Can mushrooms be grown at home?

There are more than enough mushroom lovers in our country! Only for a hike in the forest for a "quiet hunt" you need the accompanying weather and certain climatic conditions. Not everyone will think about growing mushrooms at home, and even almost on an industrial scale. Most consider this to be fantastic. However, everything is real. And we will tell you how to grow mushrooms in a greenhouse or at home.

What mushrooms can be grown at home

The very idea of ​​growing mushrooms at home poses a choice of a specific species. All varieties suitable for home breeding do not need special material costs or additional efforts. The only exceptions are champignons, but an experienced gardener will cope with this problem too. The choice must be made, first of all, based on the desired profit. All varieties of mushrooms suitable for growing at home can be classified into two main types:

• woody;
• soil.

The former include the well-known shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and winter mushrooms. But to the second - no less popular mushrooms and ringlets. Even with small areas, the harvest can be excellent. That is why these varieties are recommended for growing on an industrial scale.

Growing oyster mushrooms at home on the balcony

Growing technology for beginners

The bulk of the time it takes to grow mushrooms is spent creating mycelium. However, the advice of experienced mushroom growers suggests that it is better to grow this material on your own. After all, even the best and trusted suppliers fail from time to time. Mycelium can be grown in two ways:

• in the grain substrate;
• on wooden sticks.

The choice depends on what kind of mushrooms you plan to grow.

Growing mushrooms on a nutritious substrate

Breeding mycelium

The mycelium is grown in a specific substrate. It is recommended to make sure that its chemical and mineral composition is as similar as possible to that in which mushrooms grow naturally. The composition of this medium must be selected again, depending on the type of mushrooms grown.

For example, shiitake mushrooms feel more comfortable in wood, mushrooms - in compost, but oyster mushrooms prefer straw. With proper care, chopped straw and sawdust can yield any of these types of mushrooms. However, the substrate must be of high quality. This is ensured by its dryness, absence of mold, as well as unpleasant odors and foreign impurities.

Wheat straw is best suited for growing mushrooms.You can also use rye or barley. Oyster mushrooms are allowed to be propagated in sunflower husks. However, only fresh material should be used, since pathogenic bacteria can grow excellently in old ones.

The mycelium is the backbone of a large number of germinated fungal spores. As soon as this base is placed in the substrate, the process of active growth begins. Initially, only the appearance of thin filaments can be observed, which eventually turn into edible mushrooms.

Mushroom mycelium

It is worth purchasing high-quality planting material only in specialized stores. Priority should be given to wood containing viable fungal spores. They will be more resistant to disease. Not planted from grain mycelium. Ordinary mushroom spores can also be purchased. Only in this case it will take more time and effort to grow your crop. The procedure will resemble the cultivation of any crop from seed. It is better for beginners to avoid this method.

To obtain the maximum yield, it is necessary that the mycelium spreads as thoroughly as possible in the compost. To do this, you need to keep the planting warm. They can be heated using a special electric pillow. Heat is needed only during the incubation period. Once the mushrooms are in the growing phase, it is best to keep them cool. A glazed and insulated balcony is well suited for this.

When growing mushrooms in residential premises, it is necessary to avoid the phase of their ripening. Otherwise, the spores released into the air can provoke allergic reactions and even asthma.

As a rule, seedlings appear in the third week after planting the mycelium. Readiness for harvesting is determined by the hat. You need to cut off ready-made mushrooms only with a knife, so as not to injure those that are still in the soil and are just preparing to give a crop. The ready-made collection can be used both immediately and after preliminary freezing.

Sectional diagram of mushroom growth from mycelium

Other ways to grow mushrooms at home

In addition to the main ones, there are also additional ways of growing mushrooms. True, they do not bring such a large-scale result and are used mainly by children as experiments. For example, some types of mushrooms can be grown on logs. For this logs up to half a meter long are cut from hardwood. This must be done at least 2 weeks before settling with mycelium.

In the resulting workpiece, holes are made in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 10 cm. After that, the sticks with mycelium must be sealed. A hammer can be used for this procedure.

Before starting work, you must disinfect your hands and make sure that there is no debris in the holes.

The logs filled with mycelium are placed in the basement and wait until it fills the entire space. The procedure is lengthy and can take up to 1 year. Temperature and humidity are considered key conditions.

