Falling for an Autumn Log Inoculation 
at Field and Forest Products
Written by Joe

A change in leaves means it's almost time for fall inoculation here at FFP.

Autumn has definitely arrived here in the Northwoods. Our first killing frost was the week of September 12th. The geese are starting their journey south, and the bracken fern on the forest floor has browned and is beginning to topple over. This all adds up to dreams of late season brook trout fishing in the morning, coupled with a ruffed grouse hunt in the afternoon, but alas reality dictates otherwise.

I guess we have no one else to blame other than ourselves for our new found log inoculation schedule. In February of 2010 Mary Ellen and I took a tour of log grown shiitake operations in Japan and noted that the large operations (100,000 plus logs) did all of their inoculations in the fall of the year, and either held the logs inside for incubation or outdoors in plastic wrapped piles. Unlike growers in our southern states who preferentially inoculate in the fall and through the winter, we tend to lay low in the late fall and toss back cheese curds to bulk up for the onslaught of winter weather. However, last November when the kids were home for Thanksgiving break they begrudgingly agreed to help with a fall inoculation trial. We had several large oaks and oak branches become available as a result of stormy weather in September, and having the firewood larder filled, we thought it would be a good test to fall inoculate this wood and incubate it inside over the winter. In one day we knocked off about 60 logs using thimble spawn. The logs were crib stacked, covered with cardboard and then sealed in black plastic. The logs were held in our fruiting room where the temperature is generally 65-68°F with a relative humidity of 90-95%. The logs were placed outside in late May when winter finally ended (or so it seemed!)

This wide range strain, WR46, was inoculated Thanksgiving 2010.

The results this past growing season were favorable. We had volunteer fruiting at seven months of age, and logs were forced fruited at nine months with good results. It dawned on us, as we were finishing our 2011 inoculation in late June(!) that due to the nature of our business, it would make much better sense to fall inoculate logs when time and staff were readily available.

This past spring we met a local landowner who is in the process of thinning a hard Maple stand and expressed an interest in selling us shiitake logs as most of the wood being cut is between 3-6 inches in diameter. After a moment’s thought, of course we said “Yes, and please cut 500 of them for us.” It dawned on us later that perhaps there isn’t enough room inside for incubating 500 logs in our limited area, but with the help of a tape measure and some assumptions on log diameters it was calculated that we have enough room for just under 1200 logs in our allotted space. We assumed approximately 18 logs per lineal foot at breast height.

The logs are being cut in the next week or two and we will start inoculating by late October. We are hoping for an extended autumn with mild temperatures and rain falling other than during work hours, as we plan to inoculate outdoors as much as possible. The bet is on, that the weather will not cooperate, and there will be a million and one other things to do. We will probably end up inoculating indoors, but that is alright too.

This Japanese grower is showing us the spawn run on the ends of his indoor incubating logs.

We will be using thimble or waxless spawn for the inoculum because if we do have to move the inoculation process inside, we will not have to deal with wax smoke filling the workspace. We also like waxless spawn for this application because other than eliminating the waxing step, spawn rebound is excellent when logs are held in a warm humid environment. Wide range strains will be used for the most part as we would like to get some production from these logs for late summer farm markets next year. We will also be using WW44, a warm weather/greenhouse strain, as it has been shown to do well in Sugar Maple.

The inoculation flow will be set up in such a way that the logs will move from the stacked piles outdoors to the inoculation bench and then into a dead pile (logs simply stacked horizontally atop one another, ends all in the same direction), all placed on top of palettes set in long rows. The exception to this is the pallets at the row's ends where the logs are stacked in a crib (log cabin style) to shore up the rows. Once all logs are inoculated the dead pile will be covered with cardboard on the top of the pile to act as a sponge to collect moisture, and then the whole shebang will be covered with black plastic. The plastic will be stapled to the palettes and then the waiting begins. We did not water the logs last year during incubation and probably will not do so this year.

It is always hard to ignore logs in piles, particularly when they are in your way. So from time to time we will take a peek inside the plastic to see what’s happening. Visible spawn run on the ends of the logs is always a good indication that things are progressing.

For growers in the upper Midwest and northeastern U.S., fall inoculations are less encouraged because the window of time (cutting at first blush of leaf color and achieving inoculation at least 3 weeks prior to daytime highs settling into the low 40’s) is almost impossible to achieve. However, a variation on this fall inoculation theme could help make a fall inoculation with OUTDOOR incubation more feasible. Once the logs are inoculated, they are dead piled and covered as above, but outside where they will receive daytime solar heating. This will provide some additional growing time for the spawn to get established in the log. The plastic/cardboard will have to be removed and the piles broken apart and placed in their permanent outdoor yard in the spring of the year when daytime temperatures start to reach the 70°F mark.

