How to grow mushrooms at home?

Champignons are quite common mushrooms. They are massively grown for use in the food industry, in particular in cooking. Entrepreneurs build their business on their breeding, which brings good income. But experienced farmers prefer home-grown mushrooms. Read about this in the article.

What is included in the soil?

Is it possible to grow champignons at home? Of course, this is within the power of a farmer or owner of a private backyard without any experience. The main thing is to stock up on knowledge in this matter and clearly follow the instructions. The most time consuming process in mushroom cultivation is soil preparation. For a mycelium area of ​​three square meters, 100 kilograms of herbal ingredients will be required, which include the following:

• Straw.
• Cereal grains, you can use rye or wheat.
• Fallen leaves of plants.
• Tops from tomatoes or potatoes.

In addition, the composition of the soil should include:

• Horse or cow manure in the amount of half a centner.
• Water - 300-400 liters.
• Urea and superphosphate in an amount of two kilograms each.
• Plaster - seven to eight, and chalk - five kilograms.

You can prepare a different formulation using poultry manure. Other ingredients and their quantity are taken here:

• Litter and straw - centered.
• Water - 300 liters.
• Gypsum, alabaster - as in the previous composition.
• Urea is two kilograms.

Composting process

First you need to make a collar with the same dimensions (one and a half meters) in width, length and height. It is with this ratio of parameters that combustion will properly occur. The compost will mature in two to three weeks.

How to grow mushrooms at home? First, you need to plant them in soil, which is prepared as follows: all components of plant origin and straw must be soaked for a day. At the same time, they and manure should be laid in layers, and the straw should be watered abundantly. The components contained in the pile must be thoroughly mixed and moistened once a week to ensure proper combustion. At the first mixing, crushed lime is added to the compost. Second time - superphosphate. Then mixing is carried out with the addition of crushed gypsum or alabaster. Each time after mixing, the resulting stack is covered with foil.

It should be borne in mind that during the preparation of the soil, an unpleasant odor will be emitted, similar to ammonia and carbon dioxide. Therefore, it is better to do cooking on the street. But at the same time, protection from sunlight and precipitation is needed. If you organize the process indoors, it should be well ventilated.

How to grow champignon mushrooms at home? To do this, you need to take into account important points, without which this process is impracticable. First of all, a stock of compost is made, since it is necessary in a large volume to grow mushrooms. During its preparation, the temperature can reach from 53 to 70 ° C. When the combustion process is over, the thermometer will drop to 21-25 ° C, and the unpleasant odor will disappear. The finished soil has an elastic structure and a brown color. It does not stick to your hands, the straw can be easily torn apart.

How to lay out the compost correctly?

When the preparation of the soil is completed, they proceed to another procedure - laying it. First you need to select containers in which the mushrooms will be grown. They can be racks, wooden boxes, plastic containers, bags. The compost mass is laid out in prepared containers in a layer, the height of which should not exceed 22 cm.

Mycelium types

The seed of mushrooms is called mycelium. It is grown at home or in laboratories. There are two types of mycelium:

• Compostable - this type of seed is stored for a long time at zero temperature, for about a year. For an area of ​​one square meter, 500 g of mycelium will be required.
• Grain - this composition is more effective than the first. Seed material of this type germinates better and gives large yields. Its consumption for the same area is less, only 330-350 g. But this mycelium has a significant drawback: a short shelf life. Only half a year its properties are preserved. Keep the seed in the refrigerator.

How to grow mushroom mycelium at home?

If the mushrooms are grown commercially, it is better to buy planting material. But some are embarrassed by the conditions in which it was grown, and therefore they do it on their own. To obtain the material, you need to sow spores or isolate it from the fruit bodies, and then place it in a specially prepared medium: wort agar. Its preparation is carried out according to the following technology:

• First you need to mix beer wort (one liter) and agar-agar (20 g) with boiling water.
• After dissolving the ingredients, the composition is poured into test tubes for a third of them. Then the containers are plugged with cotton swabs and placed in an autoclave with a temperature of 101 ° C and 1.5 atmospheres for 30 minutes.
• The test tubes are placed not straight, but obliquely, so that no more than 3.5 cm remains to the plugs. Now it remains to wait until the wort hardens.
• After that, spores or a piece of the fruiting body must be added to the test tubes, while observing sterility.
• Containers should be kept in a thermostat or dark room at a temperature of 24 ° C until they are overgrown. In a couple of weeks, the nutrient medium will be assimilated by the myceliums.This means that they are completely ready for landing.

Usually this composition is used by mushroom pickers to grow mycelium at home, although there are also substitutes: oat agar, carrot agar.

Correct mushroom cultivation technology

Mushrooms can be grown at home using mycelium. To do this, you need to plant it correctly, and in the room you need to correctly select the temperature and humidity mode. If these conditions are met, the first harvest can be obtained in a year.

If grain mycelium is the planting material, grooves 30 cm deep and 50-60 cm wide should be made in the soil. The distance between the pits should be 20 cm. In order for the temperature to normalize, you need to leave them for two to three days and only then lay the mycelium. A checkerboard pattern is used to locate the body of the mushroom.

If compost mycelium is used for planting champignons, the technology is different. The bottom of the small pits is covered with drainage. Compost is placed on top, in which the mycelium is placed. After that, the planting material is closed by it. Subject to all the rules, taking into account the high-quality mycelium, after seven days, you can expect the appearance of new branching threads.

After 21 days, you need to lay out moist soil on top of the beds 25-30 cm thick. If the layer is larger, the bodies of the mushrooms will be blocked, their germination will not occur soon.

In order to maintain the temperature regime in the room where the mushrooms are grown, you need to temporarily install sheds or cover the ground with straw. If a white bloom appears on the compost, it means that it needs to be moistened. After watering the soil, the canopy or straw is removed.

The first harvest will not take long, only 45 days. You need to pick mushrooms as soon as they ripen, since the yield period is short, only three to four days. The next fruiting period should be expected in three to four months. The harvests of the first waves are the richest.

Champignons in bags

How to grow champignon mushrooms at home? There are many possibilities for this. Each courtyard has outbuildings and basements. They are adapted for growing mushrooms. However, you can grow mushrooms at home in plastic bags. This method has been used in many countries for a long time. It allows you to get large volumes of mushroom harvest.

Bags can be made by yourself from a transparent polymer film of various capacities. For growing at home, 25 kg are more suitable. But the main criterion for choosing bags is the convenience in performing work on growing mushrooms. And for it to be successful, you need to correctly arrange the bags in the room. This is done in a variety of ways, but the most common are the following:

• According to the principle of chess arrangement. With this method, the usable area is not used only by 10%.
• Parallel bag placement. In this case, the area loss is even greater - 20%.

This can be compensated for by deep bags, which are filled with more substrate. And the space between the unusual beds is used for air circulation. There are different options for how to grow mushrooms at home. If everything is done in compliance with the technology, you can achieve an excellent result.

Harvest in bags

The mushroom picking time is the most enjoyable time. The mushrooms ripen four months after planting the mycelium in the soil of the bag. When harvesting, you need to be very careful: you cannot cut off the mushrooms with a sharp blade or other object, they need to be twisted. After that, the mycelium is sprinkled with a nutritious substrate and watered using a spray bottle. It will bear fruit for two weeks. During this period of time, the mushrooms are harvested in two to three days. It is advisable to use fresh, not frozen mushrooms for food. Mushrooms with light plates inside the cap are useful.If the mushrooms are old, then they will have a brown color, as these mushrooms accumulate toxic substances that can be poisoned.

Benefits of growing mushrooms in bags

These mushrooms are unpretentious, they can grow in an open-air garden bed or indoors. But experienced mushroom pickers prefer to grow them in bags, since this method has a number of advantages:

• Pests and various diseases do not spread to the entire area, since if the need arises, you can always remove a specific bag from the room.
• Thanks to the mobility of the unusual bag-shaped beds, mushrooms can be grown seasonally and continuously.
• During placement, bags can be placed in several tiers on special stands. This will save space. This is especially important when growing indoors.
• The cost of polyethylene bags is lower than plastic containers. This is important when growing mushrooms in large quantities.

The disadvantage of this technology is the use of manual labor. But if the scale of cultivation is small, it is not burdensome.

Champignons in the basement

It is convenient to grow mushrooms in such a place, since there is a stable microclimate in the basement located under the ground. Here, the labor costs for creating optimal conditions for mushroom cultivation are much less than, for example, in greenhouses. It is not difficult to grow mushrooms at home in the basement, the main thing is to monitor the temperature and humidity conditions. During the incubation period, the air humidity should be 75%, not lower. If the basement is dry, use a humidifier. It is important to know that spores are activated at a higher temperature - from 24 to 28 ° C, and fungi germinate when it drops to 16 ° C. The basement must meet the following requirements:

• Have concrete walls.
• Wooden flooring is strictly prohibited. The floor needs to be concreted, in extreme cases - to cement it.
• There must be ventilation in the basement.
• To prevent fungi from damaging insects that can enter the basement, the ventilation holes are closed with nets.
• Walls with ceilings should be disinfected. For this, you can use lime.
• If the basement is large, it must be divided into zones: for the incubation period and for obtaining fruit bodies.

How to properly grow mushrooms at home in the country?

Growing mushrooms in this way is much more difficult than, for example, in a basement. Here, the choice of a site for planting mycelium is of great importance. How to grow mushrooms at home? To do this, you need to find a place that is always in the shade, and the soil never dries up. A canopy is being erected over the site or a darkened greenhouse is erected at this place. How mushrooms are grown at home (photos are presented in the article)? The mycelium is planted using standard technology. For champignons, an important condition for growth is the correct temperature and humidity. These indicators should be maintained, especially since the mushrooms categorically do not tolerate heat. The choice of substrate is equally important. It should contain large amounts of nutrients and small amounts of carbon dioxide. The best option is land, which must be brought from the forest in advance.

Growing champignons in an apartment

This method is suitable for those who do not have a summer cottage or vegetable garden. The main task for such cultivation of mushrooms is to create optimal conditions under which they will grow and bear fruit normally. An example of how to grow champignons at home is presented step by step below:

• The first thing to do is to isolate any room in the apartment for growing mushrooms from those rooms in which people live.
• Measure moisture. It should be high, about 90%. If its readings are lower, you need to install a humidifier.
• To maintain the optimum temperature, the room is equipped with heaters and ventilation.With their help, the temperature regime will be maintained. It should be borne in mind that mycelium germinates at 20 ° C, and fruiting bodies - at 15 ° C.
• After preparing the room, the selected containers are filled with the substrate.
• Mycelium is planted in them, covered with a film on top, which must be removed after the appearance of the fungi.
• The soil is constantly moistened, it must not be allowed to dry out.
• When the time comes, the mushrooms should be harvested.

