Edible Wood Farm Journal: 2025 (8)
It is easy to be an expert when working with known factors but what happens when you wander into unknown territory. The Hortus Botanicas Amsterdam reached out to see if I was interested in turning branches of pruned exotic trees species into edible wood.
This botanical garden is one of the oldest in the world, being set up in 1638 by the Amsterdam City Council to help find remedies for illness and disease. Now surrounded by bustling Amsterdam, it exists on an oasis of 1,2 ha and harbors about 4000 different sorts of plants. Research is still being carried out but has been joined by education and awareness on an international scale.
Twice a year pruning takes place to keep trees healthy and to optimize the available space. Sometimes a tree is removed. Most of these trees are not native to the Netherlands but grow and thrive here. A young staff member had come into contact with edible wood a few years earlier and had introduced the idea of reusing their own wood. The suggestion was picked up and expanded into public awareness and supplying the restaurant with edible mushrooms.
Of course I am interested in investigating the potential of new species but there is no guarantee of success. Collaboration is also a wonderful way of exchanging knowledge and sharing resources. With this framework in mind we began our collaboration last week. We inoculated about 30 Turkish hazel, Japanese pagoda tree, and a birch species branches and logs with oyster mushroom, shiitake and velvet shank. Into the unknown, just like earlier days.
