I know of a large commercial mushroom outfit in NE Oklahoma...but they grow indoors.

Some people have great luck growing mushrooms inside metal garden sheds. I'm not sure how much luck anyone has growing them outdoors in our climate and I think it largely would depend on the weather in any given year. On our property, native mushrooms come (when the weather is the sort they like and need) and they go (when it gets hot and dry), so I think the same would apply to a deliberate attempt to grow mushrooms. Mushrooms need fairly specific relative humidity and temperatures to thrive, so I'd think it would be frustrating to try to grow them out in the open air.

Here's a newspaper article about how some local farmers are experimenting with growing mushroom inside metal trailers. Note how they discuss the importance of climate control.

Growing Mushrooms Inside a Converted Metal Trailer

I believe dbarron is referring to J-M Mushroom Farms in NE OK. Their mushrooms are sold in our local stores here, and they have mushroom growing down to a very precise science. You can read how they do it at the link below. Maybe you can clean some useful info from this article as well.

Farm Flavor: J-M Mushroom Farm

Good luck if you decide to give it a try.

Dawn

You are correct Dawn.

Fedco and several other seed sources sell spore plugs and have quite a bit of info on how to grow.

I have always wondered about this. Some mushrooms (like shiitake are grown in logs outdoors) some are grown in things like bags of sawdust. I believe J-M Farms uses compost. I have worried our summers would be too hot for outdoor growth. I have also HEARD that people who buy compost from J-M Farms get bonus mushrooms growing in their compost. Let us know how this goes for you.

The bonus mushrooms would be pretty cool, wouldn't they?

I’ll give it a shot and just not expect a lot of return. I would rather not have mushrooms than clean out a space in the garage, lol.

Fedco is out of portobellos, so I may try shiitakes. I have a nice shady area in one corner of the garden, but I’m not sure if it will be cool enough?

I was thinking about oyster or winecaps, but I’m still in the research stage of obsession, so nothing is set in stone. The tubs would be really easy to set up, I may end up going that route.

Shiitake as easy, though they take a good long time to come to fruition. You need new oak logs, suitable place to raise the, a drill, mallet and plugs (spore).

Oyster mushrooms are really easy. I use shredded paper as a growing medium, It's also very easy to propagate their spores, so as not to have to purchase more.

How to Grow Oyster Mushrooms at Home

There are some videos out there which make it look much harder, but it's not.

White button mushrooms are also easy. They're the most common ones in the grocery store (and still my favorite). They grow well in a plastic tub, require low light to no light conditions and a rich growing medium.

Here's a link to http://sporeworks.com/ . I've had good luck with them.

Here's another interesting article on oyster mushrooms. I haven't done this one, but I suspect it would work. The only adjustment I'd make, for Oklahoma, is to make that pile of leaves somewhere in the shade.

Grow oyster mushrooms in leaves