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Home - Written Contributors - WWOOF USA: Elm Oyster Inoculation (video)

WWOOF USA: Elm Oyster Inoculation (video)

“WWOOF! The Movie” is about a collective of organizations that go by the acronym WWOOF: World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. My wife and I have traveled around the globe for the last 5 months and videotaped our experiences within the organizations of France, Japan, Italy, and India. The tentative delivery date for the whole sha-bang is next June, 2010.

WWOOF USA: Elm Oyster Inoculation from Ashley Terry

The Mushroomery in Lebanon, Oregon is where we find owners Dustin and Jen, their kids, and a whole house full of WWOOFers. October is prime time for mushroom hunting in Oregon.

Inoculating a wood log with Elm Oyster

The crew goes out into the cascade or coast range about every other day or so to hunt chanterelles, fried chicken, hedgehog, and whatever other edible fungi they can find to sell at the farmers market. Today, they are inoculating hardwood logs with elm oyster mushrooms. The logs can be used for landscaping purposes and they will produce loads of edible mushrooms in about a year’s time. Oysters are purported to be good for detoxification so these logs will be placed near the road that passes by the house.

With the help of WWOOFers, friends, and other volunteers, Jen and Dustin have managed to grow their business exponentially and provide a learning facility for folks who want to know more about mushroom cultures, spawning, and cuisine.

Although Rachel and I weren’t WWOOFers at the Mushroomery, Dustin did take us out on a mushroom hunt in the cascades one day. We were warned to bring warm, dry clothes, and we certainly did need them by the end of the day. Hunting wild mushrooms means slogging through thick underbrush and turning over logs to get at the tasty shrooms that lie beneath. It was fun, but not something most folks would want to do on a daily basis. Plus, you really have to know what you’re looking for and where to look.

Next time, we head back abroad to continue our WWOOFing excursion in Jaipur, and learn how to take care of the inevitable upset stomach while traveling in India.

Ashley Terry graduated from the University of Montana in 2004 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Media Arts. Since then, he has worked in broadcast news, commercial and television production houses, radio, and internet broadcasting. In 2007, he started “AT Films” as a professional wedding and event videography service provider and the business has since branched out into the world of documentary and short film production. He is currently working on a documentary called “WWOOF!” about the collective of organizations that make up the World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms coalition.

By:
Ashley Terry
Published on:
December 28, 2009

Categories: Written Contributors

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A 10-year exploration of our food system through original videos, and written posts by CUPS contributors. Explore our Stories, Interviews, DIY Food, Recipes, Growing Food categories as experts and passionate foodies share their first-hand knowledge of food and sustainable farming.