A known method of growing mushrooms on coffee grounds. It contains many trace elements:

• manganese;
• potassium;
• magnesium;
• nitrogen.

Growing mushrooms on stumps

This environment is ideal for oyster mushrooms. In addition, the coffee grounds do not need to be sterilized again. The disadvantage of this method is that it is very difficult to get a large amount of freshly drunk cake at home. We'll have to ask him at the nearest cafe. The growing container can be regular freezer bags or ice cream containers.

The mycelium must be mixed with the cake, and then the container must be tightly closed. It can be stored under the sink. Germination time will be about 1 month. Once the surface is white, cut a small hole in the top of the bag. Through it, it is necessary to spray with water 2 times a day.After a week, you can see how small mushrooms begin to grow.

Growing porcini mushrooms and other species at home for beginners is a very exciting and useful activity. The needs of your family can be fully satisfied, even without special skills and large areas. The main thing is patience and a desire to see the result. After all, you can grow them all year round!

White mushroom is deservedly and rightfully considered the standard for other mushrooms. He also looks attractive - with a fleshy brown hat on a white pot-bellied leg, and his taste is excellent. When fried, porcini mushrooms emit a special, nutty aroma. The mushroom got its name - white - because its incision does not darken during drying and cooking, while maintaining a juicy, appetizing structure. And today we will consider the cultivation of porcini mushrooms at home and not only.

White mushroom: description

Almost everywhere white mushroom is also called boletus. And also he is called a bear, a white grouse, a wood grouse. No matter how else this forest handsome man is called in numerous corners of Russia, he always looks distinctive:

1. The boletus cap is brown. It changes its bulge with the age of the fungus. From a semi-cylindrical shape in a small mushroom, it gradually makes a transition to an almost flat, about 20 cm in diameter, hat of an adult mushroom.
2. The stem is always whitish, with characteristic brownish vertical veins. Initially, it has the shape of a barrel, and as it grows, it stretches into a dense, powerful cylinder.

Now you can visually distinguish the porcini mushroom (you received the description) from other forest mushrooms.

Varieties of porcini mushrooms

The porcini mushroom has many forms, and their varieties depend on the trees under which the mushroom grows and in symbiosis with which it enters:

1. The pine shape is perhaps the most colorful of the porcini mushrooms. It has a beautiful brown hat and a slightly purple-tinged leg, slightly thickened at the bottom.
2. The spruce form is the most common in central Russia. The hat has a brownish-reddish color, with spots and a rim along the edge. The leg is barrel-shaped, covered to the middle with a fine mesh.
3. Oak form - strong porcini mushrooms with elastic brown caps with a grayish tint.
4. Dark bronze shape - the name speaks for itself. Hats are dark, wrinkled; legs are brownish.

The boletus growing in shaded areas has a lighter color of the cap. And their fellows, who grew up in the sun, have a rich brown top. The mushroom absolutely does not tolerate heavily shaded and mossy places. For example, it will not grow in a dense forest. And he will choose comfortable, slightly shaded or sunny places.

We grow mushrooms in the country

If a mushroom picker returns from the forest with a basket full of boletus mushrooms, it means that he did not go mushrooming in vain. Many people wonder if it is possible to grow mushrooms in the country in order to admire the beautiful landscape, and, of course, it is guaranteed to have a rare product on the table. Yes, growing a king of mushrooms in a garden is quite possible, although not an easy task. It is necessary to know the intricacies and peculiarities of breeding this fastidious forest sturdy fellow, but as a result of hard work, the first white mushrooms will grow near your country house.

So, growing mushrooms in the country. It will not be easy to achieve results because the porcini mushroom belongs to the mycorrhizal group, which indicates their duty and very difficult intergrowth and interlacing with the roots of the trees under which they live. This is a very complex and vital symbiosis for fungi. Without a tree, or rather its roots, the so-called fungus root cannot form and the fruit growing on the surface cannot develop. Therefore, alas, it will not work to grow porcini mushrooms in a bare area.

A long-standing and well-proven method of cultivation is in an area where trees between ten and thirty years old grow.White mushroom settles under pine, spruce, oak, birch, beech. Matching tree species when replanting mycelium is necessary. The more similar the conditions of a summer cottage plantation of boletus to their forest location, the more chances that they will successfully take root.

