Before venturing into a business, knowing your market is key. One of my favorite things about Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, by +Tradd Cotter, is the back matter regarding the various species worth cultivating. I particularly appreciate the information on marketing each type of mushroom. +Paul Stamets has a similar section in Mycelium Running - How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, which also contains information that can be used to connect with customers. Together, they give prospective growers many good choices beyond the usual shiitake, oyster, garden giant trio.
Depending on how many of my new logs fruit this year, we may start selling shiitakes next year at the farmer's market. Oysters shouldn't be difficult, either. I hope to see the golden oyster mushroom logs begin to fruit this year, and Sharondale Farms has supplied useful tips for ways to grow oysters indoors on agricultural waste. My two beds of garden giants are also primed for the season and could proliferate this year with a little help from Papa Smurf. And there are sundry small batches of other species we hope to harvest for our own consumption. Almond portobellos are one of the more exotic species we will be trying soon.
That should be plenty to get us into the mushroom business around here. The question is, what would be a big seller? Almond portobellos and garden giants will be a new sight to many shoppers here. What should we consider adding to the line of exotic species that we offer in the future? The following table summarizes some of the information from Cotter's book that could help in this decision.
| Genus | Ease of Cultivation | Market Connection |
| Agaricus | Intermediate | Have some cooking to entice buyers |
| Agrocybe | Easy | Bundle in paper, exposing only caps |
| Auricularia | Easy | Demonstrate rehydration method |
| Calocybe | Intermediate | Tropical |
| Chlorophyllum | Intermediate | Fruits in the fall |
| Clitocybe | Intermediate | Good in soups and gumbos |
| Coprinus | Easy | Extremely short shelf-life |
| Fistulina | Intermediate | A summer favorite; meat substitute |
| Flammulina | Intermediate | Ice/water bath; salad/soup topper |
| Fomes | Advanced | Powder or water extract - medicinal |
| Ganoderma | Easy | Medicinal orientation of display |
| Grifola | Intermediate | Sold locally; Cook for aroma; Medicinal delicacy |
| Hericium | Intermediate | Sold locally; Novelty for some; Seafood substitute |
| Hypholoma | Easy | Wrap in bundles/clusters |
| Hypsizygus | Easy | Help customers appreciate differences between species |
| Laetiporus | Advanced | Chicken substitute |
| Lentinula | Easy | Sold locally; the superstars; sell caps (mix stems in dog food) |
| Lepiota | Intermediate | Sell caps (eat stems or put in dog food) |
| Macrocybe | Intermediate | Tropical |
| Macrolepiota | Intermediate | Sell caps (eat stems or put in dog food) |
| Pholiota | Easy | Sell to Asian markets or restaurants, esp. Japanese |
| Piptoporus | Advanced | Powder or water extract - medicinal |
| Pleurotus | Easy | Sold locally; Explain differences in flavors of strains sold |
| Sparassis | Advanced | Crunchy, even when sauteed |
| Stropharia | Easy | Pre-sell to restaurants - does not store well |
| Trametes | Easy | Powder or water extract - medicinal |
| Volvariella | Intermediate | Tastes better than button; Sell to Asian markets; Sell primordia |
