Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms (Paperback)

by Paul Stamets (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
After years of living in awe of the mysterious fungi known as mushrooms-chefs, health enthusiasts, and home cooks alike can't get enough of these rich, delicate morsels. With updated production techniques for home and commercial cultivation, detailed growth parameters for 31 mushroom species, a trouble-shooting guide, and handy gardening tips, this revised and updated handbook will make your mycological landscapes the envy of the neighborhood.

About the Author
PAUL STAMETS is the founder of Fungi Perfecti and codirector and founder of the Rainforest Mushroom Genome and Mycodiversity Preservation Project. He is the author of two seminal textbooks, The Mushroom Cultivator and GROWING GOURMET AND MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS, has been published in numerous journals, and is presenting more lectures on mycology than he can keep track of. An advisor and consultant to the Program for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School and the 1998 recipient of the Collective Heritage Institute’s Bioneers Award, Stamets lives in Kamilche Point, Washington with his collection of more than 250 medicinal mushroom cultures.

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; 3 edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580081754
• ISBN-13: 978-1580081757
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,587 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great information. Errata Correction for Chapter 21, August 11, 2004

By	Lifetime Learner (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews

There is nothing I can say that hasn't been said. There is a wealth of information on just about every mushroom that people use for food or for medicine.

I was primarily interested in the Morel Mushroom cultivation which is in Chapter 21, but there is a web reference, to quote Paul Stamets "Once nice overview of cultivation techniques can be found at www.gorsky.com/~pdilley". I found this was in error and tracked down the new web address to the Morel Cultivation information Paul Stamets was pointing readers to over here "www.peterdilley.com".

One of the best resources in this book is the Cultivation Problems and Their Solutions: A Troubleshooting guide. Missing however is a detailed section on cultivation insect pests. This I found in Paul Stamets previous book The Mushroom Cultivator. So you may want to consider getting both, especially if you find a discounted bundle offer from Amazon.

If you are done reading Field Guides and/or walking around your local wilderness on mushroom foray hunts by yourself or with a local club / society, then you will not go wrong by chosing this book. 5 Stars well earned.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable... both a pragmatic AND scientific treatment, May 30, 2006

By	M. P. Williams (Clemmons, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have to admit, I did not know Paul Stamets was this generation's premier mycologist. After reading this volume, there is no doubt of it. He is objective, a true mycologist of the highest order, and a down-to-earth pragmatic steward of the environment. I have learned a lifetime of valuable information...both scientific as well as practical know-how from this book, (a rare feat). Not only does Stamets enthuse the reader with the miracle of possibilities in cultivating mushrooms for the environment, nutrition, (yes nutrition), and health benefits of Reishi and other mushrooms, he details how it is to be done, (by individual cultivators and/or commercial operations alike).

I cannot express more to any reader of this review how important it will be to have this standard volume on your bookshelf. If you are curious about how mushrooms "work", you must own this book. If you want to have this volume as a practical guide to growing mushrooms indoors OR outdoors, buy this volume. If you are a commercial grower and you want to increase production, create your own sterile spore production facility, you must buy it.

I have never met Paul Stamets, and have no vested interest in making this recommendation. However, after reading this book, I am as enthused as the author about the subject of practical mycology. I hope you will be too!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Mycology Source, October 16, 2003

By A Customer

I was pleasently surprised at the overall quality of this book when I received my copy in the mail. It is chock full of photographs with an entire section in the center devoted to color photographs. It is extremely well written and presents the facts of mycology, the current limitations of the field, and interjections of personal experience. Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms is much more than just a "how to" book, it discusses the science and life cycle of mushrooms along with brief histories of mycology. It is textbook quality (BTW college textbooks go for around $100 each these days) and provides specific guides for growing choice species in the latter portion of the book. It is not an identification guide however and I recommend picking up an audobon society field guide as a companion to this source. Some basic knowledge of chemistry and agriculture will help you get the most out of this book.