Growing mushrooms in a private household, in dachas and even in apartments is becoming fashionable today. Firstly, in the store, mushroom products are not sold at a low price. Secondly, the homemade mushroom, grown without the use of unknown chemicals, is environmentally friendly and safe for consumption. Thirdly, mushroom growing can be made a profitable business, or at least a good source of additional income. Fourthly, it is a very interesting and exciting hobby. Take a substrate, put mycelium in it, create conditions. And it starts to grow like mushrooms.

Growing champignons at home for beginners

Before you start growing mushrooms

You need to think well and weigh your desire and capabilities on two scales. If they are at about the same level, it is worth the risk. Information for beginners: growing mushrooms at home is a more laborious process than growing oyster mushrooms. But less long-term and more effective than growing porcini mushrooms.

It will take certain costs for the purchase of materials, arrangement of the premises, as well as patience and certain skills. Provided that you already have a suitable room and you only need to create favorable conditions in it.

Premises

It should be moderately cool, such as a cellar or basement. If neither one nor the other is not present, it is difficult to advise anything. Perhaps a garage or greenhouse will do (during the cold season). In spring and early summer, before the onset of extreme heat, mushrooms can be grown without a room at all. The main thing is that the air temperature is not higher than + 20 ° С. Indoors, in the case of year-round cultivation, the temperature should be constantly maintained in the range of + 12 ° С ... 18 ° С, and the humidity should be in the range of 65-85%.

Premises for growing mushrooms

Substrate

The most important item on the list of prerequisites for the successful cultivation of mushrooms is the substrate (or, as it is also called for its composition, compost). The following composition is generally recognized as a fruitful compost option.

1. Horse or cow dung (or pork or bird droppings, which can be taken, but not desirable).
2. Straw.
3. Urea.
4. Superphosphate.
5. Gypsum.
6. Chalk.
7. Alabaster flour.

Substrate for growing mushrooms

Table. The proportions of the components for making compost from mullein or horse manure.

Table. The proportions of the components for the composting of poultry manure.

By the way! To cover a one square meter area with mushroom compost, you need compost made from 40 kg of straw base (the rest of the components, according to proportions).

Video - How to disinfect mushroom substrate

How to prepare compost

It is better to carry out this procedure in the air or, in extreme cases, in a regularly ventilated area. As the compost matures in a heap, where the straw is layered with manure and watered with water, the heat can rise to + 70˚C. There is an intensive release of carbon dioxide, water and ammonia vapors into the atmosphere. Of course, a person should not breathe this mixture for a long time.

It is good to place the compost place in the sun (the higher the temperature inside this “puff cake”, the faster and better the compost will ripen). But it is worth providing shelter from rains, since heavy rain can wash out all the useful components necessary for the growth of future mushrooms from the compost.

Compost pit for preparing the substrate

Advice! If it is not possible to protect the compost heap with a canopy from atmospheric precipitation, cover it with roofing material or a thick film before the rain. Be sure to lift the film from the sides, leaving the sides open.

The straw for the substrate must be fresh, dry, free from mold and other defects. Before starting laying, the straw is soaked in a large tank of water for a day. If there is no such reservoir, spread the straw on polyethylene and water it abundantly several times a day, preventing it from drying out.

Laying the compost heap

Straw and manure prepared in this way begin to be laid in layers.

The first layer is straw. Then - manure or droppings.

Each layer of straw is sprinkled with ammonium nitrate, urea in the proportions indicated in the table.

Each layer of straw is watered abundantly with water.

In total, there should be at least 3-4 layers of straw and, accordingly, the same amount of manure.

You need to finish the laying with straw.

Water once again to keep the moisture content of the compost heap constant.

The heap must be at least one meter high. The length and width are arbitrary.

Preparing compost for cultivation
champignons

For a week, the multi-layered structure is basking in the sun. Then comes the moment of the first shaking up. The procedure is carried out with a pitchfork. Shaking up a compost heap is not easy. But they cannot be neglected, since for the speedy composting inside it is necessary to provide oxygen access.

During the first shaking, plaster of Paris is added. It will improve the structure of the compost.

The second shaking is carried out without waiting for the next week, 3-4 days after the first. This time superphosphate and chalk are added.

Important! If the pile is slightly dry in the sun, it is watered abundantly with water. It is impossible to dry out the compost, its formation will stop.

The third and fourth shaking is carried out in four consecutive days. After three weeks, the compost heap will lose its strong ammonia smell and will turn into a pleasant chocolate color. The straw in the compost will become soft and tear with your fingers.

Ready-made compost for growing mushrooms

High-quality compost substrate, completely ready to use, does not stick to the palm, bounces in the fist when squeezed, leaves a wet, but not dirty mark on the skin.

Advice! If you overmoisten the pile, and moisture literally flows out of the compost during compression, it should be decomposed to dry (but not dry, but only reduce the humidity to 60%), adding half the rate of chalk.

The finished substrate is filled in racks, boxes or other containers where mushrooms will be grown. The temperature of the substrate must be lowered before the introduction of the mycelium.

Germination composting process

Preparation of the substrate for further planting of the mycelium

If you plan to grow mushrooms in a room specially designated for this enterprise, for example, on the earthen floor of the cellar, the compost is poured directly onto the floor, in a layer of 70 cm, forming beds with an area of ​​½ m² or 75x75 cm.

1. If in the basement you have equipped racks on which future mushroom crops will grow neatly, they must be equipped with bumpers, and then you can put the compost directly on the racks, with a layer of 45 cm.
2. If cultivation is supposed to be in boxes that can be stacked in the same basement or cellar (no more than two meters stack height), because the mushrooms do not need light for development, the compost is poured into boxes. Backfill layer - 25 centimeters
3. If you grow mushrooms in an open or greenhouse ground, the compost is rammed directly onto the surface of the ground, 25-30 cm high. The beginning of the laying is early spring, when the ground thaws. Sheds are made over the open ridge to protect from precipitation and sunlight that is too intense for shade-loving champignons.
4. The compost is well compacted by hand, the surface is carefully leveled.

Racks for champignons

Mycelium

After the preparatory work, the most important moment comes - planting the mycelium. Mushroom mycelium can be planted at a soil temperature of no higher than + 28 ° C at a depth of 5 cm.Check the temperature with a thermometer. This is important because exceeding even two degrees will kill the mycelium.

The planting material for growing champignons, like other cultivated mushrooms, is a sterile mycelium, which is grown in special laboratories. Champignons for cultivation in culture are selected in two varieties:

• double-sided white;
• double-cornered brown.

Champignon mycelium

There are no significant differences in their taste and nutritional value. The only difference is in the color of the mushroom, according to the name, white or brown. Sell ​​mycelium or mycelium in bags or jars. Packing is usually 1-2 kg. The mycelium of both varieties is grown in two ways - on manure and on cereals.

The first, dung mycelium, will be needed for planting 500 g per m² of area. Grain - not less than 100 g.

Planting mycelium

The dung mycelium is a fairly monolithic lump, which, before planting, must be divided by hand into small pieces, half a matchbox in size.

1. The mycelium prepared in this way is laid out on a large tray in one layer. In the ground, a part of the upper layer is lifted with a wedge-shaped peg so that a piece of mycelium can be laid there.
2. Planting is staggered with a cell distance of 20 cm.
3. Part of the mycelium is covered with a substrate, no more than 3 cm thick.

Compost overgrown with mushroom mycelium

Grain mycelium is an ordinary grain on which the spores of the fungus are planted. It is sown in the same way as you would sow any cereal.

1. The top layer of compost, 3 cm wide, is removed from the ridge or box.
2. "Mushroom grains" are randomly scattered over the surface.
3. The compost is poured back and slightly pressed down so that there is no void between it and the grains.

Grain mushroom mycelium

By the way! Wild mushroom mycelium is also suitable for growing homemade champignons. If you find a place where mushrooms grow, take a closer look at the soil. A land riddled with a web of whitish-gray mushroom spores is a good starting point for your mushroom plantation.

Champignon plantation care

After you have landed, the room temperature is kept high. This is a prerequisite - the germination of mycelium will not begin at below + 24 ° C and above + 26 ° C. At this time, at the initial phase of mycelium growth, do not expect immediate "shoots". Champignons are not vegetables. They grow deeper into the soil, gaining ground and forming the future harvest. At low temperatures, growth is insufficient, at high temperatures - weak formation of the fruiting body.

Rules for harvesting champignons at home

The moisture content of the compost must be constantly maintained in the range of 55-60%. As soon as it dries up, the mycelium "freezes" and stops growing. The compost is moistened superficially, from the sprayer, so that the water does not flood the mycelium, otherwise it will become moldy and die

It will take 12 days to grow deep into the mycelium. After that, the temperature in the room will definitely decrease. Either the heating is turned off, or the transoms and ventilation openings are opened - all methods are good to reduce the temperature to + 18 ° С… 20 ° С.

By this time, it is necessary to prepare the soil for backfill. The mycelium will grow upwards not on compost, but from nutrient soil of the following composition:

• sod land;
• loam;
• sandy loam;
• fine-structured peat soil.

Any of the listed structural types will work. The main thing is that the soil is not heavy. To add "airiness" and ensure the penetration of air to the spores of the fungus, the soil is sieved on a coarse sieve.

Agricultural practices and terms of their implementation when growing mushrooms

Before backfilling, the soil is moderately moistened. And cover them with a layer of compost 3-4 cm.

Further, caring for the mushrooms is simple.

Maintaining the temperature within the specified limits. - + 16 ° С ... 18 ° С, plus - minus two more permissible degrees.

Maintaining humidity in the range of 65-85% (air) and not higher than 60% - of the earth layer.

Daily intensive ventilation of the room to remove accumulated carbon dioxide.

You can collect the first homemade mushrooms from your own plantation already on the 35-40th day. One fruiting cycle lasts about two months.

Agricultural practices and terms of their implementation when growing mushrooms (continued)

Despite all the seeming difficulties and conventions, the cultivation process, starting from the moment the compost is prepared, takes no more than four months. For two months of fruiting, the crop can be harvested 6-7 times. From 5 to 10 kg of mushrooms are collected from a meter of a square ridge. The next crop ripens after 5 days.

