, and increased community control over it's resources. As a farmer and educator of permaculture and ecological management, I'm compelled to find others interested in this topic because as I have found, I cannot make a livelihood if it is not connected to the livelihoods of others. Alone, or with only a few others, there is no economy. It takes a community with foresters, loggers, landowners, basket weavers, wood artists, farmers, and consumers to make this work. I know of very few who currently make their living from the forest; and yet there is ample room for people.

Ducks are not Chickens

 Are ducks the better "permaculture poultry"?

 

When my partner Liz and I first got interested in raising ducks, the reasons were two fold; we wanted to try something other than chickens, and I wanted to stop having to pick slugs off of mushrooms. We are now in our second season, having gone a peak population of seven ducks last year to over 50 this season. We are raising ducks for eggs and meat, the latter being part of a NE-SARE funded research project.

One of the most striking things I've found about duck raising is the complete lack of good literature guiding newbies along on the process, especially when compared to the volumes and volumes on chickens. In fact, many resources imply that ducks are pretty much like chickens when it comes to husbandry. Well, I've found this NOT to be the case in many regards.

I find it curious that ducks are so uncommonly considered as more people get into raising their own poultry in the US. Indeed, along with promoting mushrooms as an alternative crop, I see in my future efforts to promote ducks as alternative poultry.

Here are some of the unique characteristics of ducks, good and bad:

WATER - they need lots!
We've found that our ducks are happiest when they have access to a water font in addition to a small tub they can bathe in. While not essential to their survival, the pool clearly makes them love life. Since ducks root around in the ground, they need water they can submerge their heads into to clean out their nostrils. This is why the water also gets really dirty quick. I've realized there is a difference between sorta dirty and this-needs-changing-now dirty. It's better to use a small tub and change more often then try and get away with

FORAGING - they are real good at it.
Ducks are incredible foragers. The few books out there claim that some breeds may be able to forage for almost 100% of their own diet. We've certainly noticed a reduction in feed costs vs chickens for mature birds, though this is at best anecdotal. The research I'm doing this year will determine how much we actually feed, and we'll actually see if the difference is as much as we think.

BURROWING vs. TILL & SCRATCH
Probably my favorite aspect to their foraging is that ducks don't till/scratch like chickens, but instead borrow into the soil with their beaks. This means that while they can remove seeds and insects as they forage like chickens, they don't turn over and decimate the soil. In fact, I think the rooting promotes healthy aeration of the soil, without destroying it's structure. This quality also means that ducks can be grazed in forested settings, as they won't destroy the leaf cover and understory like chickens would.

POOP - the good and the bad
One of the first questions I get asked about ducks (after, don't they need a pond?) is "doesn't their poop stink real bad?" to which I always reply; "yes, but all animal poop, mismanaged, stinks real bad." We are currently figuring out what best management practices work for ducks, especially for our 50 ducks who currently poop a lot and yes, it does add up and stink. Three things we've learned are 1) keep their bedding fresh 2) leave the water out of the duck house at night (except when they are young) to minimize water spillage inside 3) rotate them around. We are working to manage this waste as a resource, as duck manure is highly nutritious (like chicken) and useful for on site fertility.

HOW THEY EAT - they swallow food whole
Unlike chickens, who will peck at things for hours and pre-digest food in a gullet before swallowing, ducks take their food whole. This is a VERY significant difference because it means that ducks can be used in agricultural situations as a pest control while the plants are growing. Only the tender greens and shoots will be tempting for ducks. This is a big difference to chickens as they are often useful to the garden at the beginning and end of the season, but never during, as they'll annihilate a garden in short order.

DISEASE & COLD TOLERANCE
Ducks are extremely disease and cold tolerant; we don't have to concern ourselves as much with mites or foot rot or anything of the like (as long as the bedding stays clean) and the cold tolerance is key; duck houses don't need to be heavily insulated come winter and ducks are happy to get wet and dry out, whereas chickens can easily get cold and need to be kept dry.

When I teach permaculture, I have often used the chicken to demonstrate the principle of "multiple functions" as seems to be the tradition in permaculture circles. Indeed, Bill Mollison wrote about the chicken as a prime example of "looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system."

When any animal is seen as a member of an ecosystem, everything changes. I don't view my ducks as primarily egg or meat producers. In fact I consider these products to be surplus of the main roles ducks play in sustainable systems: pest control, foraging, fertilizing. The growing niche markets for duck eggs and meat simply encourage me to raise more of them; but even a half dozen ducks would add a wonderful element to any garden or farm system.