White mushrooms at home

If you wish, you can master the cultivation of mushrooms at home, having studied the accumulated experience of scientists from Holland. With the help of the technologies they recommend, you can start growing the product in greenhouses and dug cellars.

Breeding a plantation with an intensive method, namely, it is taken into service at home, has its own difficulties. One of them is a considerable investment, the purchase of equipment to ensure the required temperature and humidity in the room. But the advantages of this growing method are considerable - fertility throughout the season and a good ripening rate. For effective indoor breeding, it is recommended to use mycelium cultivation.

Requirements for planting material

It is advisable to purchase planting material from suppliers with recommendations, carefully study all the initial data of the mycelium indicated on the label. It is very important to pay attention to the smell and color of the mycelium. If there is a weak ammonia smell, immediately reject the batch of planting material - it was overheated and is now unviable. The color of a healthy exudate is orange with a slight yellowness.

Having brought home the packages with the purchased mycelium, you need to cool them, ventilate them and only then start preparing before laying. The contents of the bags are crushed without tearing the packaging. Thus, they maintain a gentle and adaptive temperature regime for the future mycelium. When laying, sterility is very important:

• it is necessary to work with gloves;
• premises for growing porcini mushrooms and laying mycelium should be separate;
• opening the package, it is necessary to process it with a disinfectant solution.

Mushroom growing technology

To complete the topic of the previous paragraph, let's start with the method of germinating a crop at home. So, growing mushrooms at home. Here are the main stages of indoor work:

1. Boiling in bags for 1-1.5 hours and subsequent cooling of the substrate. (Hole water drainage bags).
2. Mixing mycelium and substrate on disinfected tables. The availability of domestic material should be at the level of 5%, and imported - 2.5%.
3. Putting the mixture into bags. Tamp the grafted substrate tightly into bags, flatten one side and make several cuts for the mushrooms to germinate.
4. Place the bags vertically on the shelves. Watering is normal, without severe waterlogging. Ventilation of the room is required.
5. If the care was correct, the crop of mushrooms can be harvested for at least six months.

This is how porcini mushrooms are grown at home. Yes, quite difficult, but worth it.

Growing methods in the garden

Growing porcini mushrooms at home is strikingly different from growing in a personal plot. But first things first.

For cultivation of porcini mushrooms on the site, first prepare the place for laying the mycelium. On the top layer of soil previously removed with a shovel, compost or soil with peat is laid. Lay the planting material, cover it with a layer of turf removed earlier.

The most effective options for harvesting seed is to bring several pieces of mycelium the size of a chicken egg from the forest. Such blanks are planted in the soil without processing, it is only important to observe at least two conditions:

1. The trees under which the boletus grew in nature should be of the same species with the plants at the new planting site.
2. It is necessary to dig out the material very carefully - porcini mushrooms are hard to grow together with the roots and restore communication with the satellite tree.

Sowing forest mycelium

How to grow porcini mushrooms if there is no way to purchase high-quality planting material?

A very good effect is given by the method of sowing mycelium using the cap and the tubular part of the porcini mushroom. 5-6 mature caps are taken, it is possible even with wormholes, and soaked for a day in a bucket of water. Then the contents are kneaded with your hands. The thick is separated into another container. The thick mass is the body of the mushroom, and it comes in handy too. The bare roots of the tree are spilled with the remaining liquid with a large number of spores, then everything is covered with a layer of thick mushroom substance and sprinkled on top with the soil removed earlier. It is necessary to carefully water the planted mycelium and carry out subsequent watering once a week in the absence of rain.

Now you are familiar with the cultivation of porcini mushrooms at home, and in the garden, where, with the correct observance of all technologies, you can get a harvest of boletus the first time in a year or two. Good luck!

3 parts: Basic growing method Growing mushrooms on coffee grounds Alternative growing methods

Growing mushrooms at home is a task that anyone interested in growing food for their own consumption should tackle at least once. Mushrooms are a beneficial addition to any diet because they are low in calories and fat, but high in fiber and potassium. Plus, they're easy to grow at home. Mushrooms are best grown in an area where temperature and conditions are easy to manage. Knowing how to grow mushrooms at home will help you carefully manage your growing conditions.

