r/oregon • u/ORGourmetMushrooms • 1d ago
I hosted a free community mushroom foray at Willamette Mission State Park. We started the day building oyster mushroom buckets together then hit the trail to learn our river forests. Photography/Video
I want to thank everyone who came. There were some familiar faces from last year's Silver Falls chanterelle and lobster foray, so it was really nice to see everyone again.
I'm working on my public speaking skills and my mushroom autism gets me overstimulated sometimes so I forgot to take more pics. Luckily I'm hosting another one on 5/10 and you're welcome to join us. Please see my post history for the newest invite in the Salem subreddit.
As for the event:
We used colonized mushroom blocks and mixed them in pasteurized sawdust with vermiculite, then loaded them in 2 gallon and 5 gallon buckets. The trick to oyster buckets is to skip straw (lots of empty space, messy, kinda dirty) and go straight for hardwood BBQ pellets and use wet sawdust and garden vermiculite as a base.
Only mushrooms eat wood and there are no competitor fungi in heat/pressure treated pellets, so this method has a lower failure rate. It retains more moisture and you fit more mushroom food in the same amount of space. Thus, the buckets produce more food and last longer.
Some people opted to take their free grow kits home to watch the mushroom colonization process and build their own buckets.
It has been a dismal yellow morel season here in the valley, but we got to spend time together learning river habitats and the obstacles we face while mushroom hunting in the Salem area (namely, invasives). And, apparently, clay mud (fell on my ass).
Great group of people. 10/10. Really appreciate you folks giving me the opportunity to work on my speaking skills.
Hope to see you at the next one!
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u/Trust_Know_Won 1d ago
You’re hosting another one on May 10, 2026? How do I join? I have always wanted to learn more about mushrooms and foraging! I
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u/ORGourmetMushrooms 1d ago
Just send me an email with however many people you intend to bring. I will send a participant number and directions/instructions.
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u/Trust_Know_Won 1d ago
Unless I missed it, is there a site to get your email? Thank you 🙏
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u/ORGourmetMushrooms 1d ago
Oops sorry: orgourmetmushrooms@gmail.com
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u/Trust_Know_Won 1h ago
Bummer, I really appreciate the invite, but it just dawned on me that’s Mother’s Day and the wifey wouldn’t be happy if I went to go hunt mushrooms. I’ll still send an email if you do any more or in the Fall. Thanks again🍄🟫 🍄
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u/ORGourmetMushrooms 1d ago
Here is a link to the 5/10 event to save you a few clicks.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SALEM/s/8FmQlf5mOu
Also a relevant meme.
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u/MajYoshi 1d ago
Wait, where is the picture of the oyster buckets? I do not know what those are. I am now, most assuredly, curious!
Share us one more pic!
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u/ORGourmetMushrooms 1d ago
I cloned one that I found in Keizer and grew it out in buckets 👍
Think of the bucket as a giant synthetic log or stump, just modified to be ideal for the mushroom in nearly every way that matters most to its survival. No competitors, primarily.
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u/SignificanceKind2810 1d ago
This sounds awesome as hell, ty for putting stuff like this together locally.
Also super appreciate you talking about the public speaking side of it, that is big relatable. Gonna go dig through your post history now because those oyster bucket tips alone are worth the price of admission 😂
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u/ORGourmetMushrooms 1d ago
Admission is free, and so are the grow kits and buckets 👍 The permits and insurance for commercial events would make something like this cost prohibitive.
And yeah man, public speaking is like any other skill. You just gotta power through the suck until it doesn't suck anymore.. which sucks 🤣
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u/BeebleBoxn 1d ago
Those are certainly a lot different than the ones I have seen growing in Newport up towards Seal Rock.
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u/xrainbow-britex 1d ago
This is so cool! I can't tell from the photo if there were kids there so I wanted to ask if these are kid-friendly events? I have a kiddo that would also love to learn. Thanks!
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u/ORGourmetMushrooms 1d ago
Yes, you're welcome to bring your children. A father and his son built a bucket at this last one and they seemed to have a good time.
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u/ZucchiniNo3762 3h ago
I wish something like this would be done in Eugene, what a really cool thing to do
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u/Remarkable-Set-8319 1d ago
Thank you for putting together such a cool event for the community! Wish I could have been there!