Good reads?

[Qcks]

So, what field guides do you guys use? There's a few of them out there, but I've heard not all field guides are created equal.

After that, is there any good resources for raising mushrooms? I'm kinda interested in a myco-culture, but, again, not all sources are created equally, so which ones have helped y'all?

[vitog]

For the West Coast, David Arora's two books, Mushrooms Demystified and All that the Rain Promises... are useful for identification and interesting to read.

For raising mushrooms, Mycelium Running.... by Paul Stamets is a good starting point.

[Qcks]

Thank you for the reply. I'll give them a thorough read.

[kylekaz363]

Mushrooms Demystified is a great book for identification, although I think some previous knowledge is helpful.

The Audobon Society has a good field guide with pictures that supplements Mushrooms Demystified well.

As for growing, Paul Stamets has a book called The Mushroom Cultivator and it is very thorough.

[Qcks]

I've seen a few books by Paul Stamets. I'll probably pick up The Mushroom Cultivator, but Mycelium Running has a newer copyright. I grabbed an older book as a primer called "Growing Wild Mushrooms: A Complete Guide to Cultivating Edible and Halucinagenic Mushrooms" by Bob Harris. It's source material is old, but many of the techniques seem valuable. Just the cursory read through I've given has produced several questions though, so i think more reading material is in order.

I picked up Mushrooms Demystified, as well as the Peterson and Audobon Society books. I find the pictorial guides a little helpful, but I haven't picked through Mushrooms Demystified yet. I'm hoping there's more information regarding habit and habitat in that reference. I've been spending more time reading about cultivated mushrooms practices though so... we'll see.