Can mushrooms and the Life Box save our world?

How can mushrooms make the world a better place? What is the Life Box? Paul Stamets has the answers.

Paul Stamets has been a dedicated mycologist for over thirty years. Over this time, he has discovered and coauthored four new species of mushrooms, and pioneered countless techniques in the field of edible and medicinal mushroom cultivation. In addition, he has written six books on mushroom cultivation, use and identification.

We all know (especially gardeners) that microorganisms convert organic material into rich and nutrient soil. This is required for plant growth. In example, they break down rotting food, leaves and other forms of decaying organic material. Fungi play a key role in this process.

We will not try to cover the depths of his research, as that would make this article very long. Instead we will present different applications of his research, which all are truly amazing. Watch this video, or/and continue reading.



Breaking down diesel spill
Paul Stamets has collected more than 250 strains (in 2002) of wild mushroom, which he stores in several gene libraries. Some years ago he and his team conducted experiments in breaking down a diesel spill in Bellingham, Washington. There were four piles of contaminated soil. One pile was treated with bacteria. One was a control pile. One was treated with chemical enzymes. The other pile was treated with oyster mushroom mycelium.

After four weeks, oyster mushrooms up to 12 inches in diameter had formed on the soil treated with oyster mushroom mycelium. After eight weeks, 95 percent of the hydrocarbons had broken down, and the soil was declared nontoxic! Neither of the other treated piles showed significant changes.

Mushroom can break down petroleum spill. Pictured here: Diesel

Mushroom against ants and termites?
Termites and carpenter ants can invade and damage crops and buildings. Metarhyzium is a unique group of fungi, that can kill these vermins. And so the pesticide industry has tried to use Metarhyzium spores to kill termites, but with poor luck. The termites understand that it's poisonous, so they simply avoid it.

Stamets had carpenter ants in his house, so he ordered some metarhyzium. He found out that if he coaxed the fungus into a form that delayed sporulation, the ants would be attracted to it. Because he noticed that they were attracted to the fungus before it started to produce spores.

Carpenter ants took pieces of mycelium Stamets grew back into their nests, and two weeks later, they were gone. His house was protected from reinvasion for four or five years.

Paul Stamets - the mushroom man

The Life Box
Perhaps the man’s most intriguing and practical invention to date is the Life Box. Here’s how it works. Say you order a pair of Timberland shoes online. Under shipping options, you can check “plain old brown box” or pay an extra dollar or two and get them shipped in a Life Box. You order the Life Box and your shoes arrive. Instead of recycling the box, you toss it into the backyard, water it, and boom, you’ve got a garden. Depending on your zip code, you’re growing corn, beans and squash, or grassland plants, old growth forests, you name it. Stamets even thought of shipping them to refugees after his initial test box yielded 30,000 seeds, enough to start a small farm!

Imagine yourself buying a CD of the Web, and then....

Stamets sees the Life Box as a means to “combat global warming, teach our kids about sustainability, and re-green the planet.”
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Further reading and sources:
How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World
How mushrooms will save the world
Mighty mushrooms