These logs are incubating through the year with a winter inoculation in Japan. Notice the crib stacked logs on the end to stabilize the piles and the covering of cardboard, then plastic, then rice mats to provide shade during the summer months. Take note that the temperatures in Japan's main shiitake growing region rarely get above 80°F and cloud cover is generally the norm.

Meanwhile, maybe mushroom growing Packer fans can rest easy and don their cheese hats come January, knowing that most of the work is done for spring. Me, maybe I’ll get out opening day of trout season for the first time in a decade (or more) instead of schlepping in logs!

Internet and Social Media for Agriculture in rural kenya

Information and communication technology in agriculture is an emerging field in rural Kenya. The Government is implementing digital villages’ project which focuses on the development rural areas through the use of ICT. This will involve application of innovative ways to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the rural areas for information sourcing, and social media for networking with collaborators and stakeholders in the agriculture value chain. Once the ICT project is operational it will facilitate dissemination of accurate, timely and relevant agriculture market and extension information as well as major government services to the community. This will create a good environment for competitive profitable agriculture, leading to self employment, food security, income generation and poverty reduction.

For the Internet to be an effective tool for rural farmers’ access to agriculture services three complementary things need to be in place namely, implementation of Government policies supportive to development of physical Internet access in the rural areas, which is already in place in Kenya. Secondly the rural people need support in learning how to use the Internet and interpret the information for application in agriculture. Thirdly institutions will need to produce information in forms that are compatible with the farmer’s way of learning. Farmers groups are an important resource to facilitate the adoption of e-agriculture internet innovation. Today the use of the Internet to source for agriculture information is a preserve of innovators in Africa. In view of this it will be more practical to measure the number of farmers with access to the Internet through community groups other than individual farmers’ approach. In rural Africa, community telecentres are the realistic means of Internet access.

Majority of the Farmers in rural Kenya respond to information that has been tried and proven by the experience of innovators, in order to confidently make a decision to apply the same in their personalized situation. ICT will facilitate the farmers’ interaction with the innovators which will increase the speed of adoption of agriculture technologies. It is far much easier for the institutional developers of farmer’s information to broadcast a product to a mass audience, often derived from existing print material, than to contextualize it and enter into interpretive online conversations about it. Internet farmer’s education and development of complementary online extension services will help to speed up on-farm technology application due to interpretation of the information as happens during field days. Groups of farmers will find the advice on technology; help to interpret the advice as well as reference to other relevant service providers. A small number of specialized online extension workers could have a large impact on many groups. Facilitating online groups is a time-intensive, highly focused and skilled activity. Current extension workers need to be trained for this role as the skills needed are different from those used for facilitating face-to-face interactions.

Online agriculture groups will be an important development which will help to make local sense of Internet services as they complement face-to-face groups. Both online extension services and online groups are important means of supporting the uptake of innovative farm practices. The potential for the use of the Internet to support farmers’ learning has only been partially realized in rural Africa. Mostly rural farmers’ will require information designed for self-served clients working on their own. There is great potential to make more use of targeted information and to utilize the interactive potential of the Internet. This calls for Information and Communication Technology skill development amongst rural farmers and introduction of online facilitation skills into agriculture from professions such as online education or commercial online communities.

Climate smart agriculture and climate change in Africa

Aerial yams

Significant reduction in crop yields is likely to be experienced in sub-Saharan Africa, in the face of population increase by 2050s. According to recently concluded African Ministerial Conference on Climate Smart Agriculture held in Johannesburg from 13^th-14^th September 2011, the farm yields might reduce by as much as 20 percent in the next four decades, unless Africa adopts climate smart agriculture.Climate smart agriculture includes verified practical techniques and approaches which can assist in achievement of food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation. 650 million people in Africa are dependent on rain-fed agriculture in environments which are vulnerable to inadequate rainfall, crop failure and environmental degradation. Without measures to adapt food productions to the current challenges caused by dynamic weather patterns and corresponding financial support, Africa’s poverty alleviation and food security goals cannot be achieved. Feeding Africa and the world is one of the major challenges today.

FAO in collaboration with African leaders are working to implement climate smart approach to agriculture, in order to increase agricultural productivity. Some of the measures which can be employed include proven practical techniques such as development and promotion of drought resistant crop varieties, cover cropping, mulching, agro-forestry, improved grazing management, zero or minimum tillage, improved water management and increased soil organic matter. Consequently soil water-holding capacity increases and yields are made more resilient to climate change in addition to realization of increased stock of carbon on farmland.
Climate change adaptation therefore refers to a response to the changing climate, and implementation of policies and actions to minimize the predicted impacts of climate change, while climate change Mitigation refers to human intervention to reduce emission or increase the sinks of greenhouse gases especially carbon which is the major greenhouse gas. 

