This week the sun decided to show itself. All living things seemed to soak up the suns rays. Everywhere there was new energy and new growth, musical bird choirs and cheerful faces. It was the start of the activity season for Groene Takken. April right through to the end of June is full of different things to do – from a workshop learning how to inoculate a tree log to finding out more about starting a small-scale Edible Log Farm. A new activity this season is a mushroom meal that is organized together with a restaurant on a small estate in an area of natural beauty. A number of dishes will be served up by the restaurant but the main meal will consist of shii-take mushrooms that will be picked and prepared by the participants themselves. Another activity will be a tour of a Truffle Orchard, the first of its kind in the Netherlands.
Last Sunday was the kick-off with a short workshop as part of an Open Day by a kitchen garden at the fringe of a small town. Relaxed visitors lunged around in hammocks hung in the branches of a sturdy beech tree, small two-legged monsters chased after each other through the vegetable patches and the more elderly guests sat in the sun enjoying the frivolity and a well-earned cup of refreshing herbal tea. The participants of the workshop enjoyed learning about edible mushrooms and tackled their log energetically, drilling (far too) many holes so that they could insert the dowels with oyster mushroom into them. During the workshop several wandering visitors spontaneously joined the discussion (much to our confusion) and then left just as quickly to discover more of the activities on the hillside. Tasty shii-take mushrooms with herbs and onions on a slice of compact bread ended the workshop and a good start to an informative and varied season.
