Background: We know a lot about timing on plant for Wine Cap in the north, but are less familiar with the rates of decay and how it effects bed productivity in warmer climates. Fortunantely, an educational center in Texas focused on permaculture inquired on the best time to plant Wine Cap in their area.
For this study, Dr. Banerji planted three Wine Cap beds - the first in March, the second in August, and the third in December to test the best time to plant in a warm climate. The goal of this study is to answer the question: “Is it better to plant the bed and get it established early in the spring but run the risk of the bed depleting itself before the opportunity to fruit OR is it better to plant closer to the ideal fruiting time?”
Results:
By the end of March, mycelium was noticed in the March-planted bed.
October 2024: not much mycelium noticed in the late summer planted beds.
January 2025 the first fruiting was recorded from the August planted bed. However, there was nothing from spring-planted - indicating that the material was decomposed before the fruiting window arrived. Good mycelium run was noted in the December-planted bed at this time.
February 2025 they recorded a 2nd fruiting from August bed. There was still some mycelium existing in spring bed that never produced and exhausted most of the growing medium. Dr. Banerji added more chips to see if the bed could be salvaged.
April 2025: Spring bed finally fruited for the first time, but only a few mushrooms. At this time Dr. Banerji also recorded the first fruiting from December bed.
Additional Observations: This study was conducted using fresh hardwood chips - results would change if using a different medium such as straw.
Conclusion: The best time to plant Wine Cap in warm climates is late summer to early fall. This allows the bed to establish itself and be ready to fruit just in time for the temperatures to drop along with rain events. In areas where the winter temperatures are not regularly below freezing we would recommend a fall through early winter time plant over a spring planting.