I grow oyster mushrooms, sometimes on straw. Since I live in the city, I bought my last batch of straw from Wal-Mart. This winter, I noticed my straw was drying out and making a mess stored inside. So I dumped what was left into a pile of spent mushrooms substrate on my patio, hoping to get a few mushrooms come spring.

I did notice when I dumped the straw that there were some seeds mixed in with it. I never got any more oyster mushrooms from the straw, but the seeds are growing wildly in the spent mushroom compost. The plants look like phalaris grass to me. I'm assuming that this type of grass is what the straw was made from? So would that mean that the straw is actually dried phalaris grass?

Was going to attach a picture but not seeing how at the moment.

phalaris is commonly used as straw. i wonder how growing psilocybe would be if that straw was incorperated into the medium?

well i know that if 5-meo-dmt is added to the substrate psilocin will be replaced by 5-meo-4-ho-dmt (presumably psilocybin is affected as well), and phalaris can vary wildly in its alkaloid content (though i believe they cultivate the phalaris for feeding animals with low alkaloids [to avoid stuff like gramine and such]) so it quite possible you quoute theoretically get some cool compounds; but you might be able to get some nasty ones as well.


definitely worth looking into.

makes me wonder about the possibilities of wood-lovers being grown on say acacia or mimosa or even something like alicia anisopetala