To address these problems, MITIGATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE [MICCA] program is carrying out four pilot projects in Kenya, Tanzania, Ecuador, and Viet Nam which are aimed at showing results on the ground in order to persuade farmers, national policy-makers, international organizations and donors to make climate-smart agriculture a priority today. These projects will provide scientific evidence that climate-smart agricultural practices can mitigate climate change, improve farmers’ lives and improve local communities’ ability to adapt to climate change. MICCA’s pilot projects are a partnership with national and international development partners within the framework of larger agricultural development projects.

How to Grow Butternut Squash

Butternut squash growing is an excellent choice for small scale young farmers in Kenya. It is a simple task which beginners in farming can cope with. Read this article for basic understanding of cultivation of this crop.Butternut squash which originated from Mexico has a sweet nutty taste. It is rich in vitamin A, potassium and vitamin C.The requirements for growth are fertile well drained soils and sunlight at least 6 hours daily. Apply compost or organic manure, before planting. Hybrid seeds should be planted 2.5 cm deep, with a spacing of 90 cm from one row to another and 45cm from plant to plant. Watering must be done moderately, soon after sowing then, once in every two to three days until the seeds germinate. Seed germination takes place after 7-10 days. Keep the field free of weeds throughout the growing period.

Pest and disease control is an important aspect of butternut squash production. These plants are prone to various pests and diseases. In case you notice signs of pests and diseases, contact agriculture extension officer, for correct technical advice. There are many pesticides in the market including organic pesticides. If you need to apply pesticides or other such products, do it in the evening, to avoid interfering with bees which are important for pollination. Butternut squash produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant and therefore they require insects for cross-pollination.Butternut squash maturity period is between 75 and 120 days after germination. Mature butternut squash are beige to light tan color with shriveling drying stems and extremely hard skin. Butternut squash with green color still on it is not yet mature. Harvest ripe fruits by cutting the stems about 2.5 cm up from the fruit. Don’t handle the harvested fruit by the stem, as the stem cannot bear the weight. Butternut Squash has a long storage life of up to 3 months and they should be mature and free from injury and decay when stored. They should be kept dry and provided with good air circulationButternut squash has market value and demand both in Kenya and abroad. You can sell to market traders from Nairobi and other major towns. Youth groups can link their members with exporters’ to by-pass middlemen for better returns.

How to use butternut squash

Butternut squash has a pale brown-orange skin and a deep, orange flesh. The wonderfully moist flesh has a sweet, nutty flavor and a slightly fibrous firm texture. Butternut squash can be roasted whole and the cooked flesh scooped out afterwards or it can be boiled. Butternut squash can be included in soups .Fresh sage flavoring particularly goes well with butternut squash recipes. Mashed butternut squash makes a tasty side dish to serve with chicken, beef or lamb. Flavor the mash with a little ground nutmeg, cinnamon or cumin to help bring out the sweetness. Butternut squash can also be pureed to make baby food.

 

Butternut Soup recipe

Butternut squash is naturally sweet and it makes a delicious soup which is great to serve with roast beef, chicken, lamb or slices of bread.

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Ingredients

2 medium butternuts
2 medium Irish potatoes
2 medium onions
50g butter/margarine [ 4 tablespoons]
7 ml medium curry powder ([ ¼ teaspoon-optional]
40 g corn flour [4 Tablespoons]
Pinch of ground nutmeg[optional]

4 medium sized tomatoes
750 ml boiling water [3 cups]
500 ml milk [2 cups]
7 ml salt [1 ½ teaspoon]

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Procedure

Peel the butternut squash, scoop out seed and dice the butternuts. Peel and chop the Irish potatoes, Peel the onions and tomatoes and chop roughly. Cook lightly the chopped onions and tomatoes in the butter/margarine. Add the curry powder and fry the mixture lightly. Add the butternut and potatoes and cook the mixture for a while. Add the flour and nutmeg and stir-fry lightly.

Add the water and the milk, salt, to the butternut mixture. Boil, with the lid on, over moderate heat soft stirring the mixture occasionally then Puree or blend until smooth. Serve the soup hot. Each bowl of soup may be garnished with finely chopped parsley.

Makes 2 liters [8 cups] of soup

Mashed butternut squash

2 medium butternuts

6 medium Irish potatoes

2 cloves garlic

Pinch of nutmeg [optional]

20 g butter/margarine [2 tablespoons]

Procedure

Halve the squash and peel off the skin using a sharp knife, scoop out the seeds, then cut the flesh into even-sized chunks. Peel the potatoes and wash together with butternut chunks.

