Indoor mushroom growing technology
Supporters of healthy eating and just curious gardeners are attracted by growing mushrooms at home. It allows you to supplement the family's diet with environmentally friendly, low-calorie foods that are almost fat-free, but rich in fiber and potassium. Self-cultivation of mushrooms only seems difficult and troublesome. Even beginners can grow them at a minimum cost. Knowledge of the technology and compliance with the requirements of mushrooms for keeping conditions will allow you to get a good harvest.
Choice of substrate
Most often, three types of mushrooms are bred at home:
The rules for growing them are almost identical. The difference can be traced only in the composition of the nutrient medium. Oyster mushrooms feel most comfortable on straw. For shiitake, wood is more suitable - sawdust of deciduous trees. Champignons develop fastest in compost. It is prepared in a special way by mixing the following components:
- manure (horse manure is better, but any other can be used);
- fresh straw made from rye or wheat;
- mineral compounds such as gypsum, chalk, meat and bone meal, brewer's grains, ammonium nitrate, urea, superphosphate.
Although these types of mushrooms have different nutritional requirements, they cannot be called too strict. With proper care, each of them will delight the harvest in chopped straw or sawdust. The nutrient medium must be of high quality. Evaluate it by external signs: cleanliness, dryness, absence of mold, impurities and odors.
The mushrooms will bring the greatest harvest on wheat straw. On rye or barley, they will also delight you with abundance and rapid growth. It is better not to take oat straw for growing mushrooms. When growing oyster mushrooms, sunflower husks can be used. Another requirement is imposed on it: it must be fresh. Aged husk is an excellent breeding ground for pathogenic microbes.
Mycelium or fungal spores?
The next step is the acquisition of mycelium, which will serve as material for sowing, seedlings. In the scientific literature, it is called mycelium. It is a base containing many germinated fungal spores. After placing the mycelium in a nutrient substrate, it begins to grow actively. First, thin white filaments are formed, which, as they develop, turn into mushrooms.
The basis of the mycelium can be:
- rye grains;
- wooden bars;
- sawdust.
So that the experience of home mushroom growing does not bring disappointment, you need to purchase high-quality planting material. Specialized shops will come to the rescue here. The cost of wood with viable fungal spores is higher than that of grain mycelium. But she has an important advantage - a higher plant resistance to viral diseases.
On sale there are just spores of mushrooms. Champignons or oyster mushrooms are also obtained from them. This process will be similar to growing any garden crop from seed. When planting spores, you will have to be patient, because much more time will pass before harvesting. This method of growing mushrooms will require a certain skill, which can only be obtained with practice. Therefore, it is not suitable for beginners.
Culture medium preparation
The culture medium is prepared for sowing the mycelium by sterilizing it. This is an important step that cannot be skipped. Finely chopped straw or sawdust can contain pathogens that can destroy plantings. They will die during the sterilization process.It is not difficult to carry out the procedure at home. After filling a heat-resistant bowl with straw or sawdust, add water to it so that the material becomes damp. Then the dishes are placed in the microwave, turning it on at maximum power. Warm up the nutrient medium until excess water evaporates. This usually takes about 2 minutes.
Advice
If there is a lot of straw or sawdust, sterilization is carried out in batches.
The productive use of mycelium involves its thorough distribution in a nutrient medium. So the mycelium will give more harvest. At this stage, warmth is important to disputes. It stimulates their growth. Therefore, the nutrient medium is heated using an electric pillow.
Part of the treated straw or sawdust is placed on a baking sheet or in a shallow but wide saucepan. After scattering the mycelium on the surface of the material, mix it slightly with your fingers. Place the dishes with the nutrient medium on the electric pillow, setting its temperature at around + 21 ° C. Then the structure is placed in a place securely protected from light. A wardrobe is ideal for this. Keep mycelium in it for 3 weeks. During this time, it will spread in straw or sawdust.
Requirements for growing conditions
For the development of mushrooms, 3 conditions are necessary:
- high air humidity (around 90-95%);
- ventilation;
- temperature regime.
If the incubation period is transferred to the mushrooms in the warmth, then with the entry into the growth phase, they begin to need coolness. The temperature is comfortable for them at the level of +10 to + 15 ° C.
Therefore, the experience of home mushroom growing in an apartment is unlikely to be successful. If you have a glazed balcony, you can put the seeded mycelium on it. But in order to create an optimal microclimate there for him, you will have to make a lot of efforts.
