Calendar
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Local Forays
Foray dates and locations are set according to weather and fruiting conditions.
Details will be sent to the FFSC email distribution list. For further information,
call the Hotline at 831 684-2275, or
email Info: EMAIL
March 2008
Beginner ID Class
March 5, 7–9 PM Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. Bring mushrooms for identification and learn the basic mushroom identification process. MAP LINK
Ministers’ Meeting
March 12, 7 PM, at home of Bob Sellers
General Meeting
March 19, 7 PM, Harvey West Scout House
Ken Litchfield, Mushroom Cultivation and Bioremediation
Ken is the head of the Cultivation Committee for the Mycological Society of San Francisco. His work there includes
outreach events promoting mushroom cultivation and the creation of mushroom demonstration gardens. He also teaches
Mushroom Cultivation as an affordable college credit course in the Permaculture program at the Landscape Horticulture
Department of Merritt Community College in Oakland.
April 2008
Beginner ID Class
April 2, 7–9 PM Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. Bring mushrooms for identification and learn the basic mushroom identification process. MAP LINK
Ministers’ Meeting
April 9, 7 PM, Meeting at home of Bill and Vernetta McGuire
Field Trip to Far West Fungi Mushroom farm
Sunday April 13 Ken Litchfield, our March speaker, has organized a field trip to Far West Fungi for his cultivation class. He mentioned during his talk that we were welcome to join them; details below.
On Sunday April 13th noon to 3ish, the Merritt Mushroom Cultivation Class joins the MSSF and FFSC for our field trip / potluck to John and Toby Garrone's Far West Fungi Farm in Moss Landing near Watsonville. Please bring a potluck item to share during the social time at the end of the farm tour. The Garrones will be grilling their mushrooms so you can bring other stuff for the grill also.
Directions:
Far West Fungi Farm
1186 Trafton Road
Moss Landing, CA 95039
(831) 728-5469
The farm is off of Highway 1 south of Watsonville (2 routes available)
1. South 280 to Hwy 85, follow to Hwy 17 (towards Santa Cruz). Hwy 1 South towards Watsonville, turn right on Jensen Road (at Dominic's Fruit Stand). Right on Bluff Rd., right on Trafton Rd. First driveway on the left.
2. 101 South past Gilroy, 129 west to Watsonville, South on Hwy 1. Right on Jensen Road (at Dominic's Fruit Stand). Right on Bluff Road. Right on Trafton Road. First driveway on the left.
Far West Fungi distributes gourmet mushrooms at their Ferry Building shop and at many local farmers' markets. While they import and distribute many other types of mushrooms besides what they grow, at their farm you can see how they grow shiitake, maitake, lion's mane, white, brown, pink, golden, and trumpet oyster mushrooms and some others they experiment with. You can see the operation from raw substrate materials to finished mushroom harvest. They have a big operation with many warehouses, none of which, you may have heard through erroneous media reports, burned down in an electrical fire.
You may purchase farm fresh mushrooms there at the farm and if you
have a vehicle you can haul away as much excellent spent mushroom
compost as you can carry for your garden. You can also collect
harvested mushroom kits that can still be fruited or added to your
garden to continue growing. Far West makes a single harvest from their
blocks and then recycles them. Though there is lots of life for at
least one, and perhaps as many as three more fruitings, the remaining
flushes aren't temporally reliable to make it commercially
predictable. Which is good for our recycling uses.
General Meeting
April 16, 7 PM, Harvey West Scout House
Daniel Nicholson speaks to us about Mushrooms of the Sierras
FFSC Members Continental Picnic
April 20 11:30 AM – 4 PM, , home of Bob & Judy Lipp
Bring a dish to share. It can be anything from
traditional picnic fare of bread, cheese, spreads and fruit to
more substantial potluck dishes. Feel free to bring wine or
other beverage if you prefer. If you choose to bring any
mushroom dish, remember to stick with the suggested
species list. There is a large gas barbeque should
you wish to grill. Plates, water, and utensils will be provided,
or you can bring your own. See more details in the March Duff newsletter.
May 2008
PiPi Valley Foray, Sierra camping foray
May 9-11 (Date may change depending on weather conditions)
This is a drive-in well facilitated camp with the usual: drinking water, fire pits, toilets , picnic tables and barbecues. No showers, but you can always take an icy dip in the river running through the campground. There is a public phone at Pipi Picnic Area. Campground host is on site. There are no hook-ups and no dump station.
- This camground requires a 2 day minimum stay on weekends.
- No refunds for bad weather.
- Campers must camp in their assigned sites.
- Discount passes do not apply to double and triple sites.
- This foray does not require reservations.
You will pay individually for your campsite upon
arrival. The cost is $19.50/night for up to two cars;
third car costs $5 extra. Golden Age Card holders
(62+) are half price.
We gather 9 AM Saturday morning in the back loop area to form foray groups. Saturday evening we have a "not to be missed" pot luck dinner.
Directions:
Located 26 miles east of Jackson, California. Take Highway 88 to Omo Ranch Road. Turn north 1 mile to North South Road. Turn right about 6 curvy miles to campground.
Ministers’ Meeting
May 17, 7 PM, Meeting at home of Bill & Jerri White
General Meeting
May 21, 7 PM, Harvey West Scout House
The speaker is Bill Schoenbart. Last meeting of the season!
|
Bill Schoenbart, L.Ac. has been practicing traditional Chinese medicine since 1991,
when he earned a Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. His specialty is in
herbal medicine, working with both Chinese and Western herbs. Bill has practiced
Chinese medicine in California, Hawaii, and North Carolina. He currently teaches
Traditional Chinese Medicine theory and herbalism at Five Branches Institute in
Santa Cruz, where he also maintains a clinical practice. He is a contributing author to
the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and has written two books on Chinese
Medicine. Bill works as a research consultant in the dietary supplement industry. He has been a member of the board of trustees of the American Herbal Products Association, where he worked to protect public access to herbs and to maintain quality standards for herbal medicine. Bill has given presentations on herbal medicine at various conferences, such as the International Conference on Modernization of Chinese Medicine (Hong Kong) and the World Congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (Thailand). |
June 2008
SFSU Fungi of the Sierra mushroom identicication class
June 1-6 Dr. Dennis Desjardin teaches Mushroom identification at the SFSU Sierra Nevada Field campus. Specific Fungi course information:
http://www.sfsu.edu/~sierra/Course_Fungi.html
Species list found during the class:
http://www.sfsu.edu/~sierra/Fungi.html
The general Summer course listing page for all Sierra Campus classes is :
http://www.sfsu.edu/~sierra/Courses.html
September 2008
Annual NAMA foray McCall, Idaho
Sept 4-7 The Orson K. Miller North American
Mycological Association 2008 Foray will be held in McCall,
Idaho, at the Pinewood Baptist Church Camp. It’s a beautiful
area, with great mushroom collecting and many, many
hot springs. You can’t go wrong! One must be a NAMA
member to attend.