How to grow champignon mushrooms at home?

The main difficulty in cultivating champignons is the need to strictly observe all the required conditions. These mushrooms need a substrate with high nutritional properties, are vulnerable to infections, and are picky about humidity and temperature. The classic technology for growing mushrooms at home may be too difficult for beginners, but the market offers many opportunities to simplify this procedure - a ready-made substrate, special containers with an established microclimate. But this mushroom has a high yield and is a valuable food product.

Room preparation

Having decided to start cultivating champignons, a novice mushroom grower must imagine the whole process from start to finish, determine, assessing his capabilities, a suitable option with the placement of mycelium and preparation of the substrate and draw up a program of action. Planning is the first place to start, since growing mushrooms from scratch will require a lot of preparatory work.

Champignons can be grown both outdoors and indoors. The second method is more reliable, since it allows you to control the climatic conditions to which these mushrooms are quite demanding. In this case, a basement or cellar is ideal.

Room requirements:

• purity
• high humidity
• good ventilation
• the ability to adjust the temperature

On a note!

Champignons can grow in complete darkness. There will be enough lighting that will allow a person to carry out work on caring for the mycelium.

Champignons are very vulnerable to infections and attacks of parasites, therefore, cleaning, treating walls with anti-mold solutions, measures to prevent or destroy insect pests are mandatory points for preparing a cellar or basement before each growing cycle. The floor and walls of the room must be concrete. It is desirable to whitewash the walls and ceiling with lime.

These mushrooms love dampness, and during the incubation period they will need especially high humidity. In view of this, it is preferable to grow them underground. The most effective solution would be to install equipment for regulating the microclimate, but you can also increase the humidity using handicraft methods - installing tanks with water, regularly spraying surfaces from a spray bottle.

But ventilation will have to be organized in any case - conventional exhaust pipes will not be enough. Compost, which is used as a substrate for mushroom cultivation, emits carbon dioxide intensively.It has a bad effect on the "well-being" of mushrooms and is dangerous to humans. At the same time, mushrooms do not tolerate drafts.

The temperature required by mushrooms is not the same at different stages of their life cycle, so it must be possible to adjust this indicator.

See also: "How to grow oyster mushrooms at home from scratch: the easiest way".

A remedy from which plants grow by leaps and bounds! Just water your plants with it ...

Mycelium equipment

There are several approaches to organizing mycelium.

1. Cultivation in briquettes is the easiest way to grow mushrooms at home. It is only necessary to purchase a container with a ready-made substrate and place the mycelium in it. One such briquette can be harvested 4 times, after which it becomes unusable. A significant disadvantage is the inability to independently control the quality of the substrate.
2. Growing "in the garden" is a cheap and simple method, requiring only a room with suitable conditions. The floor in such a room is covered with plastic wrap, on which the substrate is spread in an even layer. The disadvantage of this approach is the high risk of infections due to the inability to carry out regular processing of the room. In addition, due to the location of crops at the same level, the infection will quickly spread throughout the mycelium.
3. Growing in bags is a very convenient way. The substrate is tamped tightly into strong plastic bags, after which it is poured with water. The mixture should be moisturized as much as possible. Several holes are cut in the bag, in place of which the mycelium is introduced into the substrate. Stir the bags at a distance from each other so that the mushrooms have room to grow. It is especially convenient to place bags on racks.
4. Cultivating on shelves - saves space. The substrate is placed in boxes, which, after laying the mycelium, are placed on racks. The method is considered expensive due to the need to install a drip irrigation system. Irrigation with top-mounted sprayers is undesirable as it promotes the spread of infections from the top boxes to the bottom boxes.
5. Growing in containers is a simple but expensive method. The usual substrate is placed in specially equipped containers equipped with ventilation and humidity systems. The method is suitable if there is no suitable room - in such a box you can grow mushrooms at home on the balcony.