Part 1 The main method of growing

1. Choose the type of mushroom to grow.

   There are 3 types of mushrooms that are easiest to grow at home: oyster mushrooms, champignons and shitaki. The cultivation method for each type of mushroom is similar, but the ideal growing medium is different.

   • Oyster mushrooms are best grown in straw. Shiitaks grow better on deciduous sawdust, and mushrooms grow on compost manure. These different nutrient media reflect the different nutritional needs of each species. However, each of the 3 species is easy enough to grow in sawdust or straw.
   • The choice of mushrooms for growing is a matter of taste. You need to grow the mushroom that you want to eat.
2. Buy mycelium.

   Myceliums are sawdust permeated with fungal mycelium - in fact, the root structure of the fungus. They are used as seedlings of plants to promote growth.

   • You can buy high quality mycelium from your online store, gardening store, or other specialty organic store.
   • Buy the mycelium, not the spores. Some stores also sell spores that look more like plant seeds (rather than seedlings). Growing mushrooms from spores takes more time and practice and is best suited to a seasoned mushroom grower.
3. Sterilize the culture medium.

   If you grow mushrooms in straw or sawdust, you must sterilize this substrate before sowing the mycelium. This is done in order to kill any microorganisms that might compete with the mycelium.

   • To sterilize the medium, place it in a heat-resistant bowl and add enough water to make the straw or sawdust damp. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat it on high power for two minutes or until the water has boiled away.
   • This kills all microorganisms, making it a safe breeding ground for mycelium to be accepted. You may have to work in batches to sterilize all straw or sawdust completely.
4. Heat the substrate to spread the mycelium in it.

   The mycelium must be thoroughly spread in a nutrient medium for the mushrooms to grow. Warm temperatures stimulate growth.

   • After choosing a substrate for your mushroom species, place a few handfuls of it in a baking sheet. A shallow baking sheet with a large surface area is ideal for growing mushrooms.
   • Stir the mycelium into the substrate with a sterilized spoon or similar. Place the baking sheet on an electric pillow set at 21 ° C.This is the ideal temperature to stimulate growth.
   • Leave the unit in a dark environment such as a closet for three weeks. This will allow the mycelium to spread in the nutrient medium.
5. Place the substrate in a suitable location.

   After three weeks, place the substrate in a dark and cool place (about 13 ° C). As a rule, a basement is suitable for this, but in winter, a closet or drawer in an unheated room will do.

   • If you notice green or brown spots on the substrate (like moldy bread), remove the spots and discard.
   • Pour a handful of soil onto the substrate and sprinkle everything with enough water to thoroughly wet. You can cover the baking sheet with a damp towel to prevent moisture loss.
   • You can place a low heat lamp next to the baking sheet. It will replace the sun, and the mushrooms will begin to reach for it and grow upward, which will further facilitate their collection.
   • Keep the mixture moist and cool while the mushrooms are growing. Check it periodically and spray with water as needed.
   • Mushrooms prefer coolness. The most important thing is not to let them overheat. At temperatures below 21 ° C, the mushrooms should grow excellently.
6. Harvest when the mushrooms are fully grown.

   After about three weeks, you will have small mushrooms. Maintain moisture, coolness, and darkening to encourage their growth.

   • When the mushroom caps are completely detached from their legs, they can be collected. You can pick mushrooms with your fingers, but you risk damaging newly developing mushrooms below the surface. Better to use a sharp knife to cut the mushrooms at the base of the stem.
   • Rinse the mushrooms before cooking. The harvested mushrooms can be stored in a paper bag in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

Part 2 Growing mushrooms on coffee grounds

1. Take out the coffee grounds.

   Growing mushrooms from coffee grounds is an interesting project that reuses coffee grounds that would otherwise go to waste. Coffee grounds are an excellent breeding ground for mushrooms (in particular oyster mushrooms), as they are already sterilized during the coffee brewing process and are full of nutrients.

   • For 500 g of mycelium, you will need 2.5 kg of fresh coffee grounds. The best way to get that much fresh coffee grounds (brewed on the same day) is in a café and kindly ask. Most likely, they will gladly give it to you.
2. 

