New Zealand's PM now wants to tax farmers for their cow farts. Sources say Chipotle has postponed opening their restaurant chains in the country for fear of similar treatment. 

In today's newsletter: 

• 🍄 The big idea: How to grow mushrooms in your closet

• 🌎 Natural wonders: Christmas by the lake in Banff, Alberta

• 🤏 The small idea: How is permaculture different from most modern agriculture?

🍄 How to grow mushrooms in your closet

From the outside, growing mushrooms at home seems like a complicated, scientific process. 

In reality, getting protein-packed harvests requires just four things: 

1. Humidity: mushrooms like humid environments (which is why they often pop up after rain)

2. Oxygen: like humans, mushrooms breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.

3. Temperature: Most fungi like growing in a cool sweet spot between 55-80 degrees Fahrenheit

4. Light: unlike plants, mushrooms don't need a bunch of sunlight to grow. But they can't be in total darkness, either. A little bit of indirect light (or artificial lighting) will give mushrooms the signal of where to produce fruit bodies.

While growing mushrooms isn't necessarily hard, any variability in these four factors can limit your success. In my case, I've struggled to keep the humidity up with my grows, so my harvests have always been a little bit stunted. 

Fortunately, there's a trick from the underground mushroom community that I plan to implement this year. I think you'll enjoy its simplicity. It's called the Martha Tent. 

The Martha Tent

The Martha Tent is basically a miniature version of the grow chambers commercial mushroom farmers use.

According to the deep wormhole of the mushroom internet, it got its name from the Martha Stewart shelving units used in the original design of this system. 

Using less than $300 of supplies, you can create a home-grow that fits in an unused bedroom, garage, or closet.

Best of all, it's almost completely automated. All you need to do is refill the humidifier every once in a while. That, and harvest as many mushrooms as you can. 

I found a great video by the mushroom kit company, North Spore, that breaks down everything you need step-by-step 👇🏼

The folks at North Spore specialize in grow kits, and they also offer a Martha Tent kit that comes with all the parts you'll need for a build. 

I calculated some costs versus DIY; at best, you'll save ~$10 ordering the parts yourself. I plan on retrofitting their tent for a smaller cupboard. 

If you choose to purchase parts separately, here's your shopping list:

• 5-rack greenhouse tent

• drip tray or tarp to protect your floor

• ultrasonic humidifier

• humidity controller with a sensor

• fresh air exchanger (fan)

• fan filters to keep spores from flowing into your house

• flexible ducting (8ft)

• ducting clamps

🌎 Natural wonders for your eyeballs (10/10 guarantee):

• 😍 Christmas over Banff's Lake Louis

• 🌠 A long-exposure over the Adirondacks

• ❄ Ice crystals on Bow Lake, Alberta

🌿 Permaculture vs Agriculture?

What's the difference between permaculture and modern agriculture? 

For starters, you'll find a lot more food per acre with permaculture farms than with modern monoculture farms.

We break down all the differences between permaculture and industrial ag while giving you tips and tricks to use permaculture in your backyard. 

That's it for this week's newsletter. 

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