International Garden Festival/ Harvest/ Grand Métis/ 2014/ CAN

International Garden Festival/ Harvest/ Grand Métis/ 2014/ CAN

Harvest

I live in a wooded area and the cultivation of mushrooms is a nice way to harvest loads! For the base of the garden I used the shadow of a moist forest. In this forest I planted rows of logs in the soil of the garden, which are filled with mushroom spawn. The logs are planted like fences behind each other and alternated with ferns. Between the fences we introduce park trails, which are paved with bark. Alongside the park trails long benches are situated. For this purpose we use the same wood. A simple cut through the top of a bigger log creates a simple sitting area from which we can look over the fences into the forest. The seating area of the log is coated orange.

For the base of the mushroom spawn we introduce the Oyster mushroom, which we can expand with other species. We can harvest daily from the crop in a certain time-period like the harvest of asparagus. The Oyster mushrooms can be used in many recipes, which will be cooked on site. Lunching or dining together in the garden with a glass of wine is the essence of summer. The harvest of the Oyster mushroom is no mechanism. This requires a lot of expertise to produce at the right time. From the summer to autumn the mushroom log is very sensitive. A simple rainfall will bring the log to live. Edible mushrooms will show up all over the log. This will be a beautiful sight. After the harvest the logs need a simple rest to gather strength and it will bloom again.