Harvesting champignons

Important! Mushrooms must be collected at a stage when the film between the stem and the cap is not damaged and connects them tightly. Opened mushrooms with darkened (for white varieties) plates and damaged film, the remnants of which can only be seen on the stem, it is better not to eat

Champignons are not cut with a knife when they are collected. The mushrooms are twisted with a gentle movement of the hand. The holes formed after collection are sprinkled with soil and slightly moistened.

Video - Growing champignons at home (part 1)

Video - Growing champignons at home (part 2)

Video - Harvesting champignons

Recently, more and more often you can hear talk about growing mushrooms as one of the forms of gardening and horticulture. Although mushrooms cannot be compared to traditional crops like potatoes or cucumbers, growing them is quite simple. The most popular type of mushroom is the well-known champignon. This is a very good option to start mushrooming. Champignons can be cultivated all year round: in the summer in the garden, and in the winter indoors (in the greenhouse, basement, on the balcony). Growing champignons in large volumes is a very good opportunity for additional income, as well as an opportunity to pamper yourself and loved ones with a fresh delicacy.

Features of growing champignons at home

Champignons or peppers are the most popular type of mushroom, most commonly consumed all over the world. It's all about the adaptability of the variety to grow in different parts of the world, so no one has any problems with growing them. Growing champignons at home is considered a very laborious process in terms of preparing and equipping a breeding room. The mushrooms themselves do not require additional care after sowing, and timely watering and temperature conditions will ensure a good harvest.

You can grow mushrooms at home on the windowsill or on the balcony. But if you have an intention to grow mushrooms in large volumes, then you cannot do without preparing a special room. The best option for growing champignons will be basements or cellars, where direct rays of daylight do not penetrate, the temperature and humidity of the air are well maintained.

The following equipment should be installed in the room and special conditions for growing champignons should be created:

• Shelving. It is necessary to prepare racks on which future mushrooms will grow. You can design them yourself, or you can purchase ready-made racks. It is best if they are made of plastic or carbon fiber. Since there is a lot of dampness in the basements, metal parts will quickly rust, and the tree will act as a collection of bacteria and parasites that can spoil the harvest.
• You can grow mushrooms directly on the shelves by spreading the substrate on them. You can also place the substrate in plastic containers for growing mushrooms. If you want to save money, then as containers you can use ordinary plastic bottles volume of 6 liters.
• Temperature and humidity. Champignons are thermophilic, the average temperature of the environment in which they grow is 16-27 ° C. Therefore, the room must be insulated and heat-resistant. It is best if a controlled heating system (preferably water) is present in the cellar. Electronic heaters significantly dry out the air, thereby slowing down the growth of mushrooms. Air humidity can be controlled with electronic humidifiers, but this is a very expensive equipment. It is enough to purchase a garden sprayer and thoroughly irrigate the soil so that it is always moist and does not dry out. Air humidity should be in the region of 70-95%.
• Ventilation. Mushrooms grow exclusively in the fresh air, so the room will have to be systematically ventilated. The ideal solution would be to install special hoods or air conditioning systems.
• Lighting. Champignons love light, but direct rays are contraindicated for them. For this, special lamps of diffused daylight are installed in the room. If the room has access to daylight (windows, transparent roof), there is no need for additional installation of lamps.

Video: room for growing mushrooms

Important! Before distributing the substrate and sowing mycelium, the room must be disinfected. To do this, you can use special smoke bombs, which are left in the room for a day, before the start of all planting work. All racks must be treated with sulfate solution. Mushrooms love moisture, and, accordingly, the humidity in the room will be increased. In order to avoid the formation of fungus and mold on the walls, it is recommended to cover them with a solution of lime and copper sulfate. This disinfection is necessary so that the fungi do not succumb to the attacks of various parasites.

How to grow champignons at home: growing technology

The amount of harvest depends on the quality of the mycelium and the substrate in which the mushrooms will grow. The basis of a high-quality substrate for mushrooms is horse manure with a high content of straw. But when it comes to growing at home, the substrate for mushrooms can be prepared in a different way.

The mushroom cultivation technology involves several stages.

Substrate preparation

To prepare a substrate for growing mushrooms you will need:

• 100 kg of fresh golden straw (wheat or rye);
• 100 kg of horse (cow) manure or poultry manure;
• 2.5-3.5 kg of urea or ammonium nitrate;
• 250-350 liters of water;
• 7-8 kg of gypsum or alabaster;
• 2 kg superphosphate;
• 5 mg of chalk.

On the first day the straw is cut into a length of 15-20 cm and soaked in water to make it wet.

Further, for the compost to mature on a concrete area, it will be necessary to lay a stack of at least 1.5 x 1.2 m in size.Straw and manure (droppings) are laid out in layers 25-30 cm thick.Urea or ammonium nitrate is added to the mixture in the amount of 2.5 -3.5 kg. The bottom and top layer must be straw. Then the top of the compost is covered with a film, and holes are made on the sides for ventilation.

Important! Contact of the mixture with soil or rainwater is extremely undesirable, it is important to avoid the penetration of pest spores into the compost.

For the next 21 days, the mixture undergoes a fermentation (combustion) process, during which ammonia, carbon dioxide and water vapor are released, and the temperature in the pile can reach 70 ° C. During this time, you need to kill the compost 3-4 times.

The first interruption is carried out for 7-8 days, also gypsum or alabaster is added to the mixture, as well as a little water.

The second cut is carried out on 12-13 daysadding superphosphate and chalk (5 kg) to the mixture, plus water.

The third cutoff is carried out on 16-17 days, water is added again.

Fourth cut on 20-21 days.

On day 22 the finished compost is stuffed into boxes or plastic bags.

It is possible to determine the degree of readiness of the compost by external signs: high-quality compost has a thick brown color and a loose texture, does not stick to hands and softly springs when squeezed, the characteristic sharp ammonia smell is absent.

As a result, about 300 kg of substrate is obtained, which corresponds to 3 square meters of area for growing mushrooms.

Video: compost for growing mushrooms

Remember! In preparing the nutrient substrate, it is very important not to overdo it with manure and urea. Clearly calculate the volume of soil you need and the components included in it, otherwise the mycelium may burn out.

Selection and purchasemycelium

In order to grow a high-quality and healthy crop, special attention should be paid to the sowing material. Good mushroom mycelium is grown exclusively in laboratories, and can only be purchased in large horticultural centers that cooperate with large laboratories that produce various crops (including mushrooms).

There are two specially designed types of mushroom mycelium intended for growing at home: compost and grain.

Compost mycelium stored in glass containers at 0 °. The shelf life of such material is one year. It is a high quality eco-friendly material for growing healthy crops.

Grain mycelium packed in plastic bags, which reduces its shelf life to 6 months from the date of issue. But it is the grain mycelium that is more fertile and gives a greater yield increase, which significantly increases productivity. It is recommended for beginners to use grain mycelium, as it is more adapted to a changeable environment.

Landing

Before starting planting, the compost undergoes a special heat treatment. It is heated with special lamps, since when sowing, its temperature should be at least 27 ° C. Such a high temperature of the substrate is necessary for a better interaction of spores with fertile soil.

Video: sterilizing compost for growing mushrooms

Further, the disembarkation takes place according to the following order:

• Beds are laid out from the heated compost or placed in containers for planting. The soil layer is approximately 30 cm thick.
• In a checkerboard pattern, at a distance of about 25 cm, it is necessary to form planting holes, the depth of which is up to 5 cm.
• A mycelium is poured into each well (a compost mycelium the size of a tennis ball is placed in each well). If the mycelium is grain, then its inoculation can be carried out by scattering it over the surface and covering it with a thin layer of soil.
• When the mycelium begins to grow, and this will happen in 1-2 weeks, the surface of the substrate must be covered with a casing layer of 3-4 cm.

After disembarkation, it is necessary to carefully monitor the development of myceliums and provide full care.

Care

Champignons, like all mushrooms, are absolutely unpretentious plants. After sowing, they do not need special care. It is enough to follow the simplest growing rules, namely:

• High humidity. The air humidity in the room where the mushroom plantation is concentrated should be at least 65% - 90%. In order to maintain this level of moisture, the beds are covered with garden sacking or ordinary newspapers, which must be irrigated regularly with water. It is important to control so that water does not fall on the soil where the formed mycelium is concentrated, as it can rot.
• Temperature conditions. As already mentioned above, the temperature of the substrate during planting should be 27 ° C, and, accordingly, the air temperature in the room should be high (up to 30 ° C). As soon as the first shoots of mushrooms appear (approximately a week after sowing), the temperature can be lowered by 10 degrees, to 17 C ° - 20 C °. It is best to equip the room with water heaters.They consume little electricity and do not dry out the air. Watch the soil constantly so that it does not dry out. The indoor climate should resemble a greenhouse.
• Fertilizer. As it grows, the mycelium gradually comes to the surface, and after two weeks, it will be completely above the soil. To avoid drying out and prevent the destruction of the still fertile mycelium, a little fertile substrate is poured on top (about 4 - 5 cm). Fertilizer is also applied to the soil, which consists of a dry peat mixture and chalk in proportions of 9: 1. Spread 40-50 grams of the mixture on 1 m² evenly. A week after the fertilization, the room temperature is lowered by another 5 ° C to 13 ° - 15 ° C. The soil continues to be thoroughly moistened with irrigation systems, while preventing moisture from entering the main soil layer.
• Lighting and ventilation. If there are no windows in the room, the myceliums will have to be illuminated with fluorescent lamps. Mushrooms are illuminated for 5 - 6 hours a day, no longer worth it. Also, the room must be regularly ventilated, because mushrooms grow only in the fresh air. For this, various ventilation systems can be used.

Harvesting

It usually takes about four months from sowing to harvesting the first crop. Suitable for harvesting are young medium-sized mushrooms, which have a whole membrane that connects the stem to the cap. Strongly opened mushroom caps lose all their useful properties, so they are harvested as seed. It is strictly forbidden to pick mushrooms, the cap of which has darkened and turned light brown. They can cause intoxication of the body, which leads to severe poisoning.

Champignons are not cut, unlike forest mushrooms, they must be twisted, and the hole remaining after their removal is lightly sprinkled with compost. A mushroom will grow again in this place. Mushrooms actively bear fruit for about 8-14 weeks. During this time, up to 7 harvest waves can pass. Further, the yield is very weak, so the myceliums are removed and the substrate is disposed of.

Video: Harvesting Homemade Champignons

It's important to know! After the myceliums have stopped bearing fruit, they are removed and used as a nourishment for the next generation. It is not recommended to reuse the remaining substrate, as it loses all its fertile properties.

