Growing Shiitake Mushrooms at Sunset Community Garden

April 13, 2025


Shiitake mushrooms and lion's mane mushrooms are delicious and easy to grow. It does take time. Join us at Sunset Community Garden (@sunsetgardenridgewood) where we will use the log inoculation method to grow these edible mushrooms!

Last season gardeners inoculated logs with oyster mushrooms, and lion's mane mushrooms. We are looking forward to enjoying the first mushrooms from last year's inoculation later this spring. The oak logs we inoculate during this workshop will remain in the garden and begin fruiting next year.

This is an opportunity to get hands on with the materials and methods for log-grown mushrooms that you can replicate in your own garden/outdoor growing space. A discussion of long-term care and maintenance of mushroom logs will accompany the hands on inoculation.

This is a free workshop. All are welcome! Reserve a spot!

A big thank you to NYRP for the logs, Biotech without Borders for the spawn and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) for the tools and expertise for this workshop. Facilitation of this workshop would not be possible without the CCE Community Mushroom Educator Program that has trained many of us here in NYC how to grow and teach about log grown mushrooms! Check out some videos from CCE exploring some of the many aspects of growing mushrooms.

If you are planning to attend the log inoculation, also consider participating in our Clothing & Housewares Swap.

**Please note: This event is entirely outdoors at Sunset Community Garden. Please wear comfortable clothing including closed toe shoes that you do not mind getting dirty. Bring water and food. There is a port-a-potty on site.

Intercropping with Mushrooms

October 14, 2025
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poughkeepsie, NY

Join us for an afternoon of hands-on learning at Pershing Community Farm, led by Urban Agriculture Specialist Yolanda Gonzalez.

2025 Agroforestry Field Day Series -- Agroforestry Implementation and Management

October 23, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Highland, NY

Interested in incorporating agroforestry practices into your farm? Join us for a series of workshops co-hosted by CCE Ulster, Orange, and Harvest NY with Mastwood Farms, Black Creek Farm and Nursery and Scenic Hudson. 

On October 23, we'll return to Erik Schellenberg's farm, Black Creek Farm and Nursery, for a Fall tour of their agroforestry plantings. Erik will talk about harvesting and managing plantings while we see some seasonal crops and installations of different ages and types. There will be time for questions and discussion as we wrap up the series. covered.

Soil Health 101 for Community Gardens -- A Bilingual Workshop

October 24, 2025
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Staten Island, NY

Join Urban Agriculture Specialists, Karen Guzman and Yolanda Gonzalez, as they discuss the importance of soil health and testing your soil as you prepare for the incoming growing season. They will go into strategies for best practices when it comes to soil health management and highlight the current soil testing program through NYSDAM and CCE. This workshop will be in both Spanish and English.

New Produce Auctions in NYS!

With the opening of the new Augusta Produce Auction on August 19th, New York State now has 11 produce auctions! See the new map of produce auction locations across the state and contact information.

New York Urban Farms Sustainable Pest Management Fact Sheet Series

Cornell Cooperative Extension has partnered with dozens of urban farms across New York State to demonstrate and evaluate sustainable pest management strategies. Together with farmers, we found success using control methods that prevent or reduce crop losses through exclusion strategies, crop timing, host resistance, the introduction of beneficial organisms, and more. Regardless of management strategy used, common requirements for success include a knowledge of the pest and disease complex, preventative deployment and commitment to the process. The New York Urban Farms Sustainable Pest Management Fact Sheet Series includes case studies highlighting pest management techniques that New York urban farms have found valuable.