Rainbow Branch Garden Design

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  • Springing into Action

    The garden bed I designed for a client, two beds with nine mounds each instead of rows, surrounded by fencing.

    Choices in Garden Design

    This winter, I designed an annuals garden for a client. This spring, a small crew helped us bring that design to life. We turned compost, coco coir, cardboard, and oyster mushroom spawn into two square garden beds with nine mounds each. We chose to build soil instead of digging a bed. In a previous post, I discussed how no-till techniques benefit the soil (Byrne, 2026).

    We dedicated one bed to corn, squash and beans, and the other mainly to solanaceous (tomato family) crops. Both beds have oyster mushrooms. Intercropping, or growing multiple crops together at the same time, improves garden performance when done well (Byrne, 2026).

    I selected heirloom vegetable varieties for this garden design. My main criteria for recommendation are disease resistance, local adaptation, and days to harvest. I select varieties that can grow well together for intercropping.

    Intercropping with corn and beans: corn seedlings with a bean seedling

    For example, I selected Pungo Creek butcher dent corn and Sacre Bleu pole beans (see picture above). Farmers in Eastern Shore Virginia have been growing Pungo Creek corn for about 165 years (Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, 2026). It grows tall, sturdy stalks. This will help it support Sacre Bleu pole bean vines. Lisa Bloodnick developed this disease and moisture tolerant bean in Apalachin, New York (Experimental Farm Network, 2026). We are a few states south, but appreciate a bean that doesn’t mind the east coast rain.

    I put similar thought into the mushrooms I selected. I chose Phoenix oysters (Pleurotus pulmonarius) because they grow here naturally and do well in garden beds (North Spore, 2026; Wikipedia, 2026). We installed the garden beds using layers of cardboard and compost mixed with oyster mushroom sawdust spawn.

    Oyster mushrooms in hand

    Early results: looking good!

    The mycelium is hard at work eating up the cardboard. When I disturb the earth a little, I see and smell the mycelium. It smells like the best “clean linen” candle ever. The mushrooms will emerge from it later in the summer.

    Right now, corn, melon, squash, and bean seedlings dot the milpa garden hills. The corn takes the center, with the beans close by, and the cucurbit crops on the slope of the hill. The solanaceous crop bed is giving us more of a challenge. Rabbits LOVE pepper and tomato seedlings! Not a single pepper or tomato survived, but the potatoes did.

    Sarpo una potato plant growing in the garden

    Going forward, I will include fences in my designs with annual crop beds. We installed a fence with chicken wire, and re-planted the barren hills. It was too late in the season for more peppers or tomatoes, so we planted a little extra corn, herbs, radishes, turnips, and greens. Neighbors are stopping by to admire the yard. Everybody loves how this garden design is turning out!

    Abundance is possible when you appreciate interdependence, and roll with the changes nature throws at you! Happy spring, everyone!

    Bibliography

    Byrne, M. (2026, February 25). Eco landscapes: winter schemes for spring dreams! laueanagrowing.net. https://rainbowbranch.com/ecolandscape/

    Experimental Farm Network. 2026. ‘Sacre Bleu’ Bean. https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/products/sacre-bleu-bean

    North Spore. 2026. How to Make Outdoor Mushroom Beds. https://northspore.com/pages/outdoor-mushroom-beds

    Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. 2026. Pungo Creek Butcher Dent Corn, 42 g . https://www.southernexposure.com/products/pungo-creek-butcher-dent-corn/

    Wikipedia. 2026. Pleurotus pulmonarius. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurotus_pulmonarius

  • Plant Review: Garden Vegetables (Part 3)

    Several Macedonian grilling peppers on a green cutting board. The peppers are red, long, and thin. Some are corkscrew shaped. They all have the classic rough-skinned scar stripes of the Macedonian grilling pepper. This is the defining characteristic of this heirloom pepper.