   Find a container for mushrooms. It is best to use a special filter bag that can be purchased with the myceliums. If not, you can use a large airtight freezer bag, a cleaned milk carton, or an ice cream carton with four holes punctured in the sides.

3. Transfer the mycelium to a container. Wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap, then stir the mycelium into the coffee grounds, crushing it with your hands to distribute it evenly. Place the planted coffee grounds in a plastic bag or container and seal tightly.

4. Place the mycelium in a suitable environment.

   Place the bag or container in a warm, dark place between 18 and 25 ° C, such as under a sink. Leave it on for about three to four weeks until the contents are completely white due to the mycelium settling in the coffee grounds.

   • If green or brown spots appear on the substrate, cut them out to avoid poisoning later.

5. Move the mushrooms. When the contents of the bag or container become completely white, move it to a bright place (but not in direct sunlight) and cut a 5x5 cm hole on top.Moist the contents of the container by watering it twice a day to prevent drying out - the mushrooms will not grow too dry conditions.

6. Harvest the mushrooms.

   Over the next five to seven days, the tiny mushrooms will start to sprout. Keep hydrating them with water and they will double in size daily.When the mushroom caps begin to curl slightly upward, they can be collected.

   • When the mushrooms stop sprouting, plant coffee grounds in your garden, cover with bark mulch or compost, and new mushrooms may sprout depending on the weather.

Part 3 Alternative cultivation methods

1. Grow mushrooms from the kit.

   Growing mushrooms from a ready-made kit is a fun and easy way for beginners. Such kits usually consist of plastic bags filled with sterilized and seeded straw or soil. All you need to do is store the bag in the right conditions for seven to ten days until you have your homegrown mushrooms.

   • The sets usually contain the most common varieties of mushrooms such as champignons, shiitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms.
   • To start growing, simply open the bag and place it in a well-lit area out of direct sunlight, such as a shaded window sill. The kit can be kept at room temperature, but it needs to be moistened daily with water to maintain a high humidity. Some kits have plastic tarps to cover the bag and keep the humidity level.
   • Mushrooms will begin to germinate after seven to ten days, but within three months they may suddenly start growing two or three more times.
   • After you have collected all the mushrooms, you can bury the substrate with mycelium in the garden, sprinkle with bark mulch, or in a compost heap. Then, depending on the weather conditions, the mushrooms will start growing in this place.
2. Grow mushrooms on a log.

   Another interesting way to grow certain types of mushrooms - such as reishi, ram mushroom, shiitake, oyster mushrooms - on a log. Birch plugs, completely sown with mycelium, are stuck into a piece of log. Stoppers can be obtained online and from specialized mushroom spore suppliers.

   • The first thing to do is find a suitable log for growing mushrooms. You will need non-scented deciduous logs such as maple, poplar, oak, or elm. They should be 90-120 cm long and no more than 35 cm in diameter. Cut them out at least two weeks before clogging in order to destroy the natural antifungal properties of the tree.
   • To "populate" a piece of log 90-120 centimeters long, you will need about 50 plugs. Use a 5/16 ″ drill to insert the plugs. Make holes 5 cm deep throughout the log in a staggered manner. The distance between them should be about 10 cm. Insert birch plugs into the holes and hammer them in to seal them completely.
   • If you plan to leave the log outdoors, you will need to seal the holes with cheese wax or beeswax to protect the plugs from insects and harsh weather. If you will be storing the log at home, in a garage or basement, this is not necessary.
   • Over time, the mushroom mycelium will spread on the birch plugs throughout the log until the entire piece of wood is inhabited. After complete settlement, the mushrooms will begin to sprout from the cracks in the log. This usually takes 9-12 months, but depending on the temperature and humidity, the mushrooms should appear again from year to year.

Tips

• For more information on growing mushrooms at home and outdoors, read this article.

What do you need

• Mycelium
• Straw, sawdust or manure
• Baking tray
• Heating pad
• Potting soil
• Sprinkler
• Water
• Towel

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Mushrooms are very useful for humans. Due to their composition, they are widely used in cooking and medicine. Mushrooms are rich in minerals and amino acids, have a unique composition of proteins and carbohydrates.In terms of the amount of protein, they surpass meat, and in terms of the content of nutrients for the human body, they surpass some fruits and vegetables.

