In two hours you can learn to safely identify a dozen of the most delicious, most sought after local mushrooms. This is an indoor, slideshow class that covers local mushrooms that can be found in all four seasons: summer, fall, winter and spring in North Carolina. Class includes a handout, Q&A time, lots of tips about cooking mushrooms, legal places to forage, etc.
~ The class is on Saturday, July 26 from 1-3 pm near downtown Durham for $35.
~ I’m doing the same class, same location on Saturday, August 2 from 10-noon, also for $35.
Seats are limited.
Here’s a comment from a class I hosted in South Carolina last winter: “People are still raving about your talk. Thank you again for providing us with such an outstanding program. We are in the process of recommending you on the GCA website as a speaker for other clubs.”
Email me at frankhyman2020@yahoo.com to let me know you’re coming, so I can give you location details near downtown Durham. And to ensure getting a seat—first paid, first seated—also send a check for $35 per attendee
directly to: Frank Hyman, 1412 North Mangum St., Durham, NC 27701
(I don’t like the internet, so I don’t use cashapp, etc.)
You could also buy my best-selling book—”How to Forage Mushrooms Without Dying: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide” for $15 cash or check, at the end of the class.
I won’t be offering this class again until this winter.
If you want to get on the list for my infrequent, yet informative newsletter or want to contact me for other reasons send an email to: frankhyman2020@yahoo.com
World’s Best Tomato Cages will be for sale again in March of 2022.
Click on Classes page to learn about upcoming classes on foraging wild mushrooms and plants, creating deer-resistant gardens and time-savers in the garden.
“The cost of Frank’s classes is the best money I’ve spent on gardening in quite some time.”
–Nancy Proia
Looking for garden programs?
Click on “Classes and Lectures” on your left! :-)
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Recent News for 2019…
* My book–Hentopia–on very-low-maintenance and very-low-cost chicken keeping is available at bookstores now! The first printing of 13,000 copies was spoken for in the first month. So they’ve started the second printing. It’s published by Storey, the biggest publisher of gardening and homesteading books.
* My column, “Houseplant Hacks” ran in Horticulture magazine. My first story was about upcycling wine corks into an attractive, organic, permanent mulch for potted plants.
* My column “Feral Feast” has been in Paleo magazine and also in Hobby Farms magazine. In it I share tips on foraging mushrooms, wild edible plants, oysters and even seaweed. The column also contains recommendations on foraging books, websites and finding local foragers to learn from. My next book–The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Foraging Mushrooms Without Dying–comes out end of September of 2021.
(For those who may be counting, foraging makes my ninth avocation that I’ve brought up to a professional level. That pattern has allowed me to go without a day job since 1992. Maybe I need to write a book about how to ditch your day job….)
* You can read my “Cutting Edge Crops” column about cultivating high-dollar edibles in Hobby Farm magazine online.
* You can read my Chicken Feed Cafe column in Chickens magazine available in Durham, NC at the Regulator Bookshop.
*You could read four of my stories in Organic Gardening magazine about rice farmers, Organic Denmark, trellising tomatoes and Carolina Gold rice until they went bust. :-(
* Read my stories about the only tea plantation in the US and the Do’s and Don’ts of WWOOFing at Modern Farmer magazine.
* Look for my story about shade tolerant edibles and how to make a gravel path in Fine Gardening magazine.
* Check out my gardening videos on my How-To Video page (thanks to Bill Elias for his video/audio/web loading work!).
* On Groundhog Day (2/2/15) I organized and led a chefs-only foraging program and wild foods tasting menu (prepared by Tanith Tyrr) at King’s Daughters Inn of Durham. We sold out 32 seats at $95 a pop. Eighteen of 32 attendess filled out evaluations, almost everyone giving us top marks and many requests to “do this again.”
* Check the pages at left to learn more about what I’m up to.
Some Old But Still interesting News (and my bio and contact info at the bottom):
* May 14, 2011–Plant Sale and Conservation Garden Tour
Plant Sale May 14th, 2014 at our house, Bayleaf Cottage (details below).
Since our garden is going to be on the Conservation Garden Tour on May 14th, we decided to stay home and let plant shoppers come to us this year rather than sell at the Duke Gardens Plant Sale (we will return there).
And of course, we encourage you to check out the other lovely gardens as well. Details on the tour at this website. The event is free and co-sponsored by the Triangle Land Conservancy and the NC Native Plant Society. The tour features several other terrific gardens in Durham.
At our plant sale, we’ll be selling some organically-grown, edible perennials like Egyptian walking onions, chives, garlic chives, spineless cactus and sunchokes (sometimes called Jerusalem artichokes) and a small number of Violette de Bourdeaux figs.