While clearly this post offers a favoring opinion of ducks, I really can't say they are a "better" choice for those interested in integrated farming/gardening systems. As with many decisions, it depends on what you are after. If you want to raise birds in woodland settings and forest gardens and have them focus on pest control, ducks may be the best choice. If you want to clear vegetation, till soil, and have it fertilized, then go with chickens. Ultimately, all animals have their pros and cons, and its up to the designer to approximately match the species to the situation.

Mushrooms Wild & Cultivated

Stropharia rugosa-annulata

Friends and fellow mushroom enthusiasts Steve Gabriel and Ari-Rockland Miller are teaming up to offer two upcoming classes in Vermont to explore the best practices and future potential for both mushroom cultivation as well as wild foraging.

Mushrooms are truly a remarkable organism. A member of the fungal kingdom, they are more closely related to animals then plants; they breathe oxygen and expire CO2, just like us! They are key components in soil and forest health; some provide primary decomposition, breaking the tough bonds in woody materials to make them available for other soil organisms, while others bond in a symbiotic relationship with plants to capture and cycle nutrients and water. Mushrooms have been shown to also be powerful healers, ranging from breaking down hydrocarbons in oil spills (oyster) to inhibiting the growth of cancer cells (shiitake, lions mane).

Nearly all cultivated mushrooms are saprophytic, meaning they decompose woody organic matter and in turn build soil fertility while producing fruiting bodies for reproduction. Saprophytes are the planet’s great recyclers, turning dead plants into nutrients available to living plants and animals. These saprophytes vary in their pickiness around food source – some, like shiitake, favor specific hardwood tree species, while others, like the oyster, are generalist decomposers that will eat just about whatever you put on their plate.

Oysters seem equally happy feasting on sawdust, straw, toilet paper, coffee grounds, or petrochemicals (making them prime candidates for mycoremediation, as demonstrated by mycologist Paul Stamets). Shiitake is easy to cultivate but does not grow wild in this region, while other saprophytes like the king stropharia can be cultivated as well as foraged in North America. In the workshop, participants will learn how to clone native king stropharias to harness the wild and bring it into the garden.

Many of the most gourmet wild mushrooms are mycorrhizal fungi that are extremely difficult to impossible to cultivate. Mycorrhizal mushrooms like the porcini, chanterelle, and matsutake are revered for their flavor and coveted for their wild, unpredictable fruiting habits. These fungi form complex symbiotic relationships with plant roots that benefit both parties. Rather than drive ourselves crazy trying to cultivate such finicky fungi, we will learn how to find and ID them in the wild!

Steve Gabriel has been growing shiitake and other mushrooms for six years. He educates landowners, farmers, and gardeners though his work at Cornell Garden-Based Learning and through the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute. He currently operates a 1,000 log shiitake operation and is co-authoring a book on the practices of Forest Farming.


Ari Rockland-Miller, co-founder of The Mushroom Forager, is an ardent mycophile who enjoys nothing more than the exhilarating feeling of the mushroom hunt. Over the past few years he has found hundreds of pounds of gourmet and medicinal wild mushrooms, and he loves sharing his knowledge with blog readers and workshop participants.  Ari became an expert in shiitake cultivation after managing Cornell University’s Mushroom Research Project and the MacDaniels Nut Grove, Cornell’s forest farming demonstration site.




“Mushrooms Wild & Cultivated” will be held June 2nd at Shelburne Farms (Shelburne, VT) and June 3rd at Twin Pond Retreat (Brookfield, VT) . For $65 students take home an inoculated shiitake log and oyster substrate. Participants should plan on bringing their own lunch.

Shelburne Farms
Shelburne, VT
June 2 from 9:00am - 4:00pm
$65 includes one inoculated mushroom log
TO REGISTER CALL 802-985-8686



Twin Pond Retreat
Brookfield, VT
June 3 from 9:00am - 4:00pm 
$65 includes one inoculated mushroom log
TO REGISTER Email name, email, and phone number to steve@agroforestrysolutions.com or call 607.342.2825

Mushrooms as a byproduct of Forest Health

Sugaring at the Cayuga Nature Center, 2007

My interest in mushrooms didn't stem (pun intended!) from the desire to be a farmer or to have more mushrooms growing around me than I knew what to do with. It came from a sincere interest in looking for incentives to get woodlot owners to manage their woods. Over harvesting for timber is unfortunately ravaging healthy forests who are recovering from centuries of abuse. And many young forests also need thinning to improve the health of the residual stand. It was the combined idea of the landowner making an income (and thus reducing pressure to log the big trees) and the idea that mushrooms could make good use of small diameter wood (as a byproduct of thinning) that led me into the world of mushrooms.