    Several Macedonian grilling peppers on a green cutting board

    Finally, the last plant review for my 2025 vegetable garden! Here I review the last two vegetables that I grew in my garden last summer: scorzonera, and Macedonian grilling peppers. I will give them a rating out of 5 in ease of growing, harvest yield, and harvest quality, and use this to calculate an overall score. I then explain why I ranked them the way I did, and decide if I will grow them again or not. In previous reviews, I covered:

    Review 1: Carwile’s Virginia Peanut, Thai red roselle, Stewart Zeebest okra, moon and stars yellow watermelon

    Review 2: Painted Lady runner beans, Suyo long cucumber

    Macedonian Grilling Pepper Review

    Macedonian grilling peppers growing on the plant. The mature pepper is long and red with characteristic banded scarification, unique to this type of pepper.

    Macedonian grilling peppers growing on the plant

    Garden Vegetable Review Score

    Overall: 4.5/5

    Ease of growing: 4/5

    Harvest yield: 4/5

    Harvest quality: 5/5

    Would I grow it again? YES!

    Explanation

    These peppers are forgiving, if you can keep the young plants away from the deer. Deer ate up most of my baby peppers. The one that survived was basically a tree. It had a thick, sturdy stalk which bore many elongated, red, scarred peppers.

    Slivered, pan-seared, and dried Macedonian grilling pepper

    Slivered, pan-seared, and dried Macedonian grilling pepper

    Spicy Exchange describes these as about jalapeno heat, at the hottest. This was NOT accurate, to my opinion! It could be that this one plant was unusual, or didn’t like my fertilizer regime. It is also likely that I am personally more sensitive to spice than the author. It was far, far hotter than I expected!

    It made the best paprika I’ve ever had when pan seared and dried. It was something between smoked paprika and hot red pepper powder. It’s easy to make.

    Cut the peppers lengthwise in half, and seed them. Pan-sear them until you think they look done. Dry them in the oven or air fryer at about 175 degrees for about 6 hours, checking frequently for moisture level. Take them out when they look done and grind them up.

    Smoky red paprika powder made from Macedonian grilling peppers. Delicious paprika! Hot and spicy. I review this type of pepper plant well.

    Smoky red paprika powder made from Macedonian grilling peppers

    It took every dish I put it in to the next level. If it was savory, it was getting the paprika treatment! I especially enjoyed making grits with this paprika, salt, pepper, and butter. I demolished the whole supply of hot-and-smoky red powder in no time!

    Scorzonera Review

    Scorzonera growing in a 10 gallon cloth pot. Long, thin leaves in a rosette. There are about 5-7 plants in the pot each with a rosette. This plant grows easily.

    Scorzonera growing in a 10 gallon cloth pot

    Garden Vegetable Review Score

    Overall: 3.7/5

    Ease of growing: 5/5

    Harvest yield: 3/5

    Harvest quality: 3/5

    Would I grow it again? Maybe? Probably not.

    Explanation

    Scorzonera was very easy to grow. It does not ask for anything. Just give it a large enough pot to make roots, at least 10 gallons.

    I’m not sure how I feel about it. The roots have a black skin that needs peeling, and it is laborious to do. The interior is very thin. There is a woody core in the center of the root so you have to “de-bone” it. If you do not cook it first, it will leak latex. It tastes like artichokes or maybe mild seafood. The flavor is faint.

    It’s a novelty to me, and unbelievably easy to grow. But, I don’t really know if it’s worth the effort of cooking, or what to do with it. Its flavor is mild and pleasant. But, it’s not good enough to be worth dealing with the peeling. Oyster mushrooms taste much better and are also easy to grow. I don’t know if I could prepare it better than I did this time. I’m uncertain about growing it again, but leaning towards no.

    Scorzonera roots cut from the plant and in a strainer after being washed. Long, very thin Black Salsify roots covered in a rough black-brown-grey skin. Mild artichoke flavor, reviewed as bland.

    Scorzonera roots cut from the plant and in a strainer after being washed

  • Eco landscapes: winter schemes for spring dreams!

    A small pile of Sacre Bleu kidney beans. They are dark indigo in color. Beans are very important for regenerative gardening systems.