We’ll also have drought-hardy, shade-loving perennials like lily-of-the-valley, Lenten rose and white woods aster.
And drought-hardy, sun-loving perennials like yarrow, copper iris, Formosa lily and Bibleleaf (leaves stay green and mint-scented after you pick them, colonists used the leaves as bookmarks).
We’ll also have a few-odd plants like horned poppies, sea oats, euphorbia myrsinites, Blue Star, bearded iris and other random plants from the garden. We may also have a small number of tomato cages left and a few toad houses, drought-hardy houseplants and other random garden ephemera to sell.
No credit/debit cards please, so cash or checks only. Thanks.
Where:
1412 N. Mangum St. Parking on the street.
When:
Sat. May 14th, 12 to 6 pm. The Tour itself runs from 1-5 pm.
(so we’ll be open an hour before the tour starts and an hour after the tour ends, but for best selection come early)
What:
Frank and Chris’ Plant Sale to Replenish Their Travel Fund
* The NY Times has published my essay about my multi-avocation worklife. Want to learn how to make a living from your hobbies? Contact me for a consultation.
* The garden I designed/installed with the help of the Trinity Park Garden Club won an award from the Durham City Appearance Commission as did a garden I created for the Mad Hatter restaurant a dozen years ago.
to let me know if you want to receive my occasional email newsletter with free gardening advice, news of my classes, lectures, tomato cage sales, blog and events of that nature.
(Zone 7)
Latest news:
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In other news…..
* Two of my stories and five pictures are in the April issue of Horticulture magazine. One story is about Deer-Resistant Gardens and the other is about a 3 Sisters-inspired garden with asparagus, strawberries and an heirloom purple raspberry.
The good news is that a publisher wants my next book about growing the best tomatoes. :-)
The bad news is that their tight schedule doesn’t leave me enough bandwidth to host my usual classes this summer. I apologize for an inconvenience. :-(
I will be hosting these classes again in February.
If you want to get on my infrequent newsletter list, to learn about upcoming classes on foraging, chicken keeping, organic gardening and other fun outdoor avocations and links to my many articles in magazines on those topics, just go to frankhyman.substack.com/subscribe.
Location of my mushroom foraging class has been changed to 1005 Burch Ave, Durham, close to the Food Co-op and Immaculata Catholic Church. There is plenty of on-street parking on the nearest cross street: Brewster St. Time is the same, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm on Saturday, July 20th. My other venue double booked, but I have plenty of seating (and AC) available at my rental house. :-)
You can also sign up for my Instagram account about foraging and being outdoors generally at:
*Have a double major in horticulture and design from NCSU. *Two-time award-winning garden designer.
*Carpenter, stone mason, sculptor.
*My writing has appeared in the NY Times and the Wall St. Journal.
You can read my published political writing at BlueCollarComeback.com and my other essays on politics, travel and growing the hell up at Medium.com.
Scroll down to my class listing for
July 2024 at
1005 Burch Ave. in Durham, NC.
Plenty of parking on the nearest cross-street, Brewster Street.
Frank’s class calendar
Frank with a tender Chicken of the Woods that made Lots of “Chicken” Salad to share with friends!
Hey everyone, my website is being rebuilt, because I had a problem with my original provider. Doing a major website overhaul later this summer. Hope to see you at one of my classes. Read on!
“The cost of these classes is the best money I’ve spent on anything in quite some time.”
-Nancy Proia
“I would have expected someone with your comedic talent to be writing for SNL rather than speaking about gardening, foraging and chickens.”
-Tom
“The book is excellent.”
–Sam Thayer, author of four best-selling wild, edible plant foraging books, about Frank’s book–“How to Forage Mushrooms Without Dying: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide.”
Where does the name of the book come from? Early on, when people recognized I was one of the local experts, they would greet me and say: “Frank help me! I want to learn how to hunt mushrooms, but I don’t want to kill my family!” I must have had about three dozen people say that over the years. The name is for them!
Class on 7/20 on foraging at 1005 Burch Ave. Lots of parking on the nearest cross street–Brewster St. Plenty of AC too!
One important rule: you may not use a keyboard for taking notes. The clacking is distracting. Plus, Science shows that people remember more from taking notes longhand than from typing. So…win-win!
My classes sell out or nearly sell out. So let me know you’re coming ASAP.
Here’s how to get into a class:
Choose one or more from the list below.
Let me know you’re coming and how many attendees via email at frankhyman2020@yahoo.com and put “Classes” in the subject line.
In the email, tell me where you heard about this class: my newsletter, FB, IG, Triangle Gardener magazine, etc.