Bring 1 inch of salted water to the boil in a large pot; add prepared squash chunks, potatoes and garlic and steam for 15-20 minutes or until tender, adding more water to the pan if necessary. Mash the vegetables till fairly smooth. Add ground nutmeg and margarine. Serve hot with beef, chicken or lamb. More-http://yagrein.blogspot.com/p/what-are-youth-saying.html

Conservation agriculture technology for food security in Kenya

Conservation agriculture technology is a farming practice being piloted in Kenya by agriculture development agencies.The method contributes to sustainable agricultural production and environmental conservation, by maintaining a permanent or semi-permanent organic soil cover; through the use of mulches or cover crops, employment of Zero or minimum tillage and crop rotation. Weed control is done using herbicides or shallow cultivation resulting to minimal soil disturbance, water and nutrients retention. Some of the benefits of conservation agriculture technology are reduced labor and farm-power requirements, improved soil fertility, crop yields increase over time compared to conventional farming, livelihood improvement, decreased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and reduction of climate change.

Small scale farmers in Kenya face numerous challenges, which call for simultaneous increase of farm production and natural resource preservation. Land for farming in most parts of Kenya is scarce due to high population density.  Over the years intensive farming have been practiced in most parts of Kenya resulting to land degradation, decreased farm yields and increased poverty. Rain-fed subsistence farming is the main source of livelihood for majority of the rural people in Kenya. In the recent years this livelihood strategy has become unreliable due to climate change, prevalent droughts and seasonality of the rains; leading to crop failure, low food production and increased poverty. Oblivious of the danger farmers continue to practice intensive tillage technologies which have been known to cause soil degradation. Therefore there is urgent need for introduction of conservation agriculture technology in order to counteract the situation.

The youth are the future of farming industry in Kenya. They should therefore take advantage of every opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in conservation agriculture technology. In addition they should spearhead implementation of this innovation in their communities. This will ultimately influence whole communities to practice conversation agriculture technology, for livelihood improvement, climate change adaptation and mitigation. Furthermore agricultural soil is a limited and precious resource whose irreversible degradation ruins the main asset of current farmers and reduces the farming opportunities for the future generation

The Kenya Government in collaboration with its stakeholders has a pilot conservation agriculture technology project in Laikipia district. The project started in the year 2006 as a result of resolutions made during the third world congress on conservation agriculture technology which took place in Nairobi Kenya in October 2005.The event was organized by African Conservation Tillage Network in collaboration with the government of the republic of kenya and the Kenya CA Tillage Network. The fourth world congress was held in New Delhi India in February 2009 while  the 5^th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture technology was held in Brisbane, Australia in September 2011.

Conservation agriculture technology acknowledges the importance of creating and maintaining a healthy soil and integrates various approaches to the management of weeds, pests, diseases, and plant nutrients. adoption of conservation agriculture technology will help crops adapt to changing climatic conditions and ensure harvest despite unreliable rainfall. This is an innovation whose time has come and cannot be stopped.

Challenges Faced by Kenyan Youth in Agriculture

Challenge 1: No job opportunity in agricultural extension for young graduates
The Youth hardly find jobs or work-based placement in agricultural extension in Kenya. The government of the republic of Kenya is the main provider and regulator of agricultural extension services, and the recruitment of new officers is done after long periods since .This situation was precipitated by the structural adjustment program in the 90s which implemented civil service retrenchment to reduce the government employees with an aim of improving the management of the countries economy. However the government recently reberelized extension services and private practice is being promoted through a government program known as private sector development in agriculture (PSDA) creating opportunities for the young people, but again the private extension providers are ill equipped as the youth discouraged by the earlier situation had abandoned training in agricultural courses in preference to other specializations especially business courses. Agriculture value chain development and empowerment trainings are currently being carried out by the ministry of agriculture under the National Agriculture and livestock extension program phase out. The present situation is encouraging as it shows there is light at the end of the tunnel. young professionals will in future be able to register their own agriculture extension Private Firms.

Challenge 2: Training of agricultural Extension Officers not done at a regular basis
Research extension Linkages are weak and it was found that refresher training courses for the extension officers are not held on a regular basis, but as and when required or when there are some training opportunities (e.g. when there is an expert in a specific field in the country). As a result the innovative farmers get information on new agriculture technologies before the extension officers.

Challenge 3: Lack of Effective agricultural Extension Services
The main factor preventing the extension officers from working effectively is that they are not well facilitated and their offices are poorly equipped. Agriculture extension is basically the process of transferring agricultural knowledge to the farmers and getting feedback. Communication is part and parcel of the extension process. dissemination of essential information is central to the success of extension. However, most frontline government extension officers have no access to basic information and communication technologies such as computers and are therefore lagging behind times. Youth in agriculture find the officers outdated and cannot identify with them. Officers are not well remunerated and they lack enthusiasm and the motivation required due to poor salaries. Extension officer farmer’s ratio in Kenya has changed from 1:750 in the 90s to 1:1200 currently. This often means that extensions officers are unable to serve their clients effectively.