Can mushrooms be grown at home? Is it dangerous?

Therefore, it is natural that many are wondering about growing mushrooms at home. And due to the fact that lately everyone is only talking about the deterioration of the environment, the adverse impact on the environment and as a result of the increased incidence of forest mushroom poisoning, this direction has become widespread. At the same time, growing mushrooms is not only getting a free full-fledged food product, but also a good additional income for a family.

But many novice mushroom growers are concerned about whether it is dangerous to grow mushrooms at home. As you know, mushrooms, or rather their spores, can provoke allergic reactions, so people who are prone to respiratory diseases and allergy sufferers should not grow mushrooms. Even completely healthy people need to be extremely careful when growing mushrooms at home.

How mushrooms are grown

Safety rules for growing mushrooms at home

• not to grow mushrooms in residential premises;
• is in a room with myceliums for no more than 2 - 2.5 hours;
• prevent mushrooms from overripening, harvest in a timely manner in order to prevent the fungus from entering the reproduction phase and throwing spores into the air, thereby causing allergic reactions;
• while staying indoors, use a gauze bandage, and preferably a respirator;
• observe the rules of personal hygiene, timely ventilate and, especially, humidify the air in the room where mushrooms are grown;

If there are no chronic allergic diseases, then observing these rules, you can safely grow mushrooms at home.

Growing mushrooms in bags

What mushrooms can be grown at home

The most convenient for growing at home are:

1. oyster mushroom
2. champignon
3. ring
4. shiitake
5. honey mushroom.

These mushrooms are cultivated on pre-prepared substrates, using crop waste (cereal straw, husk, husk, etc.), various organic and mineral additives.

Growing oyster mushrooms in the basement

The technology of growing mushrooms at home and what is needed for this

There are two ways to grow mushrooms at home: extensive and intensive.

Extensive way of growing mushrooms

This is the cultivation of mushrooms as close to natural conditions as possible, in the open air, in the garden, in the front garden, in the summer cottage. For this, stumps, wood waste, bales of straw, plastic bags filled with plant waste, boxes and much more are used.

The advantages of this method of growing mushrooms are:

• no special premises, equipment is required;
• small financial investments;
• simplicity and ease of accessibility of the method;

Well, and of the disadvantages - the growth of mycelium and the harvest depends on climatic conditions, usually in one season.

Intensive way of growing mushrooms

In terms of yield, an intensive method of growing mushrooms is more profitable, as it allows you to pick mushrooms throughout the year, and not just in one season. True, this will require additional investments. After all, it will be necessary to provide an appropriate climatic regime - lighting, ventilation, temperature and humidity.

Straw of wheat, oats, rye, barley, millet, various organic fertilizers, and lime material are used for the substrate.

The maturation time of the mushrooms with the intensive growing method is significantly reduced and is only eight to ten weeks. This allows harvesting four times a year.

Growing mushrooms at home in winter on a windowsill

In winter, when snowstorms are sweeping outside, sometimes you want fresh mushroom soup! Many amateur mushroom pickers have adapted to growing mushrooms in the winter in an apartment. To do this, use window sills, balconies. Mushrooms are grown in jars, containers, plastic bags and even in flowerpots.

But here it must be borne in mind that growing mushrooms requires a special microclimate - relatively high humidity, temperatures up to 20 degrees, and during the period of intensive mushroom growth, no higher than 10-15 degrees.

Do not forget that mushrooms are allergens, their spores can cause coughing, fever, irritation of human mucous membranes.

Therefore, the best option for growing mushrooms at home are non-residential premises, greenhouses, cellars.

Business for growing mushrooms at home for sale

Growing mushrooms at home can become not only a hobby, but also one of the options for running a family business.

This type of business is characterized by:

• quite high profitability - 40% and more;
• small initial investment;
• lack of great competition;
• demand for products;
• the ability to harvest all year round, thereby having a constant
• source of income;

Of course, in order to get a good profit, it is necessary to study the technology of mushroom production, select the necessary premises, equipment, and provide proper care for mycelium and mushrooms.

An important condition for running a successful business is the study of market trends, the establishment of sales channels for products.