Wine Cap (Strohparia rugosoannulata) “Burrito”

During our 2022 fall class series we discussed companion planting with mushrooms. We brought mycelium “burritos” for folks to take home and experiment with growing in their garden! Below are directions for their installation.

Directions for Wine Cap (Stropharia rugosoannulata) Mushroom Burritos

This "Burrito" is made of Stropharia AKA Garden Giant, Wine Cap, Queen/King Stropharia, mycelium on hardwood sawdust and cardboard.

To store your burrito simply keep it moist, but not soaking (about 60% moisture content) in a cool area in your home or garden shed. If you plan to keep this burrito dormant until spring we recommend you put it in the refrigerator.

When you're ready to "plant" out your mycelium in the spring or fall just follow these very simple steps:

Each burrito will inoculate about 5 sq. ft.

1. Find a place in your garden that you water and check frequently. We companion plant our stropharia with all sorts of annual and perennial plants. See the above slideshow for planting ideas.

2. Broadcast a 2-4" layer of fresh hardwood chips (wherever you're sourcing from, make sure they don't spray or treat their chips if you're planning to eat the mushrooms)

3. unfold your burrito until it's one large sheet being careful not to pull or tear the mycelium too hard. If you're having trouble separating the layers, soften it with some water.

4. lay the unfolded burrito, mycelium down, flat in the center of your bottom layer of wood chips.

5. Cover the entire area again with another 2-4" of fresh hardwood chips.

6. Water in like a plant start. You can cover this with straw if you're worried about frost, sun, or rain damage.

7. check on your mycelial growth from time to time by peeling the wood chips back to reveal the white thread like fungal growth.

Harvesting can take up to a year, but Wine Caps usually fruit in the Spring and fall. Add more fresh wood chips to maintain your patch.