Challenge 4: Lack of Training in modern agricultural technology
large sections of the youth are untrained and modern agriculture requires being knowledge based. Lack of information technology systems has largely contributed to this situation as the youth are not in favour of traditional extension training methodologies like field days.

Challenge 5: Lack of agricultural Resources
Majority of the youth own no land which is the principal resource in agricultural production. Limited control of the main factor of production in agriculture places the youth at the disadvantage of having to wait for the interventions of adults to become integrally involved in agricultural pursuits

Challenge 6: Negative Image of Agriculture
Youth have a negative attitude towards agriculture due to lack of role models and mentors. The image created around agricultural pursuits as a means of livelihood is not encouraging as only elderly people are involved while the youth are absent in the value chain. These generally lead to involvement of the youth in activities that are popular and perceived to be socially acceptable. The negative stigma of pursuing agriculture as a career influences youth to stay away from it.

Agriculture Value Chains and Agricultural Policy

Agriculture value chain refers to a full range of activities which an agricultural product or service passes through from production to consumption. The value chain analysis is a concept from business management that was first described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage which means Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. This commercial chain consists of activities which aim at producing value added products or services; where value addition refers to improving the worth of your product or service in the market in order to increase the profit margin. Value chain approach to agriculture therefore gives room to youth creativity and agriculture entrepreneurship development. The activities that comprises a value chain can be contained in a single firm or divided among different firms. Value Chain Development aims to improve access to markets and increase productive efficiency, ensuring that all actors including youth farmers benefit from these value chains. Value-chain approaches are a vehicle for linking small businesses to markets, and therefore are essential for livelihood improvement and economic development

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Agriculture value chain consists of four parts namely

• Upstream-This includes large scale farmers, small scale farmers and agricultural inputs dealers
• Supply chain- supply chains consists of primary  agro-processors, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers
• Mid stream- secondary processors e.g. making the product which takes less time to prepare for consumption
• Downstream-An  example of players in this category are private label manufacturers

Value chain approach in agriculture is unique as it uses a participatory, stakeholder-driven approach to take advantage of opportunities for investment and growth in agriculture industry which has high levels of micro and small enterprise involvement particularly in Africa. Commercial agriculture and agribusiness projects should seriously focus on value chain development, which calls for mobilization of all players to work as partners from the beginning of promoting or strengthening an agricultural commodity, to ensure a common agreement on how to sustain the commodity.

A comprehensive government policy support is mandatory for a successful agriculture value chain. African farmers for a long time have been denied this kind of support resulting in stagnation of the agriculture sector and increased rural poverty. These policies of neglect stand in sharp contrast to those of developed nations, which provide farmers with a strong foundation of government policy support. The competitiveness of agribusiness not only depends on the functioning of players within a cluster, but most importantly, on the entire chain at the national and global level. This means agribusiness in developing countries needs to take globalization into account in order to improve competitiveness.For more information: Read

1.  http://archiv.rural-development.de/fileadmin/rural-development/volltexte/2005/05/ELR_dt_26-28.pdf
2. http://yagrein.blogspot.com/2013/01/green-house-farming-technology.html
   
   

ICT in Agriculture

Growing population

One of the main challenges that the agricultural sector often faces is the need to increase productions so as to provide adequate food to an overgrowing population considering the high rate at which natural resources are decreasing. The agricultural sector is now faced with more water shortages, loss of soil fertility, climate change and loss of fertile agricultural lands to urbanization. Nonetheless, the demand for high quality products continues to increase and has created a means for individuals living in rural areas to enhance their livelihoods.  However in order to take advantage of the new opportunities, farmers must comply with solid quality standards and regulations when producing and handling all kind of agricultural produce. For this reason, there is need for additional technological advances that will promote compliance.

The Role of ICT in Rural Agricultural industry

The role of ICT in rural agriculture and food security has continued to receive increase recognition following its endorsement at the World Summit on the Information society (WSIS) 2003-2005. The extent of ICT use in agriculture ranges from the use of computer applications, the internet, geographical information systems, cell phones as well as mainstream media such as radio, TV and newspapers. Although the concept of ICT in agriculture is relatively new in rural Africa, there is growing evidence of its contribution to agricultural development and poverty alleviation.

Enhancing agricultural Production through ICT

One of the main contributions that ICT has made to rural agriculture is the increase in efficiency and sustainability of small scale farms. Small scale farming often faces lots of challenges including poor soils, drought, soil erosion and pests. By receiving information regarding pest and disease control especially through early warning systems, new and improved crop varieties and new regulations regarding pest control, small scale farmers can considerably increase their production. 

Improving agricultural Market Access through ICT

Access to up-to-date market information regarding commodity prices, prices of farm inputs and consumer trends can have a considerable impact on the livelihoods of small scale farmers by increasing their bargaining power. Such information makes it possible for farmers to make informed decisions regarding future crops and commodities. Farmers are able to make decisions on the best time and place to sell and buy goods.  In many countries, the demand for such information has led to the creation of simple websites that attempt to match supply and demand of agricultural produce thereby creating more complex agricultural trade systems.

