The Beginner's Garden with Jill McSheehy · Jill McSheehy

427 - Grow Mushrooms in Your Garden with Matt McInnis

·40 min·3 clips

Matt reveals how to grow mushrooms in garden paths, producing food where vegetables won't thrive.

This episode features host Jill McSheehy interviewing Matt McInnis from North Spore Mushrooms about integrating mushroom cultivation into a home vegetable garden. Jill approaches the topic as a complete beginner, and Matt shares his expertise from over a decade of experience in mushroom cultivation and gardening. They explore practical methods for gardeners to grow edible fungi alongside their traditional crops. Matt outlines four fundamental techniques: inoculating wood-chip garden paths, mixing spawn into straw mulch around plants, creating dedicated mushroom beds, and using pre-colonized sawdust blocks buried like bulbs. He also describes the traditional method of cultivating mushrooms on hardwood logs, which can produce harvests for up to a decade. The conversation covers specific species suitable for beginners, with Matt frequently recommending wine cap mushrooms for their hardiness and prolific nature. He explains that mushrooms often fruit in synchronized flushes triggered by environmental changes like rainfall or temperature shifts. A key insight is that mushrooms can be grown in shady garden areas where sun-loving vegetables won't thrive, effectively producing food from underutilized space. Matt details how fungal mycelium decomposes organic mulch, like straw or wood chips, releasing nutrients that benefit nearby plants such as tomatoes or garlic. He reveals that certain mushrooms, like wine caps, can help manage nematode pests in the soil. The discussion challenges the common grocery-store perception of mushrooms by highlighting the vast diversity of flavors and textures in cultivatable species, from almond agaricus with its anise scent to meaty shiitakes. Matt advises that successfully grown mushrooms can last about a week in the refrigerator when stored in a paper bag. For preservation, he recommends dehydrating, sautéing and freezing, or even pickling surplus harvests. He emphasizes that all cultivated mushrooms should be cooked to aid digestion and enhance flavor, and assures listeners that cultivated varieties lack dangerous look-alikes when grown in a controlled garden setting. Jill concludes the episode by sharing her own initial results six weeks after planting, noting rapid oyster mushroom fruiting and family approval of the taste. The tone is highly conversational, educational, and encouraging, with Jill asking clarifying questions from a novice's perspective. The style is practical and demo-focused, aimed at demystifying the process and inspiring experimentation. This episode is ideal for vegetable gardeners curious about permaculture, soil health, or expanding their homegrown food repertoire. Listeners interested in low-effort, multi-year crops or those with shady garden spots will find valuable ideas. It might be less appealing to those solely focused on fast-growing annual vegetables or without any garden space.

As heard by us

A practical mushroom-growing primer that covers where to plant, how the patch takes hold, and what happens after the first season.

This episode is a straightforward primer on growing mushrooms at home, built around a conversation with Matt McInnis of North Spore Mushrooms.

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Why you'd press play

If you want mushrooms to feel as ordinary as mulch, start here.

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