For the entire fruiting period, up to 60 kg of fresh mushrooms can be harvested from 1 m². This is a very good result that can be achieved if all the rules of cultivation and care are followed.

Diseases and pests of champignons, the fight against them

The main method of dealing with all diseases and pests, in fact, is the main disinfection of the premises with the help of smoke bombs, whitewashing the walls and spraying. But still, there are times when mushrooms get sick and succumb to attacks from various pests. Here are some of the most common diseases and methods of dealing with them:

• Mushroom midge. If the room is not sufficiently ventilated, the larvae of flies begin to develop in the compost, which enter it along with the manure. Over time, they infect the mycelium, which ceases to bear fruit and disappears. To eliminate parasites, it is enough to treat the compost with chlorophos with a concentration of 0.5%.
• Mushroom mite. It is a small yellow parasite that eats the legs of mushrooms. To eliminate them, mushrooms and compost are sprayed with a 0.1% metaphos solution. To avoid this problem in advance, you can add tobacco to the substrate. Enough 0.5 kg of tobacco per 100 kg of substrate.
• Rotting mushrooms. The disease develops with direct penetration of moisture into an already formed mycelium. From a diseased fungus, others instantly become infected. To avoid the rapid spread of the disease, the damaged myceliums must be removed, and the remaining ones must be treated with a 0.2% formalin solution.
• Mummies. This disease, which occurs as a result of a lack of light, the mushrooms acquire a dark gray cap and brown flesh. It is enough just to remove such a mycelium along with the substrate.
• Mold on mushrooms. The disease manifests itself as the formation of wet brown spots on the surface of the fungi, which increase in size. All infected mushrooms should be removed, and the substrate in this area is sprinkled with superphosphate and table salt.

Growing champignons at home is not a difficult, but rather laborious process that requires a lot of time and patience. Home growing will provide an opportunity not only to get year-round access to delicious mushrooms, but it may well become a source of good income. A person with minimal gardening experience will be able to cope with such a task, because growing mushrooms does not require any special knowledge.

Video: growing mushrooms at home

Growing champignons at home for beginners, as well as for experienced mushroom pickers, is a modern, fashionable, exciting activity. This is both a kind of hobby and a source of additional income, if you approach business rationally and competently.

Champignons are a fairly popular, always in demand, tasty and healthy food product. They do not stale on store shelves, despite the fact that they do not have the lowest cost. Growing them yourself, you will always be sure of their "pure" origin. They are useful: they contain glucose, carbohydrates, vitamins, 18 amino acids, easily digestible fats. They are also harmoniously combined with any products, they can be boiled, fried, baked, pickled, canned.

This mushroom is incredibly tasty, low in calories, and is an excellent alternative to meat (which undoubtedly attracts the attention of vegetarians).

Knowing how to grow mushrooms at home, you can provide yourself, as well as your friends and relatives with a quality product.

Champignons, photo:

Before starting to practice mushroom growing, you should sensibly assess your desires and capabilities. In addition to time and money (purchase of materials), you must have appropriate premises. Some skills, a detailed study of information on the relevant Internet forums, the presence of a competent advisor will never hurt you. If we compare the process of growing mushrooms and oyster mushrooms, then our case, of course, is more time consuming. But if you compare it with the worries and nuances of growing porcini mushrooms, then it will be much easier, shorter in terms.

↑ back to content ↑ Where do mushrooms grow in nature?

If we consider natural conditions, then they are found almost everywhere. Forests, steppes, meadows, forest edges, lowlands, open spaces with moist soil and even semi-deserts, mountain forests are common habitats.

As for the "home" conditions, they can grow in a garden or vegetable garden, cellar, basement, specially equipped garage, greenhouse.

How to grow mushrooms? Many years of experience of mushroom pickers have proven that they grow best where the basement is equipped with good ventilation.

In this case, the air temperature should be relatively cool (not higher than +20 ° C), and if this process is set to flow, then the indicator of the mercury column on the thermometer should vary between +12 .. + 18 ° C all year round. The percentage of humidity should be approximately 70..85%, lighting does not play a special role.

It is not recommended to grow mushrooms in an apartment due to the lack of all the required standards: temperature, the presence of compost (odors from it), lack of space.

↑ to content ↑ Cultivation of champignons at home - technology

The necessary factors for a successful process are:

1. The right choice of location.
2. Disinfection of the premises.
3. Microclimate organization.
4. Competent preparation of the substrate.
5. Composting.
6. Mycelium selection.
7. Planting mycelium.
8. Appropriate care.

As mentioned above, under properly organized conditions, mushrooms can be grown throughout the year. The technology itself is not very complex, as it might initially seem. From the very beginning, you need to correctly arrange everything, and then the process will go along the knurled path. This work can even be called creative, something like a hobby. To date, breeders have bred approximately 50 varieties of this mushroom, which have minor differences in appearance. The color of the cap, its structure, and the duration of storage may vary, but all cultivated varieties are “children” of the common white champignon.

An example of a light brown variety in the photo:

Let's consider basement growing as a basic example, since this method is considered the most common. For so-called “cellar” breeding, it is best to choose high-yielding varieties such as Sylvan 130, Hauser A15 or Somycel 512. They are quite unpretentious, it is not difficult to take care of them, and they are also very "prolific".

Remember - the most important factor for the successful result of your efforts is the presence of well-established ventilation in the room where the mushrooms will grow!

A constant supply of fresh air is very important, since during growth they emit carbon dioxide, and its excessive concentration in the room leads to stretching, lengthening of the mushroom leg.

↑ back to content ↑ Growing mushrooms in the basement

The selected room must be decontaminated. This factor does not depend on whether it is a basement, a garage or a separate shed. As mentioned above, in addition to high-quality ventilation, there must be a high level of humidity. This is necessary for the qualitative growth of mushrooms, but high humidity is a direct path to the appearance of mold and various fungi on the walls and shelves. In addition, the champignons themselves are extremely sensitive to all kinds of parasites and diseases. Therefore, the processing of the premises is a must for the mushroom grower.

How to grow champignons at home - disinfection of the premises:

1. Of the most common, often used, it is whitewashing of the ceiling, walls, all surfaces with limestone with copper sulfate (copper sulfate) added to it. The so-called "recipe": 2 or 3 kg of slaked lime + 100 g of copper sulfate per bucket of water (10 liters). When working with disinfectants, be sure to wear a face shield!
2. The second method is more dangerous for the human respiratory tract and also requires protection. 350 g of bleach is taken, diluted with 10 liters of water, applied by irrigating the walls of the room.
3. Irrigation of walls and other surfaces with 4% formalin, using a construction spray gun is the most convenient.
4. You can fumigate a room with a sulfuric checker - it also gives a very effective preventive effect.
5. Chlorophos is a radical, destructive method, but too poisonous in its composition. It works not only on mold, but also on harmful insects.

After any treatment, the room must be properly ventilated - this is also a prerequisite.

Let's go back to ventilation, or rather - let's clarify one nuance: the air should be fresh, but drafts should be excluded. It is better to close ventilation pipes ("strangleholds") with nets with a fine mesh - this will create an obstacle to the penetration of insects, as well as a small barrier for air masses. If you have a serious room of large size, and the cultivation is on stream, then the ventilation system should be more global, with additional fans located above each large box. If opportunities permit, then the installation of air purifiers with replaceable filters will not be superfluous for this business.

It is clear that a thermometer with a hygrometer is essential for a room where mushrooms are grown.So you can always control the level of humidity in the air: if there is a lack - to irrigate with water from a spray bottle, if there is an excess - to ventilate. With the onset of the summer heat, the fans solve this problem, but if the cultivation of this type of mushroom takes place throughout the year, then in addition to all the aforementioned benefits of civilization, you will also need additional heating of the basement or cellar.

Large cellar room, photo:

It is best if your cellar, in addition to all the requirements for growing, will have an earthen floor (not concrete). By and large, the more purposeful the room will be adapted specifically for mushroom growing, the better. Any unnecessary additional factors in the basement, cellar, garage or shed that are not related to the cultivation of mushrooms will only interfere and disrupt the "microclimate" of the room.

To the "pluses" of mushroom science can be added the fact that they are able to perfectly bear fruit even in complete darkness. This sets them apart from all other green dwellers. The weakest light bulb is enough - they will feel comfortable, but the light, rather, will be more useful to you in order to comfortably navigate in place.

If growing champignons at home initially has far-reaching plans, the owner has a large room, then dividing it into 2 zones will be a reasonable, convenient solution. Simply put - mushrooms must originate somewhere, and a specially prepared substrate is designed for this process (more on that later). So, in one zone there will be a substrate through which the mycelium will spread (this is called incubation). In the second compartment, boxes with mushrooms will be placed directly, where they will be distilled.

The temperature regime of these two compartments should also be different: mycelium usually grows at a temperature of +23 .. + 24 C °, and the growth of mushrooms occurs at a temperature column of +16 .. + 18 C °. If you get used to it, work out your own "schedule" of moving boxes from one zone to another, you will be able to grow these delicious, beloved mushrooms all year round.

↑ to content ↑ Compost for growing mushrooms

Composting (substrate) preparation is one of the most critical aspects of mushroom growing. The quality of the mushrooms will directly depend on the properly prepared substrate. Usually, when you buy mushroom mycelium, the packaging with the contents indicates the appropriate substrate for this variety, as well as the nuances of its preparation. The varieties are different, and the composition of the compost, its collection technology may vary. However, most often these parameters do not differ significantly.

Mycelium, photo:

The substrate should be prepared either in a specially designated room for this purpose, or in the open air (outdoors), under a well-equipped canopy. It is important that no precipitation (rain) or sun rays fall on the compost. It is also highly discouraged to pour compost on the "bare" ground - spread a sheet of thick plastic wrap. Thus, unwanted insects or any other pests will not penetrate into the substrate. It should not touch the ground, but blowing air over it from all sides is a must!

The mushroom compost should be moderately moist, as excess moisture can disrupt proper fermentation processes.

Be that as it may, the street is the best place for the maturation of the substrate, the active release of ammonia, carbon dioxide will not be useful to anyone. The average time of "readiness" of the substrate, its fermentation, is approximately 25-30 days. During this period, it is recommended to stir it at least three times (to ensure even fermentation). You will know that the process has come to an end by the absence of a specific smell of ammonia. By this time, its color acquires a brownish tint.While the substrate is fermenting, the temperature inside it can be about +50 .. + 65 C °, and the compost already ready for use has a temperature of no more than +24 .. + 25 C °.