    Sacre Bleu kidney beans

    I haven’t started, let alone finished, my final vegetable review (but you can read part 1 and part 2). Yet, I started planning this year’s garden months ago! This frosty winter passed slowly and then all at once. I spent many snowy days planning a client’s landscape. With permission, I am writing about our design. We are planning on two garden beds: one with corn, squash, and beans, and the other with peppers, potatoes, tomato, and herbs.

    The benefits of “three sisters” agriculture

    My client requested a “three sisters” garden bed, or “milpa.” Native Mesoamerican people designed this strategy, which optimizes the harvest of three mutually beneficial crops: corn, squash, and beans. People must harvest a milpa by hand. Because of this, it is not suitable for mass-scale industrial agriculture. “It takes five people four days to pick the beans and harvest the maize” for a one hectare plot (Landzettel, 2026).

    However, it is a sustainable and productive system that deserves more attention. The milpa has high value for food security gardening. Growing the three sisters together creates climate resilience through mutually beneficial interactions between the three crops.

    Pungo Creek Butcher Dent Corn seed packet from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. The seed packet has illustrations of yellow, orange, and red cobs of corn.

    Pungo Creek Butcher Dent Corn seed packet from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

    Each plant plays a role so that the garden stays healthy. The beans “fix” nitrogen from the air into the soil, where plants can absorb it. The corn provides a pole for the beans to climb, and the squash’s large leaves cast a cooling shade on the soil (Landzettel, 2026;Kruse-Peeples & Marinaro 2016). These mutually beneficial interactions are what make the milpa so wildly resilient!

    A milpa can have mounds or rows. Kruse-Peeples & Marinaro (2016) report that the traditional Iroquoian way to build a milpa is by making mounds, which we will emulate.

    “Other sisters” are also important to southwestern Native cultures, and can grow in a milpa (Kruse-Peeples & Marinaro, 2016). For example, we will grow melons alongside our squash.

    Using lasagna mulching to build soil

    No-till techniques help the soil stay healthy because they disturb it less than digging it up. We will use “lasagna mulching” to create two garden beds with mounds. Lasagna mulching is layering composting materials on top of existing soil (Rauter & Sherp, 2025). We will layer compost between cardboard to create mounds. On top of this we will add mixed coco coir and compost. The cardboard will be inoculated with oyster mushroom grain spawn, which will integrate outdoor mushrooms into the garden bed.

    My client and I are totally thrilled about this design! This mound-based intercropping design is taking shape well. I would love to repeat this design in the future. Hopefully this summer, we will have a green and growing garden brimming with vegetables and mushrooms. Stay tuned to follow this project as it grows!

    Oyster mushroom grain spawn in a quart sized wide mouth mason jar. White oyster mushroom mycelium grows as a fuzz over rye grains.

    Oyster mushroom grain spawn

    Bibliography

    Landzettel, M. (2026, February 13). Milpa. How an Ancient Farming System Helps Small Farmers in Today’s Mexico. Slow Food. https://www.slowfood.com/blog-and-news/milpa-ancient-farming-system-mexico/

    Kruse-Peeples, M. & Marinaro, L. (2016, May 27). How to Grow a Three Sisters Garden. Native Seeds/SEARCH. Native Seeds/SEARCH. https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/blog-news/how-to-grow-a-three-sisters-garden

    Rauter, S. & Sherp, L. (2025). Sheet mulching and lasagna composting with cardboard. Oregon State University Extension Service. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-9559-sheet-mulching-lasagna-composting-cardboard

  • Plant Review: Garden Vegetables (part 2)

    Today, we are doing a plant review for some of the garden vegetables I grew in 2025. This is my second vegetable review. If you would like to read the first, where I review Carwile’s Virginia peanut, Thai red roselle, Stewart Zeebest okra, and Moon and Stars yellow watermelon, click here!

    Painted Lady Runner Beans Plant Review

    Runner bean vines climb vigorously. This is part of why I rated them high in "ease of growing" in my plant review.

    Garden Vegetable Review Score

    Overall; 4/5

    Ease of growing: 4/5

    Harvest yield: 2/5

    Harvest quality: 5/5

    Would I grow it again? Yes.

