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Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets has been the perpetual best-seller on popular mycology since published in 2005. It’s an indispensible reference book for anybody working the land, especially foresters, farmers and environmental cleanup contractors. It’s also a great book for anyone interested in growing their own food mushrooms.

Mycelium Running is filled to the brim with useful tips on things such as using mushrooms to improve soils and boost productivity in forestry and farming (gardening) with decreased use of expensive fertilizers and pesticides; filtering waste-water (mycofiltration); and clean up toxic waste from the land (mycoremediation).

As an example, a method for building a mycofiltration bed to filter waste water is described in exacting detail. Dimensions, depth, layers and recommended materials and mushrooms are listed. This mycofiltration is useful, among other things, for filtering manure enriched farm runoff.

An added benefit of using mycofiltration beds on farms include the production of delicious food mushrooms, which sprout out of these beds. And every 2-3 years, the material in the bed can be dug out and used as a rich fertilizer on the fields of the farm.

Another piece of useful information for farmers and gardeners found in Mycelium Running concerns the no-till farming method as opposed to the conventional method of plowing the fields after harvest. No-till farming helps promote saprophytic fungi (decomposing fungi), which break down organic material at a pace better suited to plant-life than the rapid and heat producing breakdown by anaerobic bacteria, which are the primary decomposers when stubble is plowed under. The mycelium of saprophytic fungi also binds the soil to prevent erosion and loss of valuable nutrients.

For forestry, not only do saprophytic fungi help break down and recycle organic matter. They also help combat many parasitic fungi (blights) that may kill large numbers of trees. Stamets gives useful suggestions on how to seed beneficial saprophytic fungi in blight infested forests as a natural “fungicide,” fighting fire with fire, so to speak.

The symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi can also be seeded in forests to promote healthy trees. Or they can be protected and naturally promoted through wise and informed forest management.

Most plants form symbiotic relationships with mushrooms. The mushroom mycelium more effectively absorbs water and nutrients, exchanged with trees for sugars, making the trees healthier and more drought resistant. Mycorrhizal fungi also provide trees with natural antibiotics against pathogens.

Mushroom mycelium can also be utilized to clean up toxic waste sites through a method known as mycoremediation. The term was invented by the author of Mycelium Running, Paul Stamets, but was in common use before the publication of this book.

Synthetic toxic compounds including petrochemicals, dioxins, neurotoxins, toxic industrial waste and much more can be effectively broken down by fungi into harmless compounds. Bacterial contaminants such E. coli can be killed by anti-bacterial compounds excreted by the fungi. And toxic levels of heavy metals may be absorbed and concentrated by mushrooms, which can then be harvested and safely deposed.

Mycoremediation has also been shown to be the most economical method of cleaning up toxic waste sites, up to 95% cheaper than some common conventional methods.

This plethora of information is merely the first half of this 300-page tome. Part III, which makes up the second half of the book, is an instruction manual on how to cultivate your own mushroom mycelium, which can be used for the above listed purposes, or to grow your own medicinal or culinary mushrooms. And seriously, who doesn’t love gourmet mushrooms? In other words, this is a reference book for every household.

Dr. Markho Rafael has worked in natural health since finishing Chiropractic College in’96. He currently specializes in medicinal mushrooms, frequently consulting two reference books: Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets for medicinal, biological and chemical properties of mushrooms, and Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora as the most complete identification guide of American mushrooms.

categories: mushrooms,ecology,environmental,agriculture,farm,farming,garden,landscaping,tree,horse,chicken,biology,herbs,nature

In a quest to find cheaper, healthier alternatives, I’ve been trying to find new dishes to cook for my family.

In addition to being kinder to my wallet and better for my health, they also had be simple, quick and, most importantly, they had to be recipes my children would actually eat!

Chicken recipes have turned out to be the most successful for our family, especially dishes made with baked chicken.

So what makes baked chicken such a big hit?

1. These recipes for baked chicken use all natural ingredients, so they are healthy and nutritious.

The cooking process is healthier, avoiding the use of oil or fat for frying and the chicken itself is packed with nutrition.

Eating baked chicken dishes has been an excellent first step for my family to start eating a balanced diet. This is becuase it goes so well with a large varierty of fresh foods, making it easier to incorporate vegetables into our meals.

2. Baked chicken recipes are quick and easy.

All of the baked chicken recipes we’ve tried can be made quickly, which is a huge help when you have to make dinner after a long day at work. In these recipes the ingredients are just baked together, so you can toss everything into a pot and let it cook.

It may seem lazy, but it’s really a huge time-saver that allows me more time with my children.

3. The recipes for baked chicken are delicious and versatile.

We have an extremely picky eater in our youngest daughter, so we take care to try to prepare meals that will please her. We don’t want to start the habit of preparing separate meals for every person in the family. It’s very important to us for the family to all eat the same meal together.

Baked chicked recipes are enjoyed by everyone in the family, and so they are perfect for us. Every recipe we have made so far has been delicious and enjoyable, pleasing for the entire family. Even my picky daughter enjoys the baked chicken recipes.

4. Baked chicken recipes are also incredibly easy to make.

The recipes we used have all been quite simple, even for beginning cooks like us. In fact, I’ve been surprised at how easy it has been!

One thing that helps is that you can purchase chicken in a variety of types, from whole chicken to boneless, skinless breasts and everything in between. But it is also true that it is just the nature of a baked chicked recipe that it’s quick and easy to assemble.

Even an inexperienced cook like me can follow the recipes with ease and produce impressive results.

5. Baked chicken recipes also have the added benefit of being cheap.

Trying to feed a family is not easy at the moment with food and fuel costs increasing.

Unlike fast food, baked chicken dishes cost very little. Chicken is a lot less expensive than most types of meat or fish, and the ingredients you typically add to chicken recipes are vegetables, which are an economical buy.

6. Baked chicken recipes are even popular with kids.

The kids have really enjoyed the baked chicken meals, and it continues to surprise us how much they enjoy them. Our eldest actually has favorite baked chicken recipes that he loves and will ask for several times a week.

I would never have believed that the whole family could eat the same meal (that isn’t take-away) and everyone enjoy it.

If you’re searching for simple, low-cost, healthy, delicious meals, my advice is to try baked chicken recipes. Come on, give them a try!

Want to find out more about baked chicken recipes? Visit Scott Maples’s blog dedicated to finding the very best baked chicken recipes for you and your family.