There is one more factor that must be considered when thinking about growing mushrooms in a residential environment. When they mature, they release many spores into the air. If inhaled, they can provoke a serious allergic reaction: cough, runny nose, watery eyes. In the room where mushrooms grow, you need to be in a gauze bandage, or better - in a respirator. Long-term daily inhalation of spores can cause asthma. It is worth noting that only fully ripe mushrooms are thrown away. Usually, the crop is harvested early, not allowing their caps to overgrow. Having isolated the spores, they begin to dry out and become unfit for food. It will be more productive and safe to grow mushrooms in a basement or similar premises (cellars, sheds, garages).
After removing from the cabinet, the culture medium with the seeded mycelium is sprinkled with a thin layer of soil and well sprinkled with water. Professionals advise covering the planting container with a damp cloth folded in several layers or a towel. This will help to avoid rapid evaporation of the water. The state of the mixture is carefully monitored, preventing it from drying out and overheating.
It will be possible to notice small mushrooms after 3 weeks. Their readiness for cutting is determined by the caps. You can start harvesting when they finally separate from the legs. A common mistake for beginners is trying to pick mushrooms with their hands. In this case, the mycelium is often injured. New mushrooms that are still inside the nutrient mixture are also damaged. To avoid this, the crop is cut with a sharp knife. The collected mushrooms can be cooked immediately or put in a paper bag and put it in the refrigerator. The maximum storage time is 7 days.
Mushrooms on the tree
Some mushrooms (boletus, shiitake, chanterelles, reishi) are grown on wooden blanks - logs. They are clogged with corks seeded with mycelium, which are made from birch. It is not difficult to get such material, it is on sale. Logs are cut from deciduous trees. Poplars, maples, elms, oaks are well suited for this. The length of the blanks should be 30-50 cm, and their diameter should be 20-50 cm. Saw them out in advance, no later than 2 weeks before settling with mycelium, since fresh wood has high antifungal properties.
The plugs are inserted into holes, which are drilled with a drill to a depth of 5 cm, without touching the core of the log. They are made in a checkerboard pattern throughout the workpiece, retreating 10 cm between them. The sticks with mycelium are compacted. You can use a hammer for this.
Advice
Before starting work, wash your hands thoroughly with soap. In the process, they carefully monitor so that no debris gets into the holes.
Then the logs are placed in a basement or other room where you plan to grow mushrooms. The mycelium will eventually spread from birch plugs, completely populating the workpiece. When this happens, the mushrooms will begin to sprout into the log from the cracks. This process usually takes 9-12 months. It is strongly influenced by external conditions - temperature and humidity.
Alternative way
Waste-free practitioners prefer to use coffee grounds for growing mushrooms. It contains nitrogen, manganese, potassium, magnesium. In such a nutrient medium, mushrooms develop quickly, it is ideal for growing oyster mushrooms. The advantage of coffee pomace is that it does not need additional sterilization. The one that he passed during the brewing is enough. But this method is not for everyone. The reason is simple: mycelium can only be sown in fresh grass. It should be brewed during the day. It is not easy to get such a volume of drunk coffee at home, but there is a way out - to ask for cake in the nearest cafeteria.
Next, you need to prepare the landing container. Special durable bags made of geotextiles are available for sale. But mushrooms can be grown in regular freezer bags or milk cartons, as well as in ice cream boxes. Only 2 conditions must be met: the container must be clean and roomy.
The mycelium is evenly distributed over the surface of the coffee grounds, slightly mixing it into the cake. Do this with clean hands, washed with antibacterial soap. After sowing the drunk coffee, it is placed in a container or bag and tightly closed. It is then placed in a cabinet or under the sink. For germination, mushrooms need darkness and warmth (+18 to + 25 ° C). In such conditions, the thick should lie for about 3 weeks.
When the mycelium completely populates it, it will turn white. Then the cake is placed in a bright place, shading it. A 5x5 cm hole is cut in the upper part of the bag. The culture medium is sprayed with water in the morning and in the evening. It should not dry out, otherwise it will not get a crop. After 5-7 days, small mushrooms will appear from the coffee cake. They will grow literally before our eyes. The main thing is not to forget about hydration. Whitened coffee grounds can be planted on site by burying it in compost or covering it with bark.
Protein-rich mushrooms have become an indispensable ingredient in many dishes. They are added to salads, snacks, scrambled eggs, cereals, soups, roasts, pilaf, stews, hodgepodge, sauces. They go well with meat, fish, liver, pasta, vegetables. Few can resist pies and other pastries with mushroom filling. You can endlessly experiment with them in the kitchen, discovering more and more new flavor combinations.
There is nothing difficult in growing mushrooms for a family or for sale. All they need is a comfortable environment: a nutrient medium, temperature conditions, high humidity and ventilation. They don't have to pay much attention. If you wish and have a minimum of knowledge, it will not be difficult to achieve success in home mushroom growing.
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