Bring the proper amount of cash or a check to pay for the class. Bring extra $, if you think you may want to buy a signed copy of one of my books. $15 for How to Forage Mushrooms Without Dying: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide and $25 for Hentopia. (I’m now working on my next book called “Growing Tomatoes: The Tomato Whisperer Tells All.”)
Bring something on which to write notes in longhand. We will be covering a lot of material.
Bring questions.
“Intro to Mushroom Foraging” $30
Saturday, July 20, 1:30–3:30pm
Want to learn to safely identify morels, black trumpets, chanterelles, and other delicious, edible mushrooms? Learn to identify the dozen most delicious mushrooms with professional forager and columnist Frank Hyman. In this class you can learn to identify an entire year’s worth—a dozen—of the best-tasting, easy to identify mushrooms (no poisonous look-alikes) presented in one indoor sitting. Class includes a slide show of professional photographs, handout, and plenty of Q&A time.
What to do next?
Class on 7/20 on foraging at 1005 Burch Ave. Lots of parking on the nearest cross street–Brewster St. Plenty of AC too!
One important rule: you may not use a keyboard for taking notes. The clacking is distracting. Plus, science shows that people remember more from taking notes longhand than from typing. So…win-win!
Bring the proper amount of cash or a check to pay for the class. Bring extra $, if you think you may want to buy a signed copy of one of my books. $15 for How to Forage Mushrooms Without Dying: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide and $25 for Hentopia. (I’m now working on my next book called “Growing Tomatoes: The Tomato Whisperer Tells All.”)
Bring something on which to write notes in longhand. We will be covering a lot of material.
Bring questions.
(Check your junk file for my reply, as I find a surprising number of important emails end up there. Why? Because the internet is broken. That’s why.)
More:
If you want to get on my infrequent newsletter list, about foraging, chicken keeping, organic gardening and other fun outdoor avocations, just go to frankhyman.substack.com/subscribe.
You can also sign up for my Instagram account about foraging and being outdoors generally at:
My chicken-keeping book costs $25, has almost all 5-star reviews and is called “Hentopia: Create a Hassle-Free Habitat for Happy Chickens.” Check out the humorous 2 min. video book trailer I wrote, directed and starred in. :-)
World’s Best Tomato Cages for Sale (next sale in March
2025)
I’m making and selling the World’s Best Tomato Cages this spring. I have
sold over 100 cages to gardeners each of the last ten years. Many were repeat
customers wanting to grow even more tomatoes, now that my cages are making
their gardening lives easier.
These cages are made from rolls of heavy-duty concrete-reinforcing wire (
you need bolt-cutters to cut it and a truck to haul it).
Their advantages:
1) They last forever (I’ve stored mine outside for over 20 years).
2) They look great. They acquire an earthy red-brown patina that stops rust
and adds to the beauty of the garden.
3) The openings in the cage are big enough—6”x6”–for one-pound tomatoes to
be harvested through.
4) The cages are tall enough (5’ high and 18” wide) to hold a big tomato
plant. When my plants get taller than 5’ I just let the vines drape down over
the sides. As long as the fruit doesn’t touch the ground, you don’t have to
worry about them rotting.
5) You don’t spend any time tying up tomatoes like other trellises or
stakes. The cage holds the vines upright from day one.
Here are the details to get your tomato cages:
· To place orders or
to ask questions, reply to frankhyman2020@yahoo.com with “Tomato Cages” in the
subject line. You can also let me know in the email, if you want to get my
infrequent email newsletter with news of my classes, plant sales, links to
articles in magazines.
· Cost: $25 apiece. Cash
or check only, at time of pickup. Payable to Frank Hyman. The cost of metal for
these cages has doubled, so had to raise my prices, but they’re still cheaper
than any cages of comparable height and longevity, esp. when you include shipping,
etc.
· Pickup Dates:
Sunday from 3-5 pm on April 20 and April 27. If you can’t make those
dates, please line up someone to pick them for you on those dates as I won’t be
available otherwise and I don’t make deliveries. Thanks.
The cages have a light coating of rust, so bring an old sheet or something
to cover them if you are going to put them in your car. Or just bring an old
car or better yet a pickup truck/SUV/van. :-)
They’re big–5 feet tall x18 inches wide. So use a tape measure to make sure
you can fit them in your vehicle. If you buy more than one, they will be
nested together.
· Pickup location: 1412
N. Mangum St., Durham, NC 27701. Bonus: you’ll get to take a look at the
innovative features in our front yard garden: the Lawnlet, the permanent herb
garden mulch, the copper trellis, the rain barrel/water garden, as well as our
tomato cages in the attractive, front yard vegetable garden.
www.frankhyman.com 