Substrate preparation

A properly prepared substrate for growing mushrooms provides half the success of the business. As for the substrate, champignons are very demanding mushrooms. An ideal mixture should have an acidity of 7.3-7.5 pH, contain 2% nitrogen, 4% calcium, 1.5% each potassium and phosphorus, not more than 0.1% ammonia, and also include a large proportion of polysaccharides and proteins (it is due to them that the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms are formed).

Time and place

The procedure for preparing the substrate takes 22-24 days, therefore, first of all, you need to provide a suitable space for this.

The substrate should not be allowed to come into contact with the soil (this will help to avoid contamination with spores of other fungi and prevent the loss of nutrients), dry out in the sun or watered with rain. Based on this, it is best to lay the substrate on a concrete or asphalt site, protected by a canopy. If there are no such conditions, you can lay polyethylene on the ground, having previously tamped the soil. Polyethylene can also be used to cover the pile, but only from the top, without fixing the edges on the side, so as not to impede the flow of air into the mixture.

Important!

The working area should be larger than the planned heap so that there is room for the work to "interrupt" the compost.

The fermentation processes that will take place during the "maturation" of the substrate require a temperature of at least 10 ° C during the day.Therefore, in the middle lane before April, you should not start this procedure, in the southern regions it can be carried out as early as March. When laying the substrate, it is important that the required temperature is maintained only for the first time. Subsequently, under the influence of the vital activity of microorganisms, the temperature in the compost heap can reach 70 ° C. At this stage, lowering the air temperature will no longer have an effect.

Substrate volume

To activate the fermentation processes, a certain amount of material is required. The compost heap must be at least 1.8 meters wide, and its total weight must be at least 2.5 thousand kilograms. Based on this, its length and height are calculated, depending on the shape of the site. For example, if the heap is two and a half meters long, then its height should also be 1.8 meters.

On a note. Not every mushroom grower needs such a volume of substrate - the remainder can be used to fertilize the garden. The substrate already used for growing mushrooms is also suitable for this purpose.

See also: "What fertilizers to apply in the fall under fruit trees and shrubs."

Required Ingredients

The basis of the substrate for growing mushrooms is a mixture of manure and straw in a mass ratio of 2: 1 or 1: 1. For a more intensive growth of mushrooms, components are added to the base that enrich it with nitrogen and carbohydrates.

• Manure. Horse manure is considered the most suitable for growing mushrooms, especially "straw manure", which is obtained if the animal ate not fresh herbs, but hay. It is allowed to replace horse manure with cow manure, but this impairs the nutritional properties of the substrate. As a last resort, you can use bird droppings as a basis, but this will not affect the yield of mushrooms in the best way. Whereas adding dry chicken manure to horse manure will be beneficial. In this case, the weight of the droppings should be 1/3 of the weight of the straw.

Interesting!

Horse manure contains about a quarter of the organic matter that mushrooms need to grow. The high content of nitrogen, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, as well as rare elements - manganese, copper, cobalt, molybdenum makes it an ideal substrate for mushroom cultivation.

• Straw. Wheat or rye is best and can be replaced or supplemented with corn cobs or cane stalks. Other available plant components can be added to the straw - sawdust, leaves, vegetable tops.
• Supplements. It will be useful for champignons to add bone, soy, pea flour, winter wheat grains, oil cake to the substrate.

You will also need water and stucco or alabaster.

Composting technology

The straw must be prepared in advance. To do this, having folded it in a heap, it is periodically watered with water, preventing it from drying out for three to five days. Water should be abundant, the total amount of water used should be 400 liters per 100 kg of straw.

Before proceeding with the laying, all components should be divided into 5-6 equal parts. This will distribute the layers of each component evenly in the compost heap.

Step-by-step instructions for composting:

1. The first is a layer of straw 30-35 centimeters high. The straw must be wet.
2. On it is a layer of horse manure (about 15-20 cm).
3. If it is decided to supplement the composition of the compost with chicken droppings, it is poured (it must be dry and crushed) on top of the manure layer.
4. After that, the pile is watered and compacted.
5. The next layer of straw is laid on top - and the whole sequence of actions is repeated anew.