    Explanation

    Painted lady improved runner beans were a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, the vines grew and flowered vigorously, and their beans were delicious. On the other hand, the VAST majority of the flowers never produced beans! If I were gardening mainly for flowers, this would not bother me. But, I am more practical about my goals, and I wanted beans.

    The beans I got were wonderful, however. They had a flavor similar to green beans, except stronger and more vegetal. I only ate them as snap beans, and did not try them as shelling beans. They were fantastic sauteed in butter with a little salt and pepper.

    I still have the pot full of roots in the shed since they are perennial beans. I have heard that the beans begin to produce better crops as they get older and stronger, so we will see if that is true.

    Runner beans sauteed in butter were very good, so they got a good review for harvest quality. I only wish there were more, so they did not get a good review for harvest yield.

    Suyo Long Asian Cucumber Plant Review

    A long and thin Suyo cucumber on the vine. There was only this one for all three vines, so their rating on the yield portion of the plant review is very low.

    Garden Vegetable Review Score

    Overall: 2.33/5

    Ease of growing: 2/5

    Harvest yield: 1/5

    Harvest quality: 4/5

    Would I grow it again? No.

    Explanation

    I grew three Suyo cucumber vines, but I only got one single cucumber before they all died of milder and bug damage! The cucumber was pretty good, very mild and watery, which I like. However, I did not like the overall results here, so I am not growing them again. Diseases obliterated my vines before I could get even two cucumbers off of them!

    A whole Suyo cucumber on a cutting board
    Sliced Suyo cucumber

  • Carnivorous Plant Tissue Culture Success!

    a 15 milliliter falcon tube containing agar media and a small hybrid carnivorous plant Pinguicula jaumavensis x cyclosecta growing in tissue culture

    A Recap of Challenges

    I started my journey in carnivorous plant tissue culture late this summer. Explant sterilization in particular has been extremely difficult. In order for a section of plant tissue to grow on agar media, all microbes present with it must be removed by a chemical agent. I have observed mostly fungal contaminants in my media. Sometimes, they can actually have very interesting colors, like indigo and crimson. As interesting as that is, it’s definitely not what I want.

    The importance of sterilant choice in carnivorous plant tissue culture

    The sterilant is the chemical agent used for explant sterilization. There are many different chemicals you can choose from, most of which are chlorine based. Normally, it is a chlorine based agent. So far, I have tried two: sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NADCC), and calcium hypochlorite. Calcium hypochlorite was, in my experience, far less effective a sterliant. It was also extremely noxious to work with. Using NADCC seems to give much better chances of avoiding contamination.

    Current Success

    In November, I tried my hand at carnivorous plant tissue culture again. I did two batches of explants with 3000ppm NADCC. I used the same vacuum apparatus as last time, with unscented Castile soap again. Two jaumavensis x cyclosecta explants survived and stayed free of contaminants!

  • Plant Review: Garden Vegetables (part 1)

    This year, I began my adventures in container gardening vegetables. Here is my introduction to everything I planted. I observed a wide spread in performance of each of the varieties I grew. Please enjoy my inaugural plant review!

    Carwile’s Virginia Peanut Review

    Carwile's Virginia peanut in shell on a paper plate
    shelled raw Carwile's Virginia Peanuts in a bowl. They are large peanuts with red skin.
    Pan fried Carwile's Virginia peanuts with salt in a bowl, ready for eating

    Garden Vegetable Review Score

    Overall: 2.33/5

    Ease of growing: 2/5

    Harvest yield: 1/5

    Harvest quality: 4/5

    Would I grow it again? No.

    Explanation

    My peanut yield was incredibly low, but the nuts I did get were delicious. I am uncertain about what could have caused the low yield. Speculating only, it could be too much nitrogen in the potting mix plus no inoculant. Peanuts need bacteria to enter their roots so they can fix their own nitrogen. Normally, people inoculate their peanuts with a microbial mix. I did not. The peanuts I did get were extremely good. They were flavorful, excellent pan fried with salt.

