Dennis with a foraged mushroom that is not quite dried up. The giant laughing gym.
Fr. Ian Delinger
3 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 03
More dead mushrooms since we foraged too long after rain.
Fr. Ian Delinger
4 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 02
One of several "mushroom graveyards"
Fr. Ian Delinger
5 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 04
We found a fresh mushroom at last! The fly agaric mushroom is the "Alice in Wonderland" mushroom.
Fr. Ian Delinger
6 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 05
Christophe with his substrates on which mushrooms grow
Fr. Ian Delinger
7 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 06
This is how mushrooms are grown in Christophe's barn.
Fr. Ian Delinger
8 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 07
Christophe's lion's mane mushrooms
Fr. Ian Delinger
9 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 08
Christophe in the 8x10 tent for growing mushrooms.
Fr. Ian Delinger
10 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 09
Christophe harvesting mushrooms
Fr. Ian Delinger
11 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 10
Rosa inspecting her produce
Fr. Ian Delinger
12 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 11
Rosa's inventory of mycelium for inoculation
Fr. Ian Delinger
13 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 12
Rosa puts her barley substrate in long bags, which then resemble salami. The mushrooms grow out of the holes.
Fr. Ian Delinger
14 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 13
Rosa's beautiful mushroom freshly picked
Fr. Ian Delinger
15 of 15 — PWF Mushrooms 14
Just one of several bins ready for market
Fr. Ian Delinger
Foraging for mushrooms is a fun way to get exercise while hunting for food. However, with California's lack of rain, there are more mushroom graveyards than there are mushroom fields. Some have taken an entrepreneurial approach and are growing them in their homes. Note: if you forage in the wild, be sure it's legal to do so where you are looking.
Fr. Ian Delinger currently serves as Rector at St Stephen's Episcopal Church in San Luis Obispo. He was born on the Central Coast, and was raised in both rural western Nebraska and on the Central Coast. He studied Chemistry at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. Then, he moved to the Silicon Valley where he was as a project manager in a consulting firm which specializes in environmental, health and safety issues for the semiconductor manufacturing industry and other high technology industries, followed by a couple of stints in corporate events management and marketing.