By the way, to enrich the contents of the compost when you first stir it, you can add crushed lime to the general composition. During the second mixing - superphosphate fertilizer, during the third - ground gypsum or its construction analogue (alabaster). Already "ready" substrate, in addition to the above-described features, does not stick to hands, springy with tactile contact, the straw is extremely softened, easily divided into fragments.

As an alternative to the independent process of compiling the substrate, you can advise the purchase of ready-made compost, which is sold in the garden departments of supermarkets or flower shops. Of course, such a substrate will be of lower quality than one prepared with one's own hand, although it will be written on the package that it has all the required characteristics.

It is up to you to decide what is more convenient for you, whether you have the time to carry out all the points of preparation for growing these mushrooms. While looking at the common attributes of good compost, let's highlight the main ingredients.

The composition of the compost for growing mushrooms:

1. For these purposes, it is considered to be the best horse waste products. In addition, it is important to consider that the horses fed on hay, and not on green grass. The moisture content of horse manure for composing the substrate should be approximately 45%. Horse waste can be replaced with cow or bird waste, but, according to the experience of seasoned mushroom pickers, the harvest on such a "basis" will be much worse. So, you need about 100 kg of horse manure.
2. Straw - choose a dry, rye or wheat variety. You will also need about 100 kg of it.
3. Alabaster (gypsum) - about 6 kg.
4. In other cases, alabaster is replaced with urea (2.5-3 kg) or the same amount of nitrate (per 100 kg of straw and 1000 kg of manure). As we remember, these fertilizer additives are applied while mixing the compost.
5. Again, using 100 kg of horse waste, 100 kg of well-dried rye straw, 3 kg of urea, 5 kg of chalk, 2 kg of superphosphate, 8.5 kg of gypsum, when mixed, will create an optimal ratio of ingredients.

How to grow mushrooms at home? Use fresh animal waste while still providing maximum nutrient content. Make sure that there are no coniferous shavings or sawdust in the introduced components - they release resin, and these mushrooms feel it, react painfully to its presence. Phosphate fertilizers, as well as urea, are actually highly recommended, useful - they are sources of phosphorus and nitrogen, which are so necessary for mushrooms. But chalk normalizes the acidity of the substrate, maintains the optimal pH level.

Champignons: Growing at home - the easiest way to create layers:

1. We take a convenient wide container, fill it with hot water, soak the straw for about 24 hours.
2. After that, we lay it in layers together with the manure. You will have about 5-6 layers. Do not forget to moisten each layer with not very hot water, lightly, but do not moisten abundantly.
3. After 3 days have passed, we take a pitchfork and thoroughly mix the compost-straw "cake", but at the same time we add fertilizers - superphosphate with urea (urea). At this stage, the substrate begins to smell strongly of ammonia. After 4 days, we shovel the substrate again, additionally adding those dressings that are required by the standard for this variety.
4. In general, the mixing of the compost should be done about 4 or 5 times at a time. Spare no effort on this - useful elements will be evenly distributed throughout the composition, and the mass will acquire a relatively uniform consistency.

The so-called "care" for compost has already been described above, but I would like to add, repeat about the warning about excessive moisture. Too much moisture in the substrate will slow down its maturation, but even worse, it will wash out all the useful ingredients required for development and growth from the mixture.

Compost components (dry hay, horse manure, fertilizers), photo:

↑ back to content ↑ Champignon mycelium - planting

The substrate, of course, should be purchased from a reliable representative (best of all - special laboratories). When the compost is already ripe, we transfer it to the appointed place, lay it out in boxes or special forms, where further actions will take place:

1. To get a good harvest of mushrooms, about 500 g of mycelium or 400 g of these varietal spores are needed per 1 m² of compost.
2. If mycelium is used, then small dimples, 4 or 5 cm deep, should be made over the entire surface of the container with compost, at a distance of 20 cm from each other. An appropriate amount of mycelium is laid in these pits, but if fungal spores are used for sowing, then they are simply scattered evenly over the surface of the substrate.
3. After a while, you will notice cobweb strings covering the surface of the compost containers. By this time, the temperature of the air humidity in the room should be at the level of 75-95%. To prevent the substrate from drying out, it can be sprinkled from time to time with clean, settled water from a spray bottle, and additionally covered with a clean damp cloth or paper.
4. The mushroom mushroom begins to grow at a temperature of +20 .. + 28 C °, the active phase of the spread of the mushroom "cobweb" occurs after about 10 or 12 days, then the top layer of compost will need to be sprinkled with the appropriate soil mixture (about 4-5 cm), wait another 3 days, after which move the containers with future mushrooms to a colder room with a temperature of +12 .. + 16 ° C. Or, forcibly lower the temperature in the room to a given indicator of the mercury column.
5. Please note that ordinary garden soil for "sprinkling" will not work for you. Prepare in advance a mixture of 1 part limestone, 5 parts peat, 4 parts clean soil. After 3 - 3.5 months, expect the first well-deserved results of your labors.

A harvest from one mycelium can give from 5 to 8 ripening periods for new mushrooms. This is called a "wave", the most generous collection of mushrooms falls on the first three "waves". Here it is important to catch the moment of ripening - when the cap is still tightened from below with a thin white skin (film), and brown plates are not yet visible. Mushrooms need to be twisted, as it were, from the place of their growth, but not cut off (so that harmful bacteria do not penetrate into the mycelium through the cut site).

After the crop is harvested, gently sprinkle the substrate with the above-described soil mixture again. During the next two weeks, they will grow especially actively.

A mushroom correctly extracted from the soil, photo:

Hat in optimal ripening state, photo:

↑ to the content ↑ How to grow mushrooms in the country in the open field?

In addition to the most commonly used "basement" method of growing mushrooms described above, there are other alternatives. For example, how to grow mushrooms at home, namely, at their summer cottage. Sometimes, for some reason (lack of a basement, garage or other suitable premises), the desire to grow these mushrooms seems impossible. But if you are the happy owner of a summer cottage, everything is feasible!

The most successful period for this is summer and autumn, here it is also important to choose a comfortable place. Champignons - where do they grow? In shaded places, on specially prepared soil, the place for the mycelium should be moderately moist, the earth should not dry out, the sun's rays should not illuminate the chosen place too much.To protect against drought on hot days, the beds are often covered with plastic wrap or special covering material to create a certain microclimate. It is important to bring mushrooms as close as possible to conditions similar to their natural growth environment. Since we cannot influence the weather conditions, we must try to give the mushrooms moisture - when they need it, as well as the availability of fresh air.

In the garden under the trees, photo:

After sowing the mycelium in the beds, in the open field, growing champignons - their technology, practically does not differ from the rules for growing in a cellar. After a couple of weeks, the "cobwebs" of mycelium grow over the soil surface, at this point the temperature is lowered by sprinkling the soil surface with a thin (up to 5 cm) layer of moist earth. The temperature, similarly, should vary within +12 .. + 15 С °, but in no case should it reach above +20 С °. As in the above method, it will be much more productive if this land contains peat and limestone. Regular watering (or rather, delicate irrigation) is best done after sunset - this will optimally moisturize the soil and prevent a dense earth crust from forming. With the right approach to business, in about 3-4 weeks you can expect a harvest of your own mushrooms.

Mycelium sprouts cobwebs, photo:

Let's summarize how to grow mushrooms in the country:

1. It is better to plant mycelium or spores on specially prepared soil for this. This can be soil brought from the forest zone.
2. The soil should be optimally saturated with fertilizing, be well moistened, not have stones, fragments of bricks or remnants of old roots.
3. It is best to plant mushrooms outdoors at a neutral air temperature - +21 .. + 22 C °.
4. If a greenhouse is chosen for planting, you should carefully monitor the level of humidity and air temperature in it. The conditions are not very different from the basement or garage cultivation of mushrooms. It should be remembered that heat and drought are destructive for them.
5. As already mentioned, the planting technique does not differ from the "basement" analogue (20 cm from each other, shallow pits, dusting with earth mixture after the appearance of the "cobweb").
6. With the receipt of the first mushrooms, the abundance of watering can be reduced (so that the roots do not rot), irrigation is our everything in this matter.

After all the waves of the mushroom harvest come to naught, the spent substrate can be simply disposed of, or it can be quite successfully used as an organic fertilizer or mulch for some trees or even flower beds. Of course, it is no longer suitable for re-growing mushrooms, but as an excellent top dressing for your green inhabitants, it will quite serve. As for all kinds of containers, boxes after harvesting and composting, they will require mandatory disinfection treatment, as well as the room where the mushrooms were grown.

↑ back to content ↑ Reviews of those who grew champignons

Champignon is such a mushroom, the demand for which is much higher than for oyster mushroom. For example, we buy them for every holiday, but oyster mushrooms, perhaps once or twice a year. If oyster mushroom can be grown in the garage without any preparation, then, for the champignon, you need to specially equip the room with ventilation, irrigation, and an automatic system for maintaining the set temperature.

Goshek

A friend of mine grew mushrooms in the basement of a wooden house. As a result, the logs were infected with a fungus. It is better to grow them in a specially designed room.

Nadeya

Hi, I don't know if my experience will come in handy, I really just collect them, I work on the farm where they are grown. 1) they do not need light at all. They grow in our dark hangars. When we work, we turn on the light, of course. When not, then no. 2) When they germinate, you do not need to water them.It is necessary to water before such small fungi come out, otherwise if water gets on them, they get dirty and get sick 3). We have sawdust (more precisely, compost with straw) in a layer of about 15 cm, and sprinkled with earth on top. The ground layer is about 5 cm. The total height of the beds, respectively, is 15 + 5 cm. 4) Temperature + 15-20, the lower (up to 15), the supposedly better they grow. 5) I don’t know about humidity, I haven’t seen the sensors even once, but it’s quite possible - since we have them in 5 rows (racks) 6) Harvesting: Tear off carefully, as if unscrewing it from the ground, it is enough to make half a turn. Collect gradually as it grows. As soon as the caps begin to open (they become such a brownish color and soft to the touch, but have not yet opened), collect everything that has come out with the exception of the smallest ones the size of a fingernail. Water again, as it should, and wait a week for the second harvest. Then we can wait for the third. We have the third - the last one, then everything is thrown away (composted) and everything is laid again anew.

Nadya

Yes, they grow on their own 😉 We put cow dung in a pile, and the cows graze in the meadow, where mushrooms and hats are found and eat. Here we grew up on last year's manure, and when they sprinkled the garden with manure, they still grew there for 3 years, not much, but there was enough for pizza.