It is optimal if the heap contains 5-6 layers of manure and straw.

Maturation of compost

The first days after placing the compost, it must be watered twice a day. The volume of water should be such that after watering the heap does not flow, but it should not be allowed to dry out.

On the sixth day, the compost needs to be "killed", that is, mix the mass with a pitchfork, placing the surface layers deep into the heap.Shake each portion thoroughly. During the cutting, plaster or alabaster is added, scattering it in thin layers. Dry areas must be moistened.

The second change is made on the eleventh day, and the third on the sixteenth. This time, you don't need to add gypsum or alabaster, just moisten the substance with water. In the intervals between interruptions, the compost heap continues to be watered twice a day.

The fourth cut is made on the twentieth day. This time, the compost is stirred, but not watered. After three days, the substrate will be ready for planting.

Important!

In horse manure, fermentation processes proceed as quickly as possible, but if poultry manure is used, it will take more time for the substrate to mature. In this case, the first time you need to interrupt the compost on the seventh day, the second - on the fourteenth, on the third - on the twentieth, and on the fourth - on the twenty-fifth. After that, the mixture is kept for another two days.

Signs of a finished substrate:

• dark brown
• uniformity of color
• uniformity
• fibrous structure
• looseness
• humidity - 66-69%

To check the degree of moisture, you need to squeeze a portion of the substrate in your hand. It is optimal if the mixture is wet, but does not stick together into a lump and water does not flow from it when squeezed. If there is an excess of moisture, the heap of compost needs to be dried a little, spread in a thinner layer, and interrupted again.

Planting and caring for mushrooms

The most labor-intensive are preparatory work, caring for the mycelium will require much less effort - the technology of growing champignons is very simple.

Sowing

For sowing, either grain spores or compost mushroom mycelium are used. One square meter of mycelium will require 400 grams of spores or 500 grams of compost mycelium.

Attention!

The shelf life of champignon grain spores is six months at a temperature of 0 to 4 ° C. Compost mycelium - a year at zero temperature. At room temperatures (about 18-20 ° C), it should be stored no longer than 20 days.

The substrate temperature when planting should be around 25 ° C. It is covered with a layer of about 30-40 centimeters. Spores can simply be scattered over the surface of the substrate. In this case, the sowing is covered with another layer of substrate. The thickness of this layer should be 4 centimeters.

The compost mycelium must be immersed in the substrate to a depth of 5 centimeters. For this, the indentations should be at a distance of 20 centimeters from each other, it is optimal to arrange them in a checkerboard pattern. A small portion of mycelium (about a handful) is placed in each.

Incubation

At the first stage of growing mycelium, it is necessary to ensure the substrate temperature within 21-27 degrees and the air humidity 80-95%. It is important not to allow the substrate to dry out. To preserve moisture, the surface of the mycelium is covered with paper or cloth. Watering is carried out through this cover by spraying.

After 10-12 days, the substrate should be sprinkled with a layer of soil about 3 cm thick. Usually, the casing layer is prepared from soil, peat and chalk, mixed in a 4: 5: 1 ratio. Over the next 5 days, you should maintain the same conditions and continue to moisturize the mycelium by spraying.

Forcing mushrooms

5 days after filling with soil, you need to establish a stable air temperature of 12-17 ° C. The active growth of the fruiting bodies of mushrooms begins. The room at this time should be well ventilated, but drafts should not be allowed. Watering is done in the same way.

The final maturation of the mushrooms will occur in 2-2.5 months. One mycelium can give up to 7 harvests, which in total will give 10-11 kg from 1 m2 of mycelium. If the substrate is prepared with high quality, this figure can go up to 15 kg. At the same time, two-thirds of the total harvest will fall on the first three ripening waves. The periods between harvest waves will be about a week.

Important!

