On this West Virginia Morning, we take a deep dive into the mosh pit and the hardcore music scene of Roanoke, Virginia with music photographer Chelse Warren. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams has more.
Home » EDIBLE MOUNTAIN – Growing Wild Mushrooms At Home
Published
EDIBLE MOUNTAIN – Growing Wild Mushrooms At Home
Share this Article
Jeremiah Stevens takes mushroom hunting to a new level. When he finds edible or medicinal mycelium growth, he takes samples home to his lab in Wheeling, WV. Once clean and in a nutrient-rich agar, he makes clones. Finding different genetics, he builds up the varieties.
Stevens’ sterile growing environment enables him to cultivate a nice mess of wild-sourced mushrooms.
Chuck Kleine
/
Jeremiah Stevens prepares to take a sample of an oyster mushroom.
“After the first original tissue sample is transferred to nutrient rich agar, and one or two transfers after to clean it up, you can continue cloning from the repeated new fruiting bodies that appear as you grow out the species,” he said. “The mycelium from the first few transfers can be extended to a number of new petri dishes.”
The oyster mushroom tends to do exceptionally well as it is forgiving when it comes to coping with possible contamination.
Chuck Kleine
/
A oyster mushroom sample grows in a petri dish.
Today Stevens sells his goods as Ohio Valley Mushrooms. Besides the the fruiting body he also offers a range of grow kits and cultures for folks to try to grow their own wild mushrooms at home.
Edible Mountain is a bite-sized, digital series from WVPB that showcases some of Appalachia’s overlooked and underappreciated products of the forest while highlighting their mostly forgotten uses.
Edible Mountain follows botanists, conservationists, and enthusiastic hobbyists in the field as they provide insight on sustainable forest foraging. The episodes are designed to increase appreciation and accessibility to the abundance found in Appalachia, celebrating the traditional knowledge and customs of Appalachian folk concerning plants and their medical, religious, and social uses.
Tallow is rendered animal fat and has been used primarily in traditional food preparation — as an ingredient and as a cooking oil. In addition, tallow can be used in making soap, candles, healing salves, skin moisturizers and perfumes, as well as lubricants for wood, leather and metal working.
The Narrow-Leaved Leek, (Allium burdickii), while related to broad leaf ramps we enjoy every spring, is its own species all together and not a variation of Allium tricoccum. It’s a relative of the typical wild ramp, or leek, that people seek out this time of year as an eatable spring onion. We know very little about this wild onion.