Several years ago I served as Land Use Manager for wonderful place located outside of Ithaca, the Cayuga Nature Center. I was hired to work on land use planning and programming related to good management of fields and forests, including permaculture. One of the traditions we continued was tapping maple trees each spring and hosting Maplefest, a two day festival that promoted sugaring and the history of the practice, from the time of native americans to present day. During my tenure there we tapped about 100 trees and for the first time in the 30 years history of CNC bottled and sold our syrup as a fundraising mechanism.

Where the mushrooms entered was the action we undertook to thin some of the sugarbush (the grove of trees we tapped) to improve the health of the trees we were tapping. This left us with a pile of small diameter wood, which inevitably was headed to the firewood pile, which was plentiful. I had heard of a local man in Hector (Steve Sierigk) who was growing mushrooms on logs, and thought we should give it a try. In 2006 we had our first mushroom class at the nature center, which was also to be the beginning of my career as a mushroom grower and forest farmer, though I didn't know at the time.

Done right, thinning benefits the woods.

The key point in the story is that the mushroom logs were a byproduct, a "surplus" of a necessary activity if we wanted to keep the forest at an optimal health. The logs we cut down, as well as the ones I continue to cut down each winter are all in this category. Often they have some rot, are mangled, and aren't very straight. But were I to select the perfect logs - the straightest, the ones free from disease and defect, I would at the same time be taking out the best genetics - the best trees - in other words, the trees that should be left on the stump to grow old.

As for economics, I did some figures for a presentation I gave at the 2011 NOFA conference that compared the income generated from cutting older trees for timber vs younger trees for mushroom logs.

Let's say I decide to cut a 100 year old White Pine, which might yield 500 board feet. At current prices, log is worth maybe $250 at mill but you have to subtract the expenses for the forester, logger, fuel, etc, which means there might be a one time profit of $75 for that log. That 100 year old tree. Surely there is more value in leaving that tree standing to seed numerous generations of new pines for decades to come. (these figures are based on talking to multiple foresters and loggers)

Compare this to a 25 year old Sugar Maple, which might yield ten three foot mushroom logs. These ten logs over lifetime will yield at least 20 pounds of mushrooms, which can be sold for $240 ($12/lb). The costs of harvesting, transport, inoculation, management equal about $2/log, or $40. This means that over the lifetime of the logs (about 4 years), this ONE and very young tree offers a $200 profit, more than twice the above.

And again, a 25 year old tree is a world away from a 100 year old tree. These young trees, especially sugar maple, are reaching the PERFECT size for mushroom logs at about this age. They often grow in thickets and this is a perfect time to intervene, leave the best, and use the rest for mushroom production.

To me, shiitake production is just the beginning of the potential for agroforestry products to both be better in terms of forest health as well as economic vitality. I'll be offering two classes coming up which will discuss this linkage more and go over forest management practices in addition to the basic inoculation strategies for shiitake, oyster, stropharia, and lions mane:

Little Farm of Paradise, Hampton NY (north of Albany on the VT border)
May 20 from 10:00am - 3:00pm
$80 includes one inoculated mushroom log

Shannon Brook Farm, Watkins Glen, NY
June 10 from 10:00am - 3:00pm
$65 includes one inoculated mushroom log

TO REGISTER, email your name, email, and phone number to steve@agroforestrysolutions.com or call 607.342.2825

Still plenty of mushroom classes coming up!

Join mushroom farmer and extension educator Steve Gabriel for a mushroom class this May or June and learn how you can grow your own edible mushrooms for fun and profit.

Participants will learn several cultivation methods for multiple species (shiitake, lions mane, oyster, and stropharia) that are practical on both a home and small commercial scale and appropriate for all experience levels.






MAY
Three Sisters Farm, Sandy Lake, PA: May 12
Rochester Permaculture Center, Rochester NY: May 13
CCE Hamilton County, Piseco, NY: May 19
Little Farm of Paradise, Hampton NY: May 20

JUNE
Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT: June 2
Twin Ponds Retreat, Brookfield, VT: June 3
Shannon Brook Farm, Watkins Glen, NY: June 10

Classes are filling up so contact us to register today.
MORE INFO

CONTACT:
Steve Gabriel
steve@agroforestrysolutions.com
607.342.2825

Here come the duckies...!

When I wrote about receiving grant funding from NE-SARE in Febuary, it was a brief moment of satisfaction before I realized that with opportunity comes responsibility. Research is a heck of a lot of work, and the trial I'll be conducting this season running ducks in my mushroom yard to see if I can reduce slug pressure on the mushroom crop while yielding another foodstuff is requiring a bit more time and energy than if I was simply raising ducks and mushrooms

Though this is an research project, duck happiness is still my #1 goal.

