From Steve Gabriel, Agroforestry Specialist, Cornell Small Farms Program:
Camp Mushroom is Cornell University’s annual two-day event for farmers, woodlot owners, and hobby growers who want to cultivate their own shiitake, oyster, lions mane, and stropharia mushrooms.
The workshop is a unique beginner/intermediate level workshop for those interested in small-scale forest mushroom cultivation.
The class runs April 24 – 25, 2014 at Cornell’s Arnot Teaching and Research Forest located about 20 miles south of Ithaca, N.Y.
This year marks the 10th year of the course, as forest mushroom cultivation blossoms in the northeast as a new small farm industry. Research on active farms, facilitated by Cornell, University of Vermont, and Chatham University has found that growers are able to begin making a profit in year two. It is projected that a small 500-log operation could gross $9,000 over a five-year period.
Cost: $100 for overnight guests (primitive cabin with heat), $70 for commuters. (Includes Friday dinner and breakfast and lunch on Saturday, featuring mushrooms and local, organic foods.)
Schedule:
- Friday- 6 pm dinner, program from 7 – 10 pm
- Saturday – 8 am breakfast, program from 9 – 3 pm (with lunch)