By Liliana Usvat
Blog 263-365
We must realize how important it is to live in harmony with nature and to not take too much from nature.
Taking a short-term, resource extractive economic perspective is not in the best interest of the future of humanity, for humans depend upon a healthy environment for food, air, nature and happiness.
The existence of the old forests is essential for the existence of bee population.
Without bees we loose the pollinators and the food supply would decrease.
Bees
There are six naturally occurring species of bees: Forest, Meadows, Modest, Tropical, Wintry and Marshy.
European honey-bee populations face threats to their survival. North American and European populations were severely depleted byvarroa-mite infestations during the early 1990s, and US beekeepers were further affected by colony collapse disorder in 2006 and 2007. Improved cultural practices and chemical treatments against varroa mites saved most commercial operations; new bee breeds are beginning to reduce beekeeper dependence on acaricides.
New Research
This mushroom is an ideal player in the recycling of complex wood debris and garden wastes, and thrives in complex environments. Vigorously attacking wood (sawdust, chips, twigs, branches), the King Stropharia also grows in wood-free substrates, particularly soils supplemented with chopped straw. I have seen this mushroom flourish in gardens devoid of wood debris, benefiting the growth of neighboring plants. Acclimated to northern latitudes, this mushroom fruits when air temperatures range between 60-90° F (15-32° C) which usually translates to ground temperatures of 55-65° F (13-18° C).
Blog 263-365
We must realize how important it is to live in harmony with nature and to not take too much from nature.
Taking a short-term, resource extractive economic perspective is not in the best interest of the future of humanity, for humans depend upon a healthy environment for food, air, nature and happiness.
The existence of the old forests is essential for the existence of bee population.
Without bees we loose the pollinators and the food supply would decrease.
Bees
There are six naturally occurring species of bees: Forest, Meadows, Modest, Tropical, Wintry and Marshy.
European honey-bee populations face threats to their survival. North American and European populations were severely depleted byvarroa-mite infestations during the early 1990s, and US beekeepers were further affected by colony collapse disorder in 2006 and 2007. Improved cultural practices and chemical treatments against varroa mites saved most commercial operations; new bee breeds are beginning to reduce beekeeper dependence on acaricides.
New Research
Paul Stamets reveals new ground breaking research at the 2014 Bioneers annual conference. Paul illuminates how fungi, particularly mushrooms, offer uniquely powerful, practical solutions we can implement now, to boost the biosphere’s immune system and equip us with benign breakthrough mycotechnologies to accelerate the transition to a restored world.
Paul systematically delves into old growth forests, how chemical compounds in the fungi are beneficial to bees and concludes his philosophy about his role in the system as a whole.
King Stropharia
This mushroom is an ideal player in the recycling of complex wood debris and garden wastes, and thrives in complex environments. Vigorously attacking wood (sawdust, chips, twigs, branches), the King Stropharia also grows in wood-free substrates, particularly soils supplemented with chopped straw. I have seen this mushroom flourish in gardens devoid of wood debris, benefiting the growth of neighboring plants. Acclimated to northern latitudes, this mushroom fruits when air temperatures range between 60-90° F (15-32° C) which usually translates to ground temperatures of 55-65° F (13-18° C).
For 6 weeks one summer our bees attacked a King Stropharia bed, exposing the mycelium to the air, and suckled the sugar-rich cytoplasm from the wounds. A continuous convoy of bees could be traced, from morning to evening, from our beehives to the mushroom patch, until the bed of King Stropharia literally collapsed. When a report of this phenomenon was published in Harrowsmith Magazine (Ingle, 1988), bee keepers across North America had been long mystified by bees' attraction to sawdust piles. Now it is clear the bees were seeking the underlying sweet mushroom mycelium.
King Stropharia is an excellent edible mushroom when young.
However, its edibility quickly declines as the mushrooms mature. Fly larvae proliferate inside the developing mushrooms. In raising silver salmon,
There are the medicines to be derived from fungi, probably more than we can yet imagine. Fungi for insect pest control. Fungi can absorb and often digest toxins from their environments — toxins as diverse as heavy metals, PCBs, oil spills, and radioactivity. Fungal partnerships can revolutionize our farming methods
Spain:
Scientists have found that forestry and classical forest management are harming the community of saproxylic fungi (fungi capable of decomposing dead wood and turning it into organic and inorganic matter) and that in the forests being exploited, various fungi species are disappearing and in some cases even whole families are affected.
