Garden Giant

I am often asked what is the best mushroom to grow in your garden? By far and away, from my decades of experience is the Garden Giant, aka the King Stropharia (Stropharia rugoso-annulata). This species is both a primary and secondary decomposer, and once launched into wood chip mulch, it can become resident for many years, and move around your property. An ally to most garden plants, this species fruits from spring into fall, and can be huge! One of the many amazing properties of this mushroom is that it eats nematodes that can damage many root-bearing vegetables. Moreover, the Garden Giant creates rich soil in its wake as the waves of mycelium surge. We found it also excellent for mycofiltration to remove E. coli. 

See my book, Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World for more details. 

Photo of LaDena by Paul Stamets

Photo of Azureus Stamets by Michael Beug