One challenge to any project is its ever-changing nature. Take my choice in duck breeds, for example. In the original grant I wrote, I determined that I'd try out common meat birds, Muscovy's and Pekin. This was based on the rather simple notion that I wanted the breed that gained weight fasted. Yet on further reflection and discussion with my technical advisor, Roger Ort, and his family, I realized that I was looking at the situation too narrowly.

In fact, what I've decided to do is trial FOUR breeds; two traditional meat ducks and two heritage breeds, to determine which duck fits best into the forest system. As a result, 45 furry ducklings arrived in the mail yesterday and we've set about caring for them as best we can. Here's the breakdown:

FLOCK #1: A mix if Muscovy and Rouen, traditional breeds raised for meat (see pic above)

FLOCK #2: A mix of Swedish Blue and Cayuga, heritage breeds raised for meat and eggs

My interested in comparing breeds is what has led to the increase in work, since I'll need to maintain separate flocks, weigh birds, and spend ample time observing behaviors. I'm not complaining at all, just emphasizing the reasons research grants are important. Without the financial support to explore the possibilities most farmers just don't take the risk. They stick to what they know works, which is work enough already!

In my assessment of the breeds, we'll be looking at the following variables to determine which breed will likely serve as the best for year two of the trial, where I'll raise one flock and work to optimize the system and begin a breeding program. (This year the birds are all males, to maintain consistency)

Brooder set up.

a. How well the breed forages.

The central reason for the trial is to examine the role ducks can play as biological control agents in perennial agroforestry systems. So the simple end of it is, which duck keeps the slugs at bay?

b. Pounds of feed for pounds of meat.

Rather than just focusing on the breeds that put on the most pounds, I'm going to look more at the efficiency of converting food to meat. Some of the books I've been reading claim the heritage breeds can forage for almost all of their diet. So while there may be less meat overall on a heritage bird, if that bird is able to get his/her food for "free" from a healthy ecosystem all the better.

c. The breed I most like to work with.

This category remains largely subjective but having raised animals I know the variables in temperament, style, and even entertainment value. I already have a slight bias toward the rarer, heritage breeds of ducks; in a time where our food system has nearly eliminated many animal species it feels important to try and play a role in their restoration.

d. Which breed tastes the best.

Rumor has it that while the meat breeds pack more pounds, the heritage breeds might have more complex and interesting flavors. To test this out we'll conclude the trial this year with a taste test in the Fall, working with local chefs who will prepare each breed in the same fashion and provide our "judges" with samples to see which breeds are most enjoyed.

I hope that readers do not take the language in this post to imply that I am treating these ducks without to utmost care and respect. Folks may disagree on the details about raising animals for meat but I believe it to be a critical element to a sustainable food system and take pride in providing my animals with complete care and access to natural environments. I do not view these wonderful creatures as commodities but as sentient beings that need our respect and admiration. Duck happiness had to always been the number one goal.


and finally, a brief reminder of upcoming mushroom classes:

May 12: Three Sisters Farm: Sandy Lake PA
May 13: Rochester Permaculture Center: Rochester, NY
May 19: Cornell Cooperative Extension Hamilton Co: Piseco, NY
May 20: Little Farm of Paradise: Hampton, NY
June 2: Shelburne Farms, Shelburne NY
June 3: Twin Pond Retreat, Brookfield, VT

May 5th & 6th Class for Growers Canceled

Due to low enrollment, the weekend May 5th and 6th class targeted to those interested in small scale commercial production of shiitake is being canceled. This class may be rescheduled in September of this year but for now consider attending another of our upcoming workshops which are filling up fast.

Our first few classes in the Southern Tier of NY, Western Mass, and the Hudson Valley were a wild success, with mushroom enthusiasts filling space to capacity.

Participants get the basics of shiitake, oyster, lions mane, and stropharia cultivation and get to take home inoculated substrates in all of these classes. Both backyard growers and those intersted in commercial production can have their questions answered.

Upcoming Dates:

May 12 -- Mushrooms in Permaculture Systems: Sandy Lake, PA
May 13 -- Edible Mushrooms for Backyard Growers: Rochester, NY
May 19 -- Inoculation Demonstration: Piseco NY
May 20 -- Mushrooms & Forest Management: Hampton, NY
June 2 -- Mushrooms Wild & Cultivated: Shelburne, VT
June 3 -- Mushrooms Wild & Cultivated: Brookfield, VT
June 10 -- Mushrooms & Forest Management: Watkins Glen, NY

More info: http://agroforestrysolutions.blogspot.com/p/mushroom-classes-northeast-new-york.html

A Beginning Farmers Dream: Shiitake as a Niche Crop

The perfect niche crop?