Gopher

Growing champignons at home for beginners cannot be called an entirely easy process, but, as in any new business, observing the rules, as well as taking into account the advice from already experienced mushroom pickers, will undoubtedly help you in this interesting, exciting activity. And the crop grown with your own hands will delight you, your loved ones and, quite possibly, will bring material income!

To grow champignons at home, you need to fulfill several very important conditions: carefully study the technology, be patient and have a suitable place. Dealing with mushrooms is not as easy as you might think after reading some of the articles. The slightest violation of technology, at best, will cause a sharp drop in the yield, at worst, it will result in wasted time and financial resources.

Growing champignons

Champignons can be grown in open beds, if climatic conditions permit, but you need to prepare yourself right away, so that this method will only allow you to try mushrooms grown with your own hands a few times. There is no need to talk about any preparations for the winter - the harvest will be too small. It is much more profitable to grow mushrooms in basements or cellars. You can do such a thing all year round, it becomes possible to fully provide mushrooms not only to your family, relatives and relatives, but also to start selling. And cultivation of champignons is a very profitable business with proper organization of labor.

Growing champignons at home

We'll take a quick look at both growing methods, but first we'll talk about the very important preparatory steps.

Compost components

The most time-consuming, difficult and important stage is composting. As experienced summer residents say, the success of the whole business depends on the quality of the compost by 50%. What is compost made of?

Manure. The ideal option is horse manure, only it contains a full set of elements necessary for the development of mushrooms. Unfortunately, nowadays it is a big problem to find horse manure, you have to replace it with chicken manure (the best replacement option) or manure from any domestic animals.

Horse manure as fertilizer

Straw. The ideal option is winter wheat or spring rye. There is no such straw - take oatmeal, in the last place is barley. Keep in mind that deviations from ideal compost options will inevitably reduce mushroom yields, all things being equal.

Important. The straw should only be fresh, golden in color and with a pleasant "bread" smell.

Straw

Straw is an important source of carbon and some part of nitrogen; without these elements, mushroom protein synthesis slows down or does not occur at all.

Mineral supplements. These include, first of all, gypsum, which enriches the compost with calcium and improves its physical structure. Bone meal, urea, brewer's grains and other elements can be added to the compost. Of course, you need clean water.

Very important. It is strictly forbidden to pour chlorine in tap water for composting. The compost can only be watered with rainwater, or, in extreme cases, well water.

The data on the amount of each element in the compost are given in the table.

Number of components

What kind of compost to prepare, everyone must decide based on the availability of components.

Making compost for mushrooms

If you think that mixing all the ingredients is enough to make compost, then this is a big mistake. Quality compost, from which you can expect a return, is obtained as a result of a complex biochemical process. The result should be a lignin-protein substrate that is optimal for mushrooms. What are the main requirements to follow?

1. The area where the compost is supposed to be made must be isolated from the ground. It can be concreted, asphalted, covered with thick rubber, foil or other materials. The main thing is to completely exclude the possible penetration of spores of fungal pests, they are always in the ground.
2. If it is warm outside, then the compost can be prepared in the open air; you only have to cover the area with any rain canopy. Otherwise, it is impossible to regulate the moisture content of the compost, and this is a very important indicator.
3. To soak a ton of dry straw, you need about 20 m3 of water, and to fully prepare the same amount of compost, you will need another 10-15 m3 of water. We have already said that the use of tap water is prohibited. In total, up to 35 m3 of water is needed for a ton of compost. A ton of compost is not very much, in terms of volume it will be up to 2 m3, this amount is enough for growing mushrooms on an area of ​​about 10 m2. Amateur mushroom growers should know that if there is not enough straw (100-200 kg), the fermentation process will not start, all attempts to make real compost will actually turn into useless mixing of ingredients.

   The main stages of compost preparation

4. The height of the pile must be at least two meters with a width of at least one and a half meters. Only such dimensions will create conditions for the preparation of compost; after the filling, fermentation processes will begin, characterized by an increase in temperature. For the process to proceed normally, the pile must be thrown over after 5–7 days. The temperature in the pile should not drop below + 40 ° С, optimal values ​​are + 60 ° С. An anaerobic gap with a temperature of + 80 ° C is formed in the center, here the development of bacteria slows down or stops altogether. If necessary, during the interruptions, the compost is moistened and mineral additives are added to it.

   Champignon-chest

5. Depending on the weather, the size of the pile and the specific elements used for laying, it will be necessary to make up to 5 breaks of the pile, the time interval between them is 3-5 days. The recommended compost moisture content should be ≈ 70%.

Good quality compost should be soft, without the pungent smell of ammonia. As you can see, composting is not as easy as it might seem to inexperienced summer residents.

Substrate for champignons

Adding mycelium

Mycelium

The resulting compost must be poured into wooden boxes ≈ 20 centimeters deep, the length and width are chosen taking into account the size of the shelves or places in the beds. The introduction of mycelium (inoculation) should be done only after the compost temperature has dropped to + 24 ° C. Immediately after sowing, the temperature begins to rise slightly, which becomes an additional stimulus for the germination of fungal spores.

Wooden trough for the formation of beds

The temperature of the compost must be constantly monitored, if it rises above + 30 ° C, then it can be dangerous for seedlings, you need to take emergency measures to lower it. The simplest and most effective way is airing. One square meter of area will require 600-800 gr. mycelium. Before sowing, the mycelium must first be warmed up to room temperature, then chopped thoroughly, break the breasts and in this form put into the compost. How to do it?

1. In myceliums with prepared compost, prepare indentations of ≈ 5 cm. Make the holes in a checkerboard pattern, remove the honey with them 20 cm.
2. Pour about 20-30 grams into each hole. mycelium, cover the grooves with compost.

Another sowing method is also allowed. The prepared mycelium is evenly mixed with the top layer about ten centimeters thick.

The process of growing mushrooms

After sowing the mycelium, the boxes or beds should be covered with polyethylene film, in this way it will be possible to exclude the rapid drying of the surface. The temperature of the compost should be checked periodically at a depth of about 15 cm, it should be within + 24 ° C.

The first survival check can be performed one week after sowing. To do this, you need to carefully raise the top layer, if the mycelium is clearly visible, then everything is going fine. Under optimal conditions, two weeks are enough for the full development of the mycelium.

Gobtirovka

To increase the yield, you need to do a grubbing - applying wet earth to the rows of champignons. This layer of the earth has several functions:

• protects the bottom compost from drying out quickly. This is a kind of mulching, only with the help of soil;
• significantly stimulates the development of the fruiting bodies of the fungus. Mycelium develops excellently without a gobtirovanie, but few fungi appear;
• regulates the percentage of carbon dioxide in the compost and maintains temperature values.

Instead of natural soil, peat can be used to cover the top layer of the boxes. The main thing is that the cover materials have neutral acidity.

Very important. The covering mixture must be sterile, otherwise the mycelium can become infected with diseases and pests. To achieve the required performance, it can be steamed, spilled with boiling water or roasted in the oven. Select the method taking into account the amount of covering material and your individual capabilities. Before use, the ground must be abundantly moistened, the humidity is at least 70%. It must be applied in a layer up to three centimeters, the surface must be leveled.

Practical advice. Keep in mind that lowering the casing layer to a thickness of 1 cm will reduce mushroom yields by 30%. At the same time, an increase in this layer to 5 centimeters has no effect on the yield. Do not skip this operation, it is of great importance.

Growing mushrooms in blocks

After 7 days, the mycelium begins to germinate in the casing layer, during this period it needs to be loosened up a little. You can find them in stores, if such a purchase option is not possible, then use the Internet services. The application rates for nutritional supplements are indicated by the manufacturer.

Harvesting champignons

Mushroom harvest

Intensive fruiting of mushrooms begins 14 days after the introduction of the casing layer, during this period the temperature must be lowered to + 15 ° C. If it is higher, then the mushrooms will be small, on a thin stem, the caps will open quickly. If the temperature is lower, then the growth of mushrooms will slow down significantly. Light mushrooms unnecessarily, on the contrary, they give better yields in complete darkness. If direct sunlight falls on the caps, then the quality of the mushrooms is significantly reduced.

Photo cultivation of champignons at home

Important.During this period, you need to carefully monitor the humidity of the air, it should be ≥ 80%. You can increase the humidity by any means, up to spraying the surfaces of the boxes.
If during the period of intensive fruiting there are drafts in the room, then the caps will dry out, and deep cracks will appear on the surface. This significantly impairs the appearance of the mushrooms.

Science claims that one kilogram of mushrooms needs ≈ 2 liters of water. Watering should be done in between fruiting waves. Watering the boxes must be very careful, moisture that gets on the caps causes stains on the caps. It is recommended to ventilate the room immediately after watering, this will help moisture to quickly evaporate from the mushroom surface.

How to grow champignons

The largest crop is harvested from the first three waves, later the ripening period increases, and the weight of the crop decreases. Three collections give more than 70% of the total. It is not recommended to keep mycelium after the sixth wave; it is economically expedient to make new plantings of mycelium. As soon as the mushrooms are removed, the surface of the earth must be thoroughly cleaned; if trimmings or overripe mushrooms remain on it, they cause an outbreak of various diseases and the appearance of pests.

After the sixth collection, giving birth, the old compost must be removed, the boxes must be disinfected. Old compost is an excellent fertilizer for all vegetable crops. Bury it in the beds.

Video - Growing champignons

Fight disease

It must be remembered that fighting diseases is much more difficult than preventing them. In addition, fungal diseases have an extremely negative effect on crop yields. In order to minimize the risk of disease, it is necessary to thoroughly disinfect the boxes for myceliums and prepare the compost correctly. Pay close attention to the cover material.

Practical advice. When the first signs of the disease are found, the container with the mushrooms must be removed; you should not risk all the crops. After removal, try to cure the mushrooms, if this is difficult for you, then throw the substrate into the beds and use it as fertilizer for other crops.

Video - Growing champignons. Business idea

Conclusion

As practice shows, only three out of ten novice mushroom growers manage to get an acceptable harvest in the first season. Keep this in mind, remember that growing mushrooms at home requires care and experience.

Video - Growing champignons at home

Growing mushrooms in a private household, in dachas and even in apartments is becoming fashionable today. Firstly, in the store, mushroom products are not sold at a low price. Secondly, the homemade mushroom, grown without the use of unknown chemicals, is environmentally friendly and safe for consumption. Thirdly, mushroom growing can be made a profitable business, or at least a good source of additional income. Fourthly, it is a very interesting and exciting hobby. Take a substrate, put mycelium in it, create conditions. And it starts to grow like mushrooms.