Compost mycelium - gives a lower yield compared to grain mycelium (spores) of mushrooms.

Mushroom picking

Collect champignons before they start to overripe. Darkened mushrooms with brown plates and a flabby cap are no longer edible. The mushroom must still be in the film that connects the cap and leg. The most appropriate time is when the film is already stretched, but not yet torn.

The mushrooms need to be twisted out of the substrate, and the places where they grew should be sprinkled with the same soil mixture that was used to cover the mycelium during the incubation stage. After that, these places need to be watered moderately.

Mushroom harvesting, Video

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 plant 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, and the straw can be easily torn apart.

How to properly lay out the compost?

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 tubes are not placed 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

Champignons 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 underground. 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 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.

Champignons today have become the kind of mushroom that is available for growing at home. The period between planting the mycelium in the substrate and obtaining the first fruits is minimal. No special conditions are required for mushroom cultivation. It is enough just to provide a cool room with high air humidity. A basement or cellar is fine.

Champignons can be grown both for personal use and for sale. But it is important to know that the substrate for their growth when wet exudes a rather strong odor. It is not advisable to keep it in a residential area.

Where and on what do mushrooms grow?

The very first and most important step in the successful cultivation of mushrooms is the correct preparation of the substrate. It must be prepared with high quality in compliance with all stages.

The mushroom substrate consists of:

• 25% compost (wheat and rye straw)
• 75% horse manure

There is experience in growing champignons based on chicken manure or cow dung, but you should not expect a high yield in this case.

The substrate is prepared in an open space on the street or in a well-ventilated room, since ammonia, carbon dioxide and moisture will be released during its fermentation. Additional additives per 100 kg of substrate are:

• 2 kg of urea
• 2 kg superphosphate
• 5 kg of chalk
• 8 kg of plaster

As a result, we get almost 300 kg of the finished substrate.With such a mass, you can fill a mycelium with an area of ​​3 square meters. m.

If a decision is made to prepare compost based on chicken manure, then the proportions will be as follows:

• 100 kg of straw
• 100 kg of litter
• 300 l of water
• Gypsum
• Alabaster

The procedure for preparing the substrate is as follows.

1. Straw is soaked in a large, spacious container.
2. The straw is laid in alternating layers with manure. There should be 3 layers of straw and 3 layers of manure.
3. Straw in the process of laying in layers is moistened with water. Three layers of straw (100 kg) will take about 300 liters.
4. During the laying of the layers, urea (2 kg) and superphosphate (0.5 kg) are gradually added in small portions.
5. Mix thoroughly.
6. Add chalk and the remainder of superphosphate, gypsum.

The resulting substrate is left to undergo the decay process. In this case, the temperature in the mixture will rise to 70 degrees. After 21 days, the compost will be completely ready for further use.

Planting material

When purchasing planting material, you should not save. Therefore, they acquire only the highest quality mycelium (mycelium). It must be grown under special laboratory conditions. Today mycelium producers present two types of planting material:

• Compost mycelium
• Grain mycelium

Grain mycelium is produced in plastic bags. Store it for about 6 months at a temperature of 0 to 4 degrees. Grain mycelium is used at the rate of 0.4 kg per 100 kg of substrate (mycelium area is 1 sq. M).

Compost mycelium is sold in glass containers. Its shelf life depends on the temperature. At zero degrees, it can last for about a year, but if the temperature is at 20 degrees, then the mycelium must be used within 3 weeks. Compost mycelium is used at the rate of 0.5 kg per 1 square meter of substrate. Its yield is much lower than that of grain.

A properly prepared substrate will surely spring when pressed. Before placing mycelium into it, it must undergo a pasteurization (heat treatment) process. After heating, the substrate cools down to 25 degrees. A mycelium of 1 square meter is laid with about 100 kg of substrate with a layer of about 30 cm.

Planting mycelium and caring for mycelium

They take a piece of mycelium the size of a chicken egg and put it into the substrate about 5 cm. Each portion of mycelium is placed at a distance of 20 cm from each other. A staggered arrangement is used for landing.