Beginning farmers young and old have their work cut out for them: while their passion and persistence may be strong, the barriers to getting started can often seem overwhelming and even impossible. These factors may include access to land, start-up funds, and developing a skill set that wasn't taught in school or college. And yet despite these challenges, more and more want in. And its a good thing - with increasing food costs, questions about food safety, and a growing market in local foods, we are going to need all the farmers we can get.

There are a number of wonderful organizations that have emerged specifically to help the beginning farmer. One is located just down the hall from me; the Cornell Small Farms Program, which is a program of cooperative extension, launched the Northeast Beginning Farmer Project site in 2006. NOFA-NY hired a beginning farmer coordinator and offers members a hotline to call in with questions. And in our local area, Groundswell has emerged to support those interested in farming with opportunities to interact and learn from regional farmers. 

Probably the biggest shift for new farms is coming to terms with the reality that farming is hard work, especially when many of us have spend our lives sitting at a desk listening or typing away at a computer. We simply don't have the life experience of hard labor to back up our dreams. The good news is we are built to be active animals, using our bodies to get the job done. While the transition can be a tough one, it seems that everyone who passes this hurdle never regrets it.

Designing a laying yard is key to success.

The other initial shift that needs to occur is patience - too many farm dreamers want it all the first year, or even the first few years of farming. But the reality is that farms take decades and lifetimes to build, and we need to see our work in this context. Inevitably new farmers are dealing with poor soil fertility, low levels of experience, and a lot of upfront cost. Taking time to slowly build a farm within ones means and abilities increases the likelihood of success.

This is where the importance of a niche crop arises. I'm defining a niche crop as four things:

1) OPEN MARKETS: the crop has open local and regional markets and a demand from consumers
2) SCALABLE: the crop can be started small and steadily increased to meet the farmers goals
3) LOW INVESTMENT/HIGH RETURN: the crop has low initial costs and a high market value
4) RESILIENT: the crop can accept a varying and changing environment, and also is forgiving to the farmer's learning curve

Enter Shiitake as perhaps one of the best candidates as a niche crop, at least in the Northeastern US. The markets are more or less wide open, with consumers and chefs eager to get their hands on this tasty and nutritious food. Shiitake can be easily sold at farmers markets, to restaurants, and through CSA models for $11 (wholesale) to $16 (retail) a pound.

Shiitake offers a sound return on investment.

A beginner can start with 100 logs, which yields roughly 10 lbs a week, or $120 to $160 of sales, and add more logs until he/she is satisfied. The cost to inoculate each log is $1.50 - $3.00, which pales in comparison to the $50 - $60 of sales per log that will be gained over it's lifetime. And other than drying out, the crop is forgiving of changing weather conditions, floods and droughts, and even the farmer's desire to take a vacation.

One of my favorite things about being a mushroom grower is that I don't feel like I have to compete to survive. I can both teach backyard growers how to cultivate their own mushrooms while selling them to others who just want to purchase them. I can collaborate with other local growers as the demand is high and none of us will be able to meet it anytime soon. Even if/when more growers enter the market and the price eventually drops, there is still  good profit margin in mushroom growing.

While I'm making Shiitake out to be the wonder crop, I'll return to the key points made above: cultivating mushrooms is relatively HARD work, and you'll perish if you don't enjoy cutting and moving logs on a regular basis. Setting up a laying yard to improve your labor efficiency is key to success. And of course, marketing and branding a product is key to getting customers excited about the product.

We are offering a training on May 5th and 6th for beginning and established farmers looking for detailed information on the particulars of growing shiitake mushrooms on a small scale (200 - 1,000 logs). Included in the class will be:

- Basics of shiitake cultivation & how to do it efficiently
- Designing a laying yard to save time & your back
- Setting up a soaking schedule, harvesting, storing, and drying shiitake
- Marketing to farmers markets, restaurants, and CSAs
- The economics; where are the costs and how can I minimize them?
- Other add-ons: commercial oyster, stropharia, and lion's mane cultivation (experimental)
- Basic forest management and chainsaw safety

In addition to the above topics, participants will get to see two active mushroom yards and talk with experienced growers about the particulars of cultivation.

The class will run from 9am to 4pm on Saturday, May 5 and 9am to 4pm on Sunday, May 6 in Mecklenburg, NY Participants are welcome to camp out on the land or we can recommend local hotels or B&Bs for a more comfortable stay. Cost is $125, which includes several inoculated substrates to take home.

Questions and registration can be directed to steve@agroforestrysolutions.com or 607.342.2825.

Classes are supported by the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute and Northeast Mushroom Growers Network.