Posted by pinksharkmark (12.128.190.67) on January 31, 2001 at 14:23:09:
In Reply to: I'd grow them if I thought he would go into remission posted by Ree and Dave on January 30, 2001 at 22:32:21:
They are free if you live in a place where they grow wild at this time of year, and know PRECISELY how to positively identify them. Eating a poisonous mushroom by mistake can be fatal.
If bought on the black market, they typically run about twenty to twenty-five American dollars for a standard "recreational" dose --- about three dry grams. From the anecdotal evidence we have received from almost two dozen people so far, this is enough for three to four "clusterhead-size" doses.
If you grow your own, the price will be around fifteen dollars American for the spores, maybe another ten or twelve dollars for the growing medium and a dozen canning jars to grow them in.
It will take around four to six weeks to produce the first mushrooms. By the time the food source in the dozen jars is exhausted, you should end up with approximately fifty to seventy-five grams of dried mushrooms... enough for fifty to one hundred "clusterhead-size" doses.
I started two jars as a test run on December first. I picked the first batch of mushrooms January 7. I picked the second batch January 16. I picked the third batch today. With luck I may get another batch or two before the food source is completely exhausted. I got ten dry grams from the first two batches, and I estimate what I picked today will end up weighing around three grams once completely dried.
For the record, it was dead simple to grow them... much easier than growing African Violets, for example. I do not exaggerate when I say that a ten-year-old child could do this with no difficulty.
I recommend growing your own rather than risking collecting a poisonous wild specimen, or getting busted in a biker bar trying to buy black market mushrooms.
For those interested in following my example, I strongly recommend thoroughly checking out the link below.
pinky