Price information is usually collected from the marketplace and stored in a central database where farmers can access it either online or through information centers. So as to reach a wider audience, the information may be broadcast via rural radio, TV and cell phones. However, a lot of work goes into maintain such systems and such work must continue if these systems are to be sustainable.

Capacity Building and Empowerment through ICT

ICT can be used to empower communities and farmers organizations so that they are able to hold their ground when negotiating for better input and output prices, land claims, resource rights and infrastructure development. In addition, ICT creates opportunities for rural farmers to interact with other stakeholder within the agricultural industry thereby reducing social isolation.

Sawdust to 'Shrooms
Written by Jasen

Shiitake block production starts with the hauling of about 800 lb. of slightly aged (about 6 months) oak sawdust into our building from large covered piles outside. The sawdust is then hand shoveled onto a shaker table to sift out all foreign objects and large pieces of wood. I can honestly say I have lifted, by shovel, 50 tons of sawdust a year for 6 years and counting.

Our state-of-the-art shaker table.

These pieces of wood have been removed from the sawdust. They will later be used as mulch in the garden as a base for Wine Cap Stropharia and in various other places around the farm.

Once the substrate is sifted to the desired size it is loaded into garbage barrels and weighed to 300 lb., which is a full blender load. It is then lifted into a blending paddle autoclave to rehydrate and sterilize the sawdust. After one hour of cooking the sawdust is ready to be cooled, inoculated and bagged into 5 lb. blocks. Each blender load produces around 60 blocks. At two loads a day, that's about 31,000 blocks a year...all by hand. 

Once the blocks are inoculated, weighed and sealed they are rolled, on carts, into the incubating room where they will age for about four months. During the incubation period, the blocks go through a decomposition process. They go from brown sawdust to white as the  mycelium takes over, breaking down the wood. The mycelium ages and the blocks return to a dark brown color. At this stage any fluctuation in their environment stimulates them to fruit. Either a large temperature change or physical movement brings on this force, so climate control is very important.

Pictured here are the stages of sawdust into a fruiting block. Clockwise: starting with the loose sawdust, a one day old block in bag, one week old, 2 months old, 4 months old, and finally a fruiting block.

The blocks are then removed from their bags and placed on racks in the fruiting room, where the temperature is slightly cooler and the humidity is around 90%. In one week's time, the blocks form pins, and within 10 days the crop is usually picked. Once the blocks cease to fruit they go into large compost piles to break down further and, eventually, are reused in the garden.

These Shiitakes have waited over four months to grace us with their presence. They stand proud in front of the sawdust pile where it all began.

Multi-storey Vegetable Gardens for Food security in Kenya

Multi-storey gardening is an innovative and exciting technology for year round vegetable gardening in Kenya. Multi-storey gardens technology is suitable for urban gardening in Kenya where land for farming has greatly reduced due to urbanization. Gardening is an important human activity in Africa and many parts of the world. Multi-storey gardens refer to bag gardens reputable for utilizing minimal land and water. Multi-storey gardening requires little technical and financial support. These bag gardens are also suitable for dry, non fertile areas where soils are not suitable for conventional gardening, areas with water scarcity.

This micro-gardening concept being a low input activity is ideal for child headed households, elderly headed households and families of people living with HIV/AIDS, where labor and other resources are scarce. Multi-storey gardens technology has been used successfully in Kenya to grow green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, tubers and indigenous vegetables, in the refugee camps with the help of donor agencies. Multi-storey gardens lead to development of self reliance in vegetables for nutrition and food security in the vulnerable households. This gardening technology has also been used in schools all over the world for providing vegetables to school feeding programs and teaching science and nutrition.

Setting up Multi storey Gardens  
Materials required for multi-storey gardening include empty cereal bag or animal feed bag, one empty oil can or 6”PVC pipe with holes, 2buckets small stones, 6 buckets soil, 6 buckets manure, seeds, adequate water to irrigate the bag garden and gardening tools. Follow the procedure below to set up the garden.  

1. Mix the soil and well decomposed manure thoroughly.
2. Cut out the bottom of the oil can and make holes on the sides.
3. Fold back the bag and fill the bottom 15cm with small stones.
4. Place the can on top of the small stones in the centre of the bag.
5. Fill the oil can with small stones
6. Fill the area between the oil can and the bag with the soil-manure mixture up to the can level.
7. Pull up the can to the level of the soil compost mixture with a tilting motion.

Repeat steps 5, 6 and 7 until the bag is full and a central core of stones is formed leaving the tin at the top of the bag garden. Pour water into the tin through the central core till the soil is soaked.

