Make Money With a Marvelous Mushroom

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The spent medium makes an excellent compost for the family garden. In addition, the straw—a product normally not used as cattle feed because it contains lignin (a complex chemical which must be broken down before the forage can provide any nutritional benefits for livestock)—is transformed by the mushrooms into wholesome fodder!

TO YOUR INCOME AND HEALTH!

Dr. Kurtzman's mushroom house contains 380 square feet of vertical growing surface. At peak output, he can expect to harvest 300 pounds a month, 12 months a year! Obviously, this is more fungi than even the most avid mushroom gourmand could eat . . . but, with the price for oyster mushrooms running as high as $3.00 a pound, it could very well be worth your while to seek outside markets for your surplus. Check with local vegetable wholesalers, restaurants, health food stores, and consumer co-ops.

Oyster mushrooms can be stored up to two days without refrigeration, after which they're subject to spoilage. However, if you sun-dry the delicacies on screen or cheesecloth trays (or in an oven at 140°F) and store them in a dark, dry place, they'll keep indefinitely. Another nice feature of Pleurotus is that you can easily reconstitute the dried mushrooms in a bowl of cool water.

Besides adding a festive and mouthwatering touch to your meals and putting cash in your pockets, mushrooms have many hidden virtues. For example, edible fungi are good sources of protein, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin C, folic acid, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. To top all that, mushrooms can be a dieter's best friend . . . they have about the same caloric value as an equivalent quantity of non-fattening apple!

And believe you me—monetary and health rewards aside—these marvelous homegrown mushrooms will be about the most delicious you've ever eaten . . . my taste buds will swear to it!

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