Abstract: The market for mushrooms continues to grow due to interest in their culinary, nutritional, and health benefits.
They also show potential for use in waste management. However, as fungi, mushrooms have life cycles very different
from those of green plants. The choice of species to raise depends both on the growth media available and on market
considerations. Oyster mushrooms, which grow on many substrates, are easiest for a beginner. Shiitake mushrooms
already have earned considerable consumer demand. Only two mycorrhizal mushrooms, morels and truffles, have been
commercially cultivated. Mushroom cultivation offers benefits to market gardens when it is integrated into the existing
production system. A careful analysis of potential markets must be the f