    Thai Red Roselle Review

    an 8oz mason jar of Thai red roselle calyxes held in hand
    Thai red roselle plant, view into plant from camera pointed down a stem rising above it. There are many 5 pointed green leaves with red veins on the red stems. There are some calyxes forming.
    Deep red roselle tea in a cup brewed from dried roselle calyx in a tea strainer.

    Garden Vegetable Review Score

    Overall: 3.67

    Ease of growing: 3/5

    Harvest yield: 3/5

    Harvest quality: 5/5

    Would I grow it again? Yes.

    Explanation

    Roselle, known by many names around the world, is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. People all over the globe love the stuff! Many parts of the plant are edible, including the leaves and the thick red calyxes that grow around the seed pod after the flower fades. Both have a tart, citrus-like flavor. The leaves taste vegetal and the calyxes floral. The leaves make an excellent addition to any dish that would benefit from citrus flavor. I enjoyed adding it to stir fries. The dried calyxes make a delicious sour, floral tea that I enjoy with added ginger root and sugar.

    My only note is that I will need to start the plants indoors in late February. I did not get many calyxes before cold killed the plant here in USDA zone 7. This plant grows slowly, loves the heat, and despises the cold. Plan ahead to get a good harvest if you live in an area with cold winters.

    A Thai red roselle flower. It is a hibiscus type flower with five cream petals and a dark red center.

    Stewart Zeebest Okra Review

    A Stewart Zeebest okra flower. It is a cream hibiscus type flower with a red center, similar to roselle but larger.
    An okra pod growing on a plant

    Garden Vegetable Review Score

    Overall: 4/5

    Ease of growing: 4/5

    Harvest yield: 3/5

    Harvest quality: 5/5

    Would I grow it again? Yes.

    Explanation

    Stewart Zeebest Okra produced tender, slim, smooth pods for me during the hot months. They were very soft and silky, with no spines and mild flavor. The pods could have grown larger than I allowed while remaining tender.

    In my opinion, they are the best simply sauteed with some caramelized shallots in butter. You don’t need much of a recipe. Just cook the shallots in butter until beginning to caramelize. Then add okra, so it cooks as the shallots finish. Salt to taste.

    Like the roselle, okra is a member of the hibiscus family that thrives in hot weather. Also like the roselle, I would have gotten a much larger harvest if I planted it earlier! It only needs 65 days to begin producing, but mine only produced for a month or two before cold hit. They would have produced for longer and given me more okra if direct sown in early May. Some even begin theirs indoors, but I have limited space.

    Stewart Zeebest okra pods. A small kitchen knife lying flat horizontal left to right with the blade left on a wooden cutting block. Three okra pods are beneath the knife blade perpendicular to it. They are velvety and green, smooth with no ribs or spines, and slender.

    Moon and Stars Yellow Watermelon Review

    Moon and stars yellow watermelon fruit cut open in two halves on a wooden cutting block. There are many white seeds and a lot of smooth yellow watermelon flesh.

    Garden Vegetable Review Score

    Overall: 2.33/5

    Ease of growing: 2/5

    Harvest yield: 2/5

    Harvest quality: 3/5

    Would I grow it again? No.

    Explanation

    Moon and stars yellow watermelon did turn out tasty. Yet again though, I had yield issues. The yellow fleshed, speckled-rind watermelons are striking to behold inside and out. The flesh is smooth with few strings. Even in a small melon, there was a lot of flesh without seeds. All had a clear fleshy core to the fruit. It is mildly sweet with a clear and refreshing watermelon flavor. It was lighter and more refreshing in my opinion than red watermelon. I haven’t had another melon like it.

    My melons topped out around 5lb, and I did not get many. Some rotted. Some plants didn’t grow any fruit despite constant flowering. Each melon may need more space for its roots, and higher quality, more consistent fertilizer. Hand pollination could have helped.

    Yellow watermelon flesh carved from the melon, seeds removed, on a plate next to some whole grain bread, which sits on a counter with some limes in a plastic bag nearby

  • Carnivorous Plant Show

    I had an amazing time at the Mid Atlantic Carnivorous Plant Society’s inaugural 2025 carnivorous plant show at Haverford College in Lancaster, PA!