Another method involves uniform distribution (dusting) of the entire surface of the substrate with mycelium. You also need to deepen by no more than 5 cm.

Further actions are to provide the necessary conditions for the engraftment and germination of the mycelium. Air humidity should be kept at around 90%. The substrate should also be kept moist at all times. To prevent it from drying out, the myceliums can be covered with sheets of paper. Watering the substrate is carried out through the paper. An important condition for mycelium engraftment is a constantly maintained substrate temperature at a level of 22 to 27 degrees. Any temperature deviations from the norm must be adjusted immediately.

The germination time of the mycelium is approximately 7 to 14 days. After this period, the substrate needs to be sprinkled with a casing layer of soil about 3 cm. It is prepared independently from one part of sand and nine parts of peat. About 50 kg of casing layer will be consumed per square meter of mycelium.

The covering layer is kept on the substrate for three days, then the air temperature in the basement or cellar is reduced to 15-17 degrees. The cover soil is moistened with a spray bottle, and the room is constantly ventilated. Drafts are not allowed.

Harvesting

The process of self-cultivation of champignons in a cellar or basement is not too complicated and time-consuming. The period from planting to harvesting the first crop is 120 days.Only those mushrooms in which the plates under the cap are not yet visible are suitable for eating. Those mushrooms that are large are overripe, and dark brown plastics are forbidden to be used for food. They can cause poisoning.

The mushroom must not be cut, but carefully plucked with a twisting motion. The resulting depression is sprinkled with a covering substrate and moistened.

The mycelium will bear fruit for about 2 weeks. The number of crops harvested during this period is 7. Up to 14 kg of crop is harvested from one square of the area.

Growing mushrooms in bags

For growing champignons in large volumes for sale through retail chains I use polymer bags. This method has received its recognition in many countries. With its help, a large harvest is obtained.

1. For the manufacture of the bag, a polymer film is used. The capacity of each bag varies from 25 to 35 kg.
2. The bags should be of just such a volume so that it is convenient to work with them. In addition, the correct arrangement of the bags affects the number of mushrooms grown. They are usually staggered or parallel.
3. So when installing bags with a diameter of about 0.4 m in a staggered arrangement, only 10% of the usable area will be lost, while their arbitrary installation gives losses of up to 20%.
4. The height and width of the bags may vary. You need to proceed from their conditions and convenience of work, as well as the physical capabilities of the basement (cellar).

The method of growing mushrooms in bags is less costly, since they do not require specially mounted shelves or containers to place them. If it becomes necessary to use the area of ​​the room as efficiently as possible, then a multi-tiered system can be created for the location of the bags. The advantage of this method also lies in the speed of dealing with emerging diseases or pests. The infected bag can be easily removed from healthy neighbors and destroyed, while if the mycelium is infected, it will have to remove its entire area entirely.

It is important to remember that growing mushrooms is a rather laborious process. If champignons are grown for sale, then it is impossible to do without the use of agricultural equipment to facilitate the work of the workers.

Experienced mushroom pickers can list a large number of methods they have tested for growing mushrooms on their own in a basement (cellar). Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main thing is adherence to the cultivation technology, strict adherence to all instructions and requirements. The result is the achievement of the desired result and obtaining a rich harvest of mushrooms.

How to grow champignons at home (at home)

Champignons are considered the most common types of mushrooms, so there is no need to advertise them further. The product is widely used in cooking, on its basis first and second courses, canned snacks, salads are prepared. Due to their high protein content, mushrooms are an excellent source of protein. Experienced gardeners prefer to grow mushrooms on their own, but the procedure has a number of features. To fully comply with the technology, you must adhere to the step-by-step instructions.