Watch a Video on the Preparation of Multi-storey Gardens

 

Sow the vegetable seeds in the nursery at the top of the bag, and water regularly for about 3-4 weeks. Partial shading should be done where the climate is harshly hot. When seedlings are ready for transplanting, make holes on the sides of the bag with a sharpened stick, at a spacing of 30cm from row to row and 23cm from plant to plant in a staggered fashion. Each bag is watered twice daily with 5 litres of water each time for the first 2weeks, then 2-3 times a week. The Water for irrigation is poured into the tin at the top centre of the bag, going down the central core, to the end of the bag irrigating all the plants. Green leafy vegetables grown in a multi storey garden mature within 30 days. 

Harvesting in multi-storey gardens is done 2-3 times a week. Five bag gardens will produce enough vegetables for family consumption and income generation.NB: Similar to the Multi-Storey Gardens, is the Vertical Grow Pipe innovative gardening technology which was introduced during 2010 World Food Day Celebrations at the University of the West Indies. Multi-storey gardening practice is a breakthrough to ensure year round supply of fresh vegetables for dietary diversity and income generation.For more information read http://realimpact.or.ke/pkg_kits.aspx

Youth and Climate Change for livelihood sustainability

A large percentage of the world’s population today comprises of young people with about 2.2 billion people being less than 18 years old. In this era of global climate change, 85% of these 2.2 billion young people are a resource that can be used to change the society towards reduction of climate change for sustainability. Furthermore, the young people can play a key role in dealing with all the difficulties that are facing humanity.

One thing that sets the young people apart from the rest of the population is their enthusiasm, imagination, talent and energy. The young people are more likely to get involved in local actions, play the role of effective communicators within their communities and participate in international actions against climate change and un-sustainability. For this reason FAO and other international organizations have been working together to come up with activities and mechanisms that enhance awareness, and access to relevant knowledge and information among the youth. The main aim of these efforts is to encourage participation of young people in actions relating to environmental sustainability and social development issues such as global warming.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent has for a long time been on the forefront in involving the young people in dealing with the humanitarian consequences of global warming for sustainability.  For instance in 2009, the Red Cross organized the Youth on the Move convention in Solferino which had climate change as one of the main themes. During the convention, a large number of youth and teenagers received training from climate change experts encouraging livelihoods sustainability. Since the conclusion of this convention, there has been evidence of increased youth involvement in activities relating to climate change and sustainability.

In strategy 2020, the Red Cross reaffirms that it is committed to address climate change impacts on human livelihoods especially the young people who make up the larger proportion of the population and the hope of tomorrow. Strategic aim of strategy 2020 is geared towards ensuring that the public adopts an environmentally sustainable lifestyle. This will lead to reduction of green house gases emissions. Similarly, in Strategy 2020, the IFRC reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that youth continue to volunteer and develop strong Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.  This will build a strong culture of voluntary service among the youth encouraging sustainability and youth participation in community and national affairs.

Basic Food security for poverty reduction & sustainable development in kenya

Food security exists when there are adequate, accessible, affordable, nutritious and safe provisions, for all people at all times, to maintain a healthy and active life. Food security for sustainable development has three pillars which are availability, access and use according to knowledge of basic nutrition. Several political promises to ensure food security for sustainable development have been made by various national leaders. On the contrary the number of starving incidence recur frequently due to lack of concrete action. The number of hungry people globally also increased from 824 million in 1990, [the ‘MDG’ baseline year] to 925 million in 2010.The world population is expected increase to 9 billion by 2050. This calls for urgent prioritization of provisions issues . The right to provisions is a fundamental right of everyone, 'to be free from hunger' according to provisions of article 11 of the International Convent on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the branch of international law inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Climbing beans

Therefore the National government has an obligation to establish non-discriminatory and non-political policy on food security for sustainable development. People exposed to hunger worldwide are likely to  reach one billion by the end of 2011.Global cereal demand is expected to rise by 1 billion tons over the next four decades which is a fore warning that the time of low provisions prices is over. Consequently there is need to improve world agricultural productivity by 70% come 2050.This should be done with sound environmental management practices in mind for sustainable development and improvement of provisions. One of the best methods to ensure national food security in Kenya is innovation. This calls for support for implementation of new ideas, new information, and new technologies for sustainable development. Despite marvelous benefits of investment in agriculture in the last 25 years, wealthy countries have reduced the budget for international agriculture at an alarming rate whereas in fact the budget needs to be increased.

The current climate change has increased pressure on provisions and greatly challenges sustainable development. Global warming is progressively reducing agricultural production, undermining food security in Kenya and many developing countries. Policies that could help farmers adapt to changing climate include irrigated agriculture, agricultural research, flood control and controlling human resettlement. The Government should investment in small scale farmers and herders and empower the most vulnerable people to take charge of their food security. This is cheaper than giving provisions and enhances sustainable development.