    Mid Atlantic Carnivorous Plant Society 2025 carnivorous plant show in the field house at Haverford College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. Vendors set up tables inside an indoor track arena.

    This was the first time I tabled as a vendor, and the first time I went to a carnivorous plant show. I had a wonderful experience and I am extremely grateful to MACPS for coordinating and hosting this event. There were about 300 people attending, enough for consistent engagement at my table but not overwhelming.

    I was one of about a dozen vendors there. Most had some kind of carnivorous plant, but a few had orchids and one even had bonsai trees. Sarracenia, or American pitcher plants, were very popular, as were Nepenthes, or tropical pitcher plants. Pinguicula were a small but distinct presence at many booths, and the star of the show at a few, counting myself.

    Two different types of Sarracenia side by side, both are tall but one is green and reddish and one is all green and white with no red.
    A large Nepenthes or tropical pitcher plant pitcher at a carnivorous plant show
    Purple, pink, and yellow orchids
    brown and white and yellow orchids

    About a month and a half before the show, a household cat got into my inventory and destroyed the majority of it. This sent me scrambling to put together arrangements to sell with extras from my surviving collection. I decided to sell ping soil and small, non-draining containers I thrifted, since pings can grow in those. I also had three Echinopsis cactus cuttings for sale, two of which were a complex hybrid from Prickocereus with monstrose growth forms.

    In addition to items for sale, I presented several display items. The one I am most proud of is a small bonbon dish with three seed grown in-house hybrids (bottom image of next gallery). The plants in the dish are: P. moranensis ‘Kewensis’ x P. ‘Seductora,’ P. laueana x P. ibarre, and P. laueana “Red” x P. ehlersiae “Mighty Mouse.”

    The following gallery is of my table, my items for sale, and my items on display.

    My table at the carnivorous plant show with arrangements and items for sale plus containers. My dog's head pokes out from behind the table and there are other tables in the background.
    A carnivorous plant arrangement with Pinguicula agnata 'El Lobo' x gypsicola
    A carnivorous plant arrangement featuring Pinguicula gigantaea x moctezumae.
    A carnivorous plant arrangement with Pinguicula macrophylla in flower. The flower is purple with five petals and a cream/white throat spot.
    A carnivorous plant arrangement in a bonbon dish featuring three in house by Laueana Growing seed grown Pinguicula hybrids.

    To my surprise, my best selling item was my ping soil. It is just turface, perlite, and some vermiculite. Most carnivorous plants prefer peat perlite mix, but tropical pings are lithophytes, or plants that grow on rocks. They much prefer sandy, rocky soil.

    I also sold a few containers, one small ping arrangement, and one cactus cutting. Overall, I think I did well. I will definitely come back!

    The next gallery is of plants at the carnivorous plant show display tables.

    A carnivorous plant arrangement featuring pink Pinguicula ehlersiae
    A table displaying several carnivorous plants one of which has won a red ribbon.
    Large heart shaped utricularia leaves
    Blue ribbon winning Dionaea (venus fly trap)
    Maroon Sarracenia purpurea pitchers
    A large Nepenthes tropical pitcher plant with many pitchers
    Pinguicula primuliflora with lime green foliage
    A spherical glass container with Pinguicula hybrid "dragon" inside

  • Mycology updates

    I went on an accidental mushroom foraging expedition on some recent walks through the woods. I also have a brief update on my Chicken of the Woods experiments.

    COTW update

    Mold contaminated my COTW grow bag and it did not form a full fruit unfortunately. Still, I learned something very important: shocking the mycelium with cold water causes growth through the filter.

    DIY home made liquid culture for mushroom cultivation. A mason jar filled with home made mushroom liquid culture made of corn syrup and water. It is golden in color and has chunks of solid agar in it and mycelium growing in it in a hazy clump.
    DIY home made potato starch dextrose agar for growing mushrooms. A mason jar shown from the bottom containing potato starch dextrose agar with an agar wedge transfer on it. Mycelium grows from the wedge transfer out into the fresh agar.

