By Alice Beetz and Michael Kustudia
NCAT Program Specialists
July 2004
© NCAT 2004
http://www.attra.ncat.org

Abstract:

The market for mushrooms continues to grow due to interest in their culinary, nutritional, and health benefits. They also show potential for use in waste management. However, as fungi, mushrooms have life cycles very different from those of green plants. The choice of species to raise depends both on the growth media available and on market considerations. Oyster mushrooms, which grow on many substrates, are easiest for a beginner. Shiitake mushrooms already have earned considerable consumer demand. Only two mycorrhizal mushrooms, morels and truffles, have been commercially cultivated. Mushroom cultivation offers benefits to market gardens when it is integrated into the existing production system. A careful analysis of potential markets must be the first step in deciding whether to raise mushrooms to sell. Many information resources are available for further research.

A glossary of commonly used terms for mushroom farming by David M. Beyer, Associate Professor and Mushroom Extension Specialist at the Mushroom Science and Technology
Department of Plant Pathology.

Note: Definitions are non-technical and are only intended as an aid to those people new to mushroom farming. The terms are listed alphabetically.