What determines the yield

1. The main factor affecting the yield is the implementation of the correct microclimate, in which the ears will begin to bear fruit. Also of great importance is timely watering, proper compost (correctly selected soil composition), resistance to external factors, diseases, pests.
2. If you create optimal conditions, you can easily grow mushrooms all year round. First you need to choose a room that has a temperature regime of 14-24 degrees. It is not necessary to take the starting place, the main thing is the ability to maintain the temperature (the presence of a heater or, on the contrary, a split system).In this case, the air humidity should not exceed 90% (the ideal option is considered to be 80-85% humidity).
3. An equally important factor in ensuring the proper yield is the circulation of the air flow. Make sure that the selected area is thoroughly ventilated, it is important to provide a supply of fresh air. Otherwise, the excess carbon dioxide released during the cultivation of mushrooms will result in a disproportionate stem (it will stretch unevenly).
4. A positive feature of growing mushrooms at home is the complete lack of lighting. It does not matter, so the procedure can be carried out in a cellar, basement or in a covered shed, where the sun's rays do not penetrate. If you wish, you can use the darkened free corners located in the garage or greenhouse. As mentioned earlier, the main thing is to provide humidity and the required temperature in the absence of light.
5. Since mushrooms are grown in a humid environment, it is important to immediately prepare for the possible spread of bacteria. Treat the selected room in advance with a composition of copper sulfate and lime, as well as formalin. Disinfection will kill existing microorganisms, so the likelihood of spreading diseases will decrease to a minimum.
6. If you plan to grow champignons in the summer or autumn, consider the option of carrying out the procedure at your summer cottage. Pick up a dark place on the backyard field, select a separate bed, and cover the soil. Cover the mycelium with roofing material (can be replaced with polyethylene) to exclude the possibility of drying out or, on the contrary, excessive moisture. Such a simple move will provide the proper microclimate.

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Stage 1. Making compost for mushrooms

1. Compost refers to the special soil that must be prepared in order to obtain a full-fledged harvest of mushrooms. It is worth remembering that the soil is filled with organic compounds that play a major role in the cultivation of mushrooms, so you cannot save on fertilizer.
2. Composting is rightfully considered the most time-consuming process, the final result depends on it. Mushrooms, in particular champignons, are highly dependent on the composition of the soil, for this reason, proportions must be observed. Correctly compiled soil consists of one part of moistened straw and 4 parts of horse manure (the proportion of straw to manure is 1: 4).
3. Spread the compost in layers, alternating between the two. For maximum effect, line small amounts of urea or superphosphate between the rows. Champignons will grow faster if you use horse manure specifically. However, in its absence, it is allowed to alternate straw with chicken droppings or processed waste products of other animals.
4. The lined compost for mushroom ripening should receive air from all sides, for this reason it is not recommended to lay it on the ground. Make sure that the ground is covered with a canopy, do not allow direct ultraviolet radiation or heavy rainfall. Of course, the compost must be moist, but excess water will interfere with fermentation.
5. In order to get high quality compost at the output, prepare a heap for maturation. Its dimensions are approximately equal to 1.5 m. In width, 1.5 m. In length and 1.5 m. In height. It is this ratio that will ensure proper combustion. Do not compost in small quantities, as you need large amounts to complete fermentation.
6. If we talk about the place where the compost is made, try to carry out manipulations outdoors. As a result of the fermentation of the substrate, ammonia and carbon dioxide are released. Provide good air flow and ventilation when composting indoors.
7. The maturation of the compost varies from 18 to 20 days.Stir and moisten the contents of the pile every 5-6 days to ensure proper combustion. During the first mixing process, add crushed lime to the compost. During the second procedure - superphosphate, then crushed gypsum or alabaster is poured.
8. Compost is prepared by fermentation, so its temperature values ​​sometimes reach 53-70 degrees. At the end of the combustion process, the indicator drops to a level of 21-25 degrees. The readiness of the compost can be judged by the smell, the ammonia stench disappears. The finished soil has a brownish tint, an elastic structure (when squeezed, it returns to its original position). The composition should not stick to the hands, while the straw breaks easily and has a soft structure.