Growing champignons at home for beginners

Before you start growing mushrooms

You need to think well and weigh your desire and capabilities on two scales. If they are at about the same level, it is worth the risk. Information for beginners: growing mushrooms at home is a more laborious process than growing oyster mushrooms. But less long-term and more effective than growing porcini mushrooms.

It will take certain costs for the purchase of materials, arrangement of the premises, as well as patience and certain skills. Provided that you already have a suitable room and you only need to create favorable conditions in it.

Premises

It should be moderately cool, such as a cellar or basement. If neither one nor the other is not present, it is difficult to advise anything.Perhaps a garage or greenhouse will do (during the cold season). In spring and early summer, before the onset of extreme heat, mushrooms can be grown without a room at all. The main thing is that the air temperature is not higher than + 20 ° С. Indoors, in the case of year-round cultivation, the temperature should be constantly maintained in the range of + 12 ° C ... 18 ° C, and the humidity should be in the range of 65-85%.

Premises for growing mushrooms

Substrate

The most important item on the list of prerequisites for the successful cultivation of mushrooms is the substrate (or, as it is also called for its composition, compost). The following composition is generally recognized as a fruitful compost option.

1. Horse or cow dung (or pork or bird droppings, which can be taken, but not desirable).
2. Straw.
3. Urea.
4. Superphosphate.
5. Gypsum.
6. Chalk.
7. Alabaster flour.

Substrate for growing mushrooms

Table. The proportions of the components for making compost from mullein or horse manure.

Table. The proportions of the components for the composting of poultry manure.

By the way! To cover a one square meter area with mushroom compost, you need compost made from 40 kg of straw base (the rest of the components, according to proportions).

Video - How to disinfect mushroom substrate

How to prepare compost

It is better to carry out this procedure in the air or, in extreme cases, in a regularly ventilated area. During the maturation of the compost in a heap, where the straw is layered with manure and watered with water, the heat can rise to + 70˚C. There is an intensive release of carbon dioxide, water and ammonia vapors into the atmosphere. Of course, a person should not breathe this mixture for a long time.

It is good to place the compost place in the sun (the higher the temperature inside this “puff cake”, the faster and better the compost will ripen). But it is worth providing shelter from rains, since heavy rain can wash out of the compost all the useful components necessary for the growth of future mushrooms.

Compost pit for preparing the substrate

Advice! If it is not possible to protect the compost heap with a canopy from atmospheric precipitation, cover it with roofing material or a thick film before the rain. Be sure to lift the film from the sides, leaving the sides open.

The straw for the substrate must be fresh, dry, free from mold and other defects. Before starting laying, the straw is soaked in a large tank of water for a day. If there is no such reservoir, spread the straw on polyethylene and water it abundantly several times a day, preventing it from drying out.

Laying the compost heap

Straw and manure prepared in this way begin to be laid in layers.

The first layer is straw. Then - manure or droppings.

Each layer of straw is sprinkled with ammonium nitrate, urea in the proportions indicated in the table.

Each layer of straw is watered abundantly with water.

In total, there should be at least 3-4 layers of straw and, accordingly, the same amount of manure.

You need to finish the laying with straw.

Water once again to keep the moisture content of the compost heap constant.

The heap must be at least one meter high. The length and width are arbitrary.

Preparing compost for cultivation
champignons

For a week, the multi-layered structure is basking in the sun. Then comes the moment of the first shaking up. The procedure is carried out with a pitchfork. Shaking up a compost heap is not easy. But they cannot be neglected, since for the speedy composting inside it is necessary to provide oxygen access.

During the first shaking, plaster of Paris is added. It will improve the structure of the compost.

The second shaking is carried out without waiting for the next week, 3-4 days after the first. This time superphosphate and chalk are added.

Important! If the pile is slightly dry in the sun, it is watered abundantly with water. It is impossible to dry out the compost, its formation will stop.

The third and fourth shaking is carried out in four consecutive days.After three weeks, the compost heap will lose its strong ammonia smell and will turn into a pleasant chocolate color. The straw in the compost will become soft and tear with your fingers.

Ready-made compost for growing mushrooms

High-quality compost substrate, completely ready to use, does not stick to the palm, bounces in the fist when squeezed, leaves a wet but not dirty mark on the skin.

Advice! If you overmoisten the pile, and moisture literally flows out of the compost during compression, it should be decomposed to dry (but not dry, but only reduce the humidity to 60%), adding half the rate of chalk.

The finished substrate is filled in racks, boxes or other containers where mushrooms will be grown. The temperature of the substrate must be lowered before the introduction of the mycelium.

Germination composting process

Preparation of the substrate for further planting of the mycelium

If you plan to grow mushrooms in a room specially designated for this enterprise, for example, on the earthen floor of the cellar, the compost is poured directly onto the floor, in a layer of 70 cm, forming beds with an area of ​​½ m² or 75x75 cm.

1. If in the basement you have equipped racks on which future mushroom crops will grow neatly, they must be equipped with bumpers, and then you can put the compost directly on the racks, with a layer of 45 cm.
2. If cultivation is supposed to be in boxes that can be stacked in the same basement or cellar (no more than two meters stack height), because the mushrooms do not need light for development, the compost is poured into boxes. Backfill layer - 25 centimeters
3. If you grow mushrooms in an open or greenhouse ground, the compost is rammed directly onto the surface of the ground, 25-30 cm high. The beginning of the laying is early spring, when the ground thaws. Sheds are made over the open ridge to protect from precipitation and sunlight that is too intense for shade-loving champignons.
4. The compost is well compacted by hand, the surface is carefully leveled.

Racks for champignons

Mycelium

After the preparatory work, the most important moment comes - planting the mycelium. Mushroom mycelium can be planted at a soil temperature of no higher than + 28 ° C at a depth of 5 cm.Check the temperature with a thermometer. This is important because exceeding even two degrees will kill the mycelium.

The planting material for growing champignons, like other cultivated mushrooms, is a sterile mycelium, which is grown in special laboratories. Champignons for cultivation in culture are selected in two varieties:

• double-sided white;
• double-cornered brown.

Champignon mycelium

There are no significant differences in their taste and nutritional value. The only difference is in the color of the mushroom, according to the name, white or brown. Sell ​​mycelium or mycelium in bags or jars. Packing is usually 1-2 kg. The mycelium of both varieties is grown in two ways - on manure and on cereals.

The first, dung mycelium, will be needed for planting 500 g per m² of area. Grain - not less than 100 g.

Planting mycelium

The dung mycelium is a fairly monolithic lump, which, before planting, must be divided by hand into small pieces, half a matchbox in size.

1. The mycelium prepared in this way is laid out on a large tray in one layer. In the ground, a part of the upper layer is lifted with a wedge-shaped peg so that a piece of mycelium can be laid there.
2. Planting is staggered with a cell distance of 20 cm.
3. Part of the mycelium is covered with a substrate, no more than 3 cm thick.

Compost overgrown with mushroom mycelium

Grain mycelium is an ordinary grain on which the spores of the fungus are planted. It is sown in the same way as you would sow any cereal.

1. The top layer of compost, 3 cm wide, is removed from the ridge or box.
2. "Mushroom grains" are randomly scattered over the surface.
3. The compost is poured back and slightly pressed down so that there is no void between it and the grains.

Grain mushroom mycelium

By the way! Wild mushroom mycelium is also suitable for growing homemade champignons. If you find a place where mushrooms grow, take a closer look at the soil. A land riddled with a web of whitish-gray mushroom spores is a good starting point for your mushroom plantation.

Champignon plantation care

After you have landed, the room temperature is kept high. This is a prerequisite - the germination of mycelium will not begin at below + 24 ° C and above + 26 ° C. At this time, at the initial phase of mycelium growth, do not expect immediate "shoots". Champignons are not vegetables. They grow deeper into the soil, gaining ground and forming the future harvest. At low temperatures, growth is insufficient, at high temperatures - weak formation of the fruiting body.

Rules for harvesting champignons at home

The moisture content of the compost must be constantly maintained in the range of 55-60%. As soon as it dries up, the mycelium "freezes" and stops growing. The compost is moistened superficially, from the sprayer, so that the water does not flood the mycelium, otherwise it will become moldy and die

It will take 12 days to grow deep into the mycelium. After that, the temperature in the room will definitely decrease. Either the heating is turned off, or the transoms and ventilation openings are opened - all methods are good to reduce the temperature to + 18 ° С… 20 ° С.

By this time, it is necessary to prepare the soil for backfill. Up the mycelium will no longer grow on compost, but from nutrient soil of the following composition:

• sod land;
• loam;
• sandy loam;
• fine-structured peat soil.

Any of the listed structural types will work. The main thing is that the soil is not heavy. To add "airiness" and ensure the penetration of air to the spores of the fungus, the soil is sieved on a coarse sieve.

Agricultural practices and terms of their implementation when growing mushrooms

Before backfilling, the soil is moderately moistened. And cover them with a layer of compost 3-4 cm.

Further, caring for the mushrooms is simple.

Maintaining the temperature within the specified limits. - + 16 ° С ... 18 ° С, plus - minus two more permissible degrees.

Maintaining humidity in the range of 65-85% (air) and not higher than 60% - of the earth layer.

Daily intensive ventilation of the room to remove accumulated carbon dioxide.

You can collect the first homemade mushrooms from your own plantation already on the 35-40th day. One fruiting cycle lasts about two months.

Agricultural practices and terms of their implementation when growing mushrooms (continued)

Despite all the seeming difficulties and conventions, the cultivation process, starting from the moment the compost is prepared, takes no more than four months. For two months of fruiting, the crop can be harvested 6-7 times. From 5 to 10 kg of mushrooms are collected from a meter of a square ridge. The next crop ripens after 5 days.

Harvesting champignons

Important! Mushrooms must be collected at a stage when the film between the stem and the cap is not damaged and connects them tightly. Opened mushrooms with darkened (for white varieties) plates and damaged film, the remnants of which can only be seen on the stem, it is better not to eat

Champignons are not cut with a knife when they are collected. The mushrooms are twisted with a gentle movement of the hand. The holes formed after collection are sprinkled with soil and slightly moistened.

Video - Growing champignons at home (part 1)

Video - Growing champignons at home (part 2)

Video - Harvesting champignons

Champignons are quite common mushrooms. They are massively grown for use in the food industry, particularly in cooking. Entrepreneurs build their business on their breeding, which brings good income. But experienced farmers prefer home-grown mushrooms. Read about this in the article.

