Free Monthly Webinar Series on Specialty Mushrooms from Our Mushroom Project

containers of specialty mushrooms displayed at farmers market

A beautiful array of specialty mushrooms sold at a farmers market including shiitake, oyster, and lions mane.
Willie Crosby / Small Farms Quarterly

The Cornell Small Farms Program’s project focused on specialty mushroom farming enterprises is launching a monthly webinar series highlighting the latest research and stories from experienced growers around the region. These free webinars will occur on the first Wednesday of each month, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST, and will be recorded and posted for later viewing at www.CornellMushrooms.org and at the Small Farms Program YouTube channel.

The May webinar will include an overview of the project and available resources from extension specialists Steve Gabriel and Yolanda Gonzalez. Additionally, Renee Jacobson from Firefly Farm of Hornby, NY, will present results from a farmer grant she conducted trialing oyster cultivation on coffee grounds and sawdust. Join us!

Click here to sign up for the free webinars.

Specialty mushrooms are defined by USDA as any species not belonging to the genus Agaricus (button, crimini, portabella). The most common specialty mushrooms are shiitake (Lentinula edodes) and oyster (Pleuterous ostreatus), which represent the second and third most produced in the United States. Demand for specialty mushrooms is rapidly rising, as consumers look to purchase more foods that are healthy, nutritious, and medicinal. Production systems are scalable and highly adaptable to a wide range of farms in both rural and urban settings.

The project supports new and existing mushroom growers in all aspects of production, marketing, and sales through ongoing research and education efforts. The project website offers factsheets, videos, and free guidebooks as well as a directory of suppliers and a grower network email list. This material is combined with workshops and events to train growers in both indoor and outdoor production. Partners on the project include CCE Harvest NY, FarmSchool NYC, Just Food, Grow NYC, and Fungi Ally.

Learn more at: www.CornellMushrooms.org.

Steve Gabriel

Steve is an Extension Specialist focused on specialty mushroom production and agroforestry. Throughout his career, Steve has taught thousands of people about the ways farming and forestry can be combined to both benefit the ecology and economies of small farms.  He is also a farmer, author, hiker, and musician.
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2 Comments

  1. Avatar of Marianne Graziadei Marianne Graziadei on May 6, 2019 at 5:54 pm

    Currently have started shiitake mushrooms. Last fall was my first attempt. Waiting for results is spring 2019.

  2. Avatar of Johnston Chu Johnston Chu on June 22, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    Why my block does not fruit despite adequate humidity and air?

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