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Stage 2. Composting and caring for mycelium

1. Once the compost has been prepared, you can start laying it. Select containers for growing mushrooms, spread the mass so that its height does not exceed 22 cm. Wooden boxes, bags, racks or plastic containers can be used as containers.
2. If we talk about seed, it is called mycelium. The composition is grown in a laboratory way, so it will not work to produce it yourself. You have to buy the product. The mycelium can be compost and grain.
3. The first type has a long shelf life (about 10-12 months at a temperature of 0 degrees). You will need about 500 gr. compost mycelium per 1 sq. m. soil. The grain composition is more efficient and yields better. For 1 sq. m. of soil must be added 330-350 gr. mycelium. At the same time, the product retains its properties for six months, you can keep it in the refrigerator.
4. To sow, put the required amount of mycelium in the compost (lift it up with a layer), deepen the seed by 5 cm. The location of the holes is a checkerboard, each depression should be made at a distance of 25-30 cm from each other.
5. If all the conditions are met (the temperature of the compost is about 20 degrees, the air humidity is about 80%), the mycelium will develop in 15-20 days. During the ascent of the sowing composition, it is necessary to constantly moisten the soil and monitor the temperature regime of the substrate (the indicator should not rise above 40 degrees). Otherwise, the mycelium will die. To maintain moisture, cover with burlap or plastic.
6. If you grow mushrooms in your summer cottage, there is no possibility to regulate temperature and humidity. When the indicators decrease, cover the beds tightly with roofing material or film.

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Stage 3. Ripening of the crop

1. As mentioned earlier, mycelium grows in about 3 weeks. You will find out about the completion of the process by the appearance of a spider web with a silvery tint, it will come out to the surface of the soil. At this point, it is necessary to reduce the temperature to 13-16 degrees and sprinkle the cobweb 5 cm of the casing layer. The mixture consists of lime powder and peat, it causes an alkaline reaction.
2. To ensure productive ripening of the crop, throughout the entire process, maintain the temperature within the range of 13-16 degrees, the humidity should be about 85%, and do not forget about good ventilation. Soil irrigation is carried out by drip using scattering devices that ensure uniform spraying. Such a move will not compact the substrate, but it will fully moisturize it.
3. If champignons grow in a summer cottage, protect the soil from direct ultraviolet radiation, and also avoid waterlogging. The sun will dry out the compost or get very hot. At the same time, heavy rains will compress the soil, as a result of which there will be a large load on the mycelium (its development will slow down or stop altogether).

Stage 4. Harvesting

1. The first crop of mushrooms can be harvested after 3-4 weeks. The peel will tell you about the readiness of the composition, it will begin to burst in the lower section of the mushroom cap. Champignons have a tendency to ripen in stages, the first harvest is the largest, then the wave subsides.
2. To collect mushrooms, twist them counterclockwise, then carefully remove from the soil. Sprinkle the resulting hole with moist soil after removing the fungus. Rotate gently, otherwise you will damage the mycelium layer and young mushroom cobs.
3. Collect all specimens, even those that are sick or small in size. Such a move will save the subsequent harvest from pests, as a result of which the fruit bodies will begin to develop many times faster.
4. Throughout the entire fruiting stage, spray the room with potassium permanganate, diluted until a raspberry hue appears. You can also use lime at your convenience. Such a move will prevent pathogens from developing in humid conditions.
5. In terms of quantity, from 1 sq. m. you will collect about 6-13 kg. champignons. For 2-3 months, the mycelium will bear fruit about 7 times, after which the yield will drop sharply. It is forbidden to reuse the compost, it can be used to fertilize the vegetable garden and orchard.

Prepare compost for growing mushrooms, purchase mycelium. Maintain the required temperature and moisture content of the soil, harvest in stages. Do not use the used composition a second time. After harvesting, disinfect the mushroom containers and the room in which they were grown.

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Video: growing mushrooms at home