A Lesson on Wine Cap Mushrooms
Brought to you by Team FFP


This is the time of year for wine cap (Stropharia rugosa-annulata) mushrooms to start popping out. Well suited for outdoor cultivation, these burgundy capped wonders grow on both hardwood substrates (chips or dust) and/or straw. They grow particularly well when grown between corn or asparagus rows, or even among shaded landscape plantings. Planting can be done this fall or early spring for a late summer fruiting. Interested? Check out wine cap on our website. Also, watch our video on wine cap identification below.

In the Market for Mushrooms

Written by Phoebe

For most people my age, Saturday means a blissful morning of sweet sleeping in. For me, however, it means the farmers' market. Preparing for, and participating in the Green Bay Farmers' Market is quite the process, and if you’re interested, you can read all about it in the next few paragraphs!

This is the basic look of our set up at the farmers' market in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The market is not just a Saturday morning event. In fact, the market more or less starts with the harvesting of the mushrooms up to a week before. To keep the mushrooms fresh, we pick them, place them in large plastic storage tubs, filling them only half full. We then immediately put them into a walk-in cooler until they are completely chilled, and then put the tub lid on until they are ready to be sold. This allows quick cooling and less condensation on the tub lid, keeping the mushrooms dry and fresh. The night before the market, we go through the process of grading mushrooms, separating out damaged, stained or wet mushrooms for our own use, then load the truck with the displays. We used to avoid selling the small “baby” shiitake (something all too common in the hot summer for log grown shiitake), but have found that many people prefer the smaller ones. A box of babies looks like A LOT of mushrooms, plus people like the “chef ready” benefit because if the baby mushrooms are tender enough, you can eat them stem and all; no chopping required!

The next morning the alarm will go off at 5:00 am, at the very latest (5:15 if you happen to be an older brother down for the weekend to help out). First on the agenda is, of course, starting the coffee maker. We then trudge out to the cooler to finish loading the truck up with the chilled mushrooms. A half an hour after I wake up, with coffee in hand, we set out to Green Bay. The market starts at seven, but we have to leave with enough time to get to the market and set up our booth, which usually takes 30-45 minutes.

This lively chap, Nik (son of Joe and Mary Ellen), is enjoying a lovely morning at the market.

After struggling to set up our slightly dilapidated tent that offers shade for both the mushrooms and ourselves, we set up our folding banquet table, table cloth and wooden display rack which my dad built to put all the mushrooms closer to eye level. Our “city certified” scale and orange crate holds the bags and cash box. Finally, we get around to weighing out the mushrooms. I enjoy simplicity in prices, so to make early morning life easier, we weigh out all of the tills to a quarter pound. We weigh them into plastic mushroom tills for display that can be emptied into brown paper sacks that have detailed mushroom handling and recipes printed on the outside (Field and Forest Products sells these great market bags). We sell the shiitake and oysters for three dollars a box, and the wild mushrooms, maitake, and lion’s mane for four dollars a box. I often try to bring out my creative side when placing mushrooms in the tills by putting three different colored oysters in one box. It makes the display very pleasing to the eye. We also sell a mixed “sampler” till that has a few of each kind of mushroom that we have available that day, so people can try new varieties.

Pictured here are three color variants of our oyster mushrooms: Grey Dove, Pink and Golden.

If the forecast is calling for fiendishly hot weather, we freeze ice cube sheets several days earlier. We constructed a box-shaped sleeve out of Cool Shield insulated bubble wrap, which can cover 4 tubs, and by layering the ice cube sheets between tubs and covering the whole works with Cool Shield, the mushrooms stay chilled for the whole morning.

As much as we are tempted to bring our other garden produce to the market, we stick to mushrooms. We try to bring as much of a variety of mushrooms that we can. Sometimes this is limited to only shiitake and oyster mushrooms. If the weather cooperates, we bring lion’s mane, maitake and king oyster, and if we get lucky while mushroom hunting, we will bring morels, chicken of the woods, or chanterelles.

We also try to have a few fun displays to make the market educational and bring in kids. The “Mushroom of the Week” display, especially during the wild mushrooming times of later summer and early fall, always brings people into the booth and we get to hear lots of mushroom stories. We also sell our ready-to-fruit shiitake mushroom kits; people like these because they are discounted and they don’t have to pay for shipping. We display a fruiting kit to attract attention; people just have fun looking at it whether they buy one or not! We’ve also noticed that a lot of Field and Forest Products’ spawn customers sell ready-to-fruit shiitake logs at their markets; they almost do better in total selling with those than the mushrooms themselves.

With the bizarre varieties of oyster mushrooms, ranging from gray to pink, we often draw eyes, and get the question, “Are these real?” or “Are these poisonous?” Well, yes to the first question, and definitely a no to the second. As my dad always says, “We like repeat business!”