    I have successfully grown chicken of the woods mycelium on my homemade potato starch dextrose agar jars (recipe). I also successfully made my own liquid culture using corn syrup and grew chicken of the woods mycelium in that. The mycelium is not very picky, it is just difficult to get it to fruit.

    Accidental Foraging Expedition

    I was walking in the woods recently, and I found three edible wild mushrooms! Mushroom foraging is great fun, but I am always more successful when I am not trying! I found lion’s mane, pinkish-white oyster mushrooms growing on a beech log, and some hairy-topped brown woodear mushrooms.

    Riparian woodland ecosystem in Eastern North America. This is a good mushroom foraging location. If you are asking "where to forage for mushrooms" the answer is a place like this. Similar habitats occur in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and southern New York state.

    The exact species of each is uncertain at the moment, because oysters, woodears, and lion’s mane have many species. However, all are generally edible.

    Oyster mushroom foraging. Mushroom foraging. Foraging in the woods. Oyster mushrooms growing on a hardwood beech log. Found in Rockville, Maryland, USA. Eastern North American Woodland ecosystem.

    I identified the oyster mushrooms by color (whitish/blush pink surface and white flesh), decurrent gills running partway down the stem, gregarious (grouped) shelf growing habit, and white spore print (Field Guide to Common Macrofungi, Oyster Mushroom ID Guide, Oyster Mushroom Description).

    Mushroom foraging. Foraging wood ear mushrooms. Foraging in the forests of Eastern North America. Wood ear mushrooms growing on a log in a forest in Eastern North America. They are dark brown with a smooth underside and velvet like top. Foraged in Rockville, Maryland, USA.

    I identified the woodears (AKA Tree Ears, Auricularia species) by shape (cup-like shelves), texture (rubbery flesh, tomentose/hairy upper surface, smooth underside), color (dark brown), and white spore print (Tree Ear Description, Auricularia Wikipedia)

    Mushroom foraging. Foraging lions mane mushrooms. Foraging in Eastern North American woodlands. A lion's mane mushroom growing on a log in a forest. It is white and spherical or circular with pointy spikes or teeth.

    Lion’s mane (AKA Satyr’s Beard, Bearded Tooth) is extremely easy to identify, at least at the genus level. Hercium species tend to have spiky, icicle looking “teeth.” This one was white and very dense and spherical. The spore print was white (Satyr’s Beard Description, Bearded Tooth ID)

    Foraged forest product. Foraged lions mane. A lions mane mushroom in hand, forager is wearing flannel, background is the asphalt of a road with some painted lines.

    All of the mushrooms I found are saprotrophic (grow on decaying things) instead of mycorrhizal (grow in a complex relationship with trees). They are wood lovers, although oysters will grow on almost anything.

    Because I took spore prints (spore print how-to) to help with identification, I can now grow these in captivity!

  • Plant show was totally awesome!

    I had an amazing time at the MACPS 2025 plant show! I sold a few items and handed out literally all of my business cards. I have tons of pictures to go through so stay tuned for updates on that!

  • Carnivorous Plant Tissue Culture Learning Curve

    I have continued my experiments with carnivorous plant tissue culture.

    I have been struggling with endogenous contamination in the plants. TC is always challenging, and carnivorous plant tissue culture can be especially challenging. It is one thing to be able to produce sterile agar in a jar but another to destroy microbes without destroying plant cells.

    I tried a new method by doing the explant sterilization under a vacuum and with detergent. I still used calcium hypochlorite, but I used 3% instead of 4% and extended the sterilization time from 8 to 11 minutes.

    A carnivorous plant tissue culture explant sterilization setup designed to work under a vacuum. An Erlenmeyer flask with a cork in the top and a vacuum extension is attached to a small laboratory vacuum by a tube. In the flask is calcium hypochlorite and detergent solution and the explants. It sits in front of a flow hood.

    The vacuum setup functioned well mechanically. However, many of the explants died, got contaminated, or both, as before. I think I will likely need to change sterilants from calcium hypochlorite to NaDCC. It is more stable and effective, and less toxic.