What is included in the soil?

Is it possible to grow champignons at home? Of course, this is within the power of a farmer or owner of a private backyard without any experience. The main thing is to stock up on knowledge in this matter and clearly follow the instructions. The most time consuming process in mushroom cultivation is soil preparation. For a mycelium area of ​​three square meters, 100 kilograms of herbal ingredients will be required, which include the following:

• Straw.
• Cereal grains, you can use rye or wheat.
• Fallen leaves of plants.
• Tops from tomatoes or potatoes.

In addition, the composition of the soil should include:

• Horse or cow manure in the amount of half a centner.
• Water - 300-400 liters.
• Urea and superphosphate in an amount of two kilograms each.
• Plaster - seven to eight, and chalk - five kilograms.

You can prepare a different formulation using poultry droppings. Other ingredients and their quantity are taken here:

• Litter and straw - centered.
• Water - 300 liters.
• Gypsum, alabaster - as in the previous composition.
• Urea is two kilograms.

Composting process

First you need to make a collar with the same dimensions (one and a half meters) in width, length and height. It is with this ratio of parameters that combustion will properly occur. The compost will mature in two to three weeks.

How to grow mushrooms at home? First, you need to plant them in soil, which is prepared as follows: all components of plant origin and straw must be soaked for a day. At the same time, they and manure should be laid in layers, and the straw should be watered abundantly. The components contained in the pile must be thoroughly mixed and moistened once a week to ensure proper combustion. At the first mixing, crushed lime is added to the compost. Second time - superphosphate. Then mixing is carried out with the addition of crushed gypsum or alabaster. Each time after mixing, the resulting stack is covered with foil.

It should be borne in mind that during the preparation of the soil, an unpleasant odor will be emitted, similar to ammonia and carbon dioxide. Therefore, it is better to do cooking on the street. But at the same time, protection from sunlight and precipitation is needed. If you organize the process indoors, it should be well ventilated.

How to grow champignon mushrooms at home? To do this, you need to take into account important points, without which this process is impossible. First of all, a stock of compost is made, since it is necessary in a large volume to grow mushrooms. During its preparation, the temperature can reach from 53 to 70 ° C. When the combustion process is over, the thermometer will drop to 21-25 ° C, and the unpleasant odor will disappear. The finished soil has an elastic structure and a brown color. It does not stick to your hands, the straw can be easily torn apart.

How to lay out the compost correctly?

When the preparation of the soil is completed, they proceed to another procedure - laying it. First you need to select containers in which the mushrooms will be grown. They can be racks, wooden boxes, plastic containers, bags. The compost mass is laid out in prepared containers in a layer, the height of which should not exceed 22 cm.

Mycelium types

The seed of mushrooms is called mycelium. It is grown at home or in laboratories. There are two types of mycelium:

• Compostable - this type of seed is stored for a long time at zero temperature, for about a year. For an area of ​​one square meter, 500 g of mycelium will be required.
• Grain - this composition is more effective than the first. Seed material of this type germinates better and gives large yields. Its consumption for the same area is less, only 330-350 g. But this mycelium has a significant drawback: a short shelf life. Only half a year its properties are preserved. Keep the seed in the refrigerator.

How to grow mushroom mycelium at home?

If the mushrooms are grown commercially, it is better to buy planting material. But some are embarrassed by the conditions in which it was grown, and therefore they do it on their own. To obtain the material, you need to sow spores or isolate it from the fruit bodies, and then place it in a specially prepared medium: wort agar. Its preparation is carried out according to the following technology:

• First you need to mix beer wort (one liter) and agar-agar (20 g) with boiling water.
• After dissolving the ingredients, the composition is poured into test tubes for a third of them. Then the containers are plugged with cotton swabs and placed in an autoclave with a temperature of 101 ° C and 1.5 atmospheres for 30 minutes.
• The test tubes are placed not straight, but obliquely, so that no more than 3.5 cm remains to the plugs. Now it remains to wait until the wort hardens.
• After that, spores or a piece of the fruiting body must be added to the test tubes, while maintaining sterility.
• Containers should be kept in a thermostat or dark room at a temperature of 24 ° C until they are overgrown. In a couple of weeks, the nutrient medium will be assimilated by the myceliums. This means that they are completely ready for landing.

Usually this composition is used by mushroom pickers to grow mycelium at home, although there are also substitutes: oat agar, carrot agar.

Correct mushroom cultivation technology

Mushrooms can be grown at home using mycelium. To do this, you need to plant it correctly, and in the room you need to correctly select the temperature and humidity mode. If these conditions are met, the first harvest can be obtained in a year.

If grain mycelium is the planting material, grooves 30 cm deep and 50-60 cm wide should be made in the soil. The distance between the pits should be 20 cm. In order for the temperature to normalize, you need to leave them for two to three days and only then lay the mycelium. A checkerboard pattern is used to locate the body of the mushroom.

If compost mycelium is used for planting champignons, the technology is different. The bottom of the small pits is covered with drainage. Compost is placed on top, in which the mycelium is placed. After that, the planting material is closed by it. Subject to all the rules, taking into account the high-quality mycelium, after seven days, you can expect the appearance of new branching threads.

After 21 days, you need to lay out moist soil on top of the beds 25-30 cm thick. If the layer is larger, the bodies of the mushrooms will be blocked, their germination will not occur soon.

In order to maintain the temperature regime in the room where the mushrooms are grown, it is necessary to temporarily install sheds or cover the ground with straw. If a white bloom appears on the compost, it means that it needs to be moistened. After watering the soil, the canopy or straw is removed.

The first harvest will not take long, only 45 days. You need to pick mushrooms as soon as they ripen, since the yield period is short, only three to four days. The next fruiting period should be expected in three to four months. The harvests of the first waves are the richest.

Champignons in bags

How to grow champignon mushrooms at home? There are many possibilities for this. Each courtyard has outbuildings and basements. They are adapted for growing mushrooms. However, you can grow mushrooms at home in plastic bags. This method has been used in many countries for a long time. It allows you to get large volumes of mushroom harvest.

Bags can be made by yourself from a transparent polymer film of various capacities. For growing at home, 25 kg are more suitable. But the main criterion for choosing bags is the convenience in performing work on growing mushrooms. And for it to be successful, you need to correctly arrange the bags in the room. This is done in a variety of ways, but the most common are the following:

• According to the principle of chess arrangement.With this method, the usable area is not used only by 10%.
• Parallel bag placement. In this case, the area loss is even greater - 20%.

This can be compensated for by deep bags, which are filled with more substrate. And the space between the unusual beds is used for air circulation. There are different options for how to grow mushrooms at home. If everything is done in compliance with the technology, you can achieve an excellent result.

Harvest in bags

The mushroom picking time is the most enjoyable time. The mushrooms ripen four months after planting the mycelium in the soil of the bag. When harvesting, you need to be very careful: you cannot cut off the mushrooms with a sharp blade or other object, they need to be twisted. After that, the mycelium is sprinkled with a nutritious substrate and watered using a spray bottle. It will bear fruit for two weeks. During this period of time, the mushrooms are harvested in two to three days. It is advisable to use fresh, not frozen mushrooms for food. Mushrooms with light plates inside the cap are useful. If the mushrooms are old, then they will have a brown color, as these mushrooms accumulate toxic substances that can be poisoned.

Benefits of growing mushrooms in bags

These mushrooms are unpretentious, they can grow in an open-air garden bed or indoors. But experienced mushroom pickers prefer to grow them in bags, since this method has a number of advantages:

• Pests and various diseases do not spread to the entire area, since if the need arises, you can always remove a specific bag from the room.
• Thanks to the mobility of the unusual bag-shaped beds, mushrooms can be grown seasonally and continuously.
• During placement, bags can be placed in several tiers on special stands. This will save space. This is especially important when growing indoors.
• The cost of polyethylene bags is lower than plastic containers. This is important when growing mushrooms in large quantities.

The disadvantage of this technology is the use of manual labor. But if the scale of cultivation is small, it is not burdensome.

Champignons in the basement

It is convenient to grow mushrooms in such a place, since there is a stable microclimate in the basement located under the ground. Here, the labor costs for creating optimal conditions for cultivating champignons are much less than, for example, in greenhouses. It is not difficult to grow mushrooms at home in the basement, the main thing is to monitor the temperature and humidity conditions. During the incubation period, the air humidity should be 75%, not lower. If the basement is dry, use a humidifier. It is important to know that spores are activated at a higher temperature - from 24 to 28 ° C, and fungi germinate when it drops to 16 ° C. The basement must meet the following requirements:

• Have concrete walls.
• Wooden flooring is strictly prohibited. The floor needs to be concreted, in extreme cases - to cement it.
• There must be ventilation in the basement.
• To prevent fungi from damaging insects that can enter the basement, the ventilation holes are closed with nets.
• Walls with ceilings should be disinfected. For this, you can use lime.
• If the basement is large, it must be divided into zones: for the incubation period and for obtaining fruit bodies.

How to properly grow mushrooms at home in the country?

Growing mushrooms in this way is much more difficult than, for example, in a basement. Here, the choice of a site for planting mycelium is of great importance. How to grow mushrooms at home? To do this, you need to find a place that is always in the shade, and the soil never dries up. A canopy is erected over the site or a darkened greenhouse is erected at this place.How mushrooms are grown at home (photos are presented in the article)? The mycelium is planted using standard technology. For champignons, an important condition for growth is the correct temperature and humidity. These indicators should be maintained, especially since the mushrooms categorically do not tolerate heat. The choice of substrate is equally important. It should contain large amounts of nutrients and small amounts of carbon dioxide. The best option is land, which must be brought from the forest in advance.

Growing champignons in an apartment

This method is suitable for those who do not have a summer cottage or vegetable garden. The main task for such cultivation of mushrooms is to create optimal conditions under which they will grow and bear fruit normally. An example of how to grow champignons at home is presented step by step below:

• The first thing to do is to isolate any room in the apartment for growing mushrooms from those rooms in which people live.
• Measure moisture. It should be high, about 90%. If its readings are lower, you need to install a humidifier.
• To maintain the optimum temperature, the room is equipped with heaters and ventilation. With their help, the temperature regime will be maintained. It should be borne in mind that mycelium germinates at 20 ° C, and fruiting bodies - at 15 ° C.
• After preparing the room, the selected containers are filled with the substrate.
• Mycelium is planted in them, covered with a film on top, which must be removed after the appearance of the fungi.
• The soil is constantly moistened, it must not be allowed to dry out.
• When the time comes, the mushrooms should be harvested.