We grow a porcini mushroom at home

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.You need 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.

The cultivation of 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!

Porcini mushrooms are prized for their unique aroma and flavor properties. This is one of the most popular types of boletus among gourmets around the globe. They contain a huge amount of nutrients, fiber and plant proteins. The only drawback is the seasonality of this species, because you can see them on sale only in warm autumn, in the midst of the mushroom season. Of course, it is very pleasant to go in search of mushrooms in the forest or buy them from experienced mushroom pickers, but it is even more pleasant when they grow in your country house.

This article will show you how in a parallel universe you can grow porcini mushrooms at home on a personal plot, but in practice this idea will end an absolute failure. Let's try to figure out why.

Features and methods of growing porcini mushrooms

To grow a porcini mushroom at home, you will have to sweat pretty much and uselessly. The thing is that this variety is in close symbiosis with its habitat, namely trees (spruce, oak, pine, birch). They do not grow under leaves, but in places with a moss cover.

Boletus is very demanding on the climate, and their largest harvest can be observed after a foggy night, with high humidity. The place for growing porcini mushrooms should be well lit and warm. However, to recreate similar climatic conditions for home cultivation impossible!

Do not pay attention to found articles and videos on the Internet, this is all sheer deception, just read the comments!

Requirements for the premises and conditions for growing porcini mushrooms at home: the necessary equipment

As a rule, in various articles they write that it is possible to grow porcini mushrooms in personal plots, recreating their natural environment, or in greenhouses (specially equipped rooms). A regular greenhouse that is empty after the last harvest is also fine.

Many desperate advisers suggest growing porcini mushrooms even at home on the windowsill.

However, you should not consider the option of growing porcini mushrooms at home on the windowsills or on the balcony - this is the same waste of time. home conditions are absolutely not suitable for this lesson.

In some articles, you can read that an isolated basement room would be an ideal option for intensive cultivation of porcini mushrooms, as it retains temperature and humidity well. But this is not enough! To grow mushrooms at home, you will need special equipment, which includes:

1. Heating system with temperature controller. The optimum temperature for growing porcini mushrooms is 15 ° - 18 ° C. To maintain the required temperature level, a heating system is needed.
2. Air conditioning system. Any varieties of mushrooms, including white ones, grow exclusively in the fresh air. Indoors, at high temperatures and high humidity, the air becomes stale and saturated with carbon dioxide, which significantly slows down their development. The room must be systematically ventilated. For this, special hoods are installed that remove dirty air and supply fresh air.
3. Fluorescent lamps. Porcini mushrooms are very light-requiring, as in nature they grow in open areas. That is why their myceliums have to be highlighted. It is best to use special lamps with diffused lighting for greenhouses. These can be purchased at any major garden center.
4. Shelving. To optimize the space in the room, special racks are installed on which containers with the substrate are placed. This allows you to more efficiently fill the area and significantly increase the number of landing sites. Naturally, you can do without shelving by placing containers on the floor, but with this method, the containers will fit much less. As containers for growing, you can use plastic pots, plastic bottles with a volume of 6 liters, felt bags.

Before proceeding with the planting of the mycelium, it is necessary to disinfect the premises. The floor and shelves are treated with a 0.4% sulfate solution, and the walls and ceiling are covered with a mixture of lime and copper sulfate. Additionally, the room is treated with a smoke bomb.

Note! Do not believe these tips, no equipment will help you grow porcini mushrooms at home. Another thing is oyster mushrooms or champignons!

How to grow porcini mushrooms at home: growing technology

Cellar equipment for a mushroom greenhouse shouldn't hit the budget. All materials are readily available and easily replaceable. It is important to do everything right so that the invested funds do not go to waste, but pay off and bring income. For this, it is necessary to strictly follow the technology of growing porcini mushrooms.

Note! There is no technology for growing porcini mushrooms at home! All that is further written is the invention of storytellers!

Substrate preparation

As mentioned earlier, the difficulty of growing porcini mushrooms is to recreate the conditions of their natural habitat, namely in fertile soil. In specialized stores, ready-made soil for growing mushrooms is sold, but no manufacturer will give you a guarantee of the quality of such a substrate. You can prepare a fertile, natural and high-quality mixture yourself, and most importantly, it will be completely free. To do this, it is necessary to collect dry field grass, dry leaves of trees (birch, oak, acorn), small twigs with needles of coniferous plants. It is recommended to add some dried moss to the substrate. All components must be dry, as they must be crushed in a special garden harvester. White mushroom grows in sandy loam and loamy soils. Add a little sifted sand and dry clay to the already crushed mixture in a ratio of 4: 1. The substrate for growing porcini mushrooms should be infused before planting for about two weeks in a dry and warm place.

Selection and purchase of mycelium

For ready-made substrates, purchased mycelium of various varieties is used. Plant it according to the manufacturer's instructions.If you prepared the soil yourself, then the planting material should be prepared accordingly. Already formed white mushrooms are suitable as seedlings, you can even use a spoiled mushroom, the main thing is that the cap remains intact. Next, you need to separate the caps and twist them into a meat grinder, or cut them very finely with a knife. The crushed caps are placed for 4 hours in a weak solution of manganese (1 gram per 10 liters) and sugar (10 cubes). This way you get a nutrient mixture that contains mushroom spores.

Landing

The ready-made substrate must be distributed among the planting containers. The substrate is poured into an even layer of 30 - 35 centimeters, lightly pressing the top layer to create a smoother relief. Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the container, which will give an air gap, and the fertile soil will breathe, because this is very important for mushrooms. Further, the planting material is evenly distributed over the surface, which must again be covered with a substrate (about 3 - 4 cm from above), without pressing down. At the time of planting, the room temperature should be 27 ° and remain at this level until the first shoots.

Further care

After planting, the first shoots appear already on the 7-9th day. It is very important to maintain the correct climatic conditions, temperature, humidity and lighting. The entire period from planting to germination, the temperature is maintained at the same level. It is necessary to regularly moisten the soil and indoor air. To do this, you can use ordinary sprayers and spray the soil with them. It is recommended to place containers with water near heating appliances or hang wet towels, sheets, rags. Thus, you will achieve the optimum air humidity. It is necessary to ventilate the room twice a day so that there is a good flow of oxygen. Porcini mushrooms are photophilous, so they will have to be illuminated with fluorescent lamps (5-6 hours a day). After germination, the room temperature should be lowered by 10 °, to about 16 ° - 17 °. After the first harvest, myceliums will come out and will be above the level of fertile soil. To avoid drying out, the mycelium should be sprinkled with the substrate that remains. For larger offspring, a fifth of ammonium nitrate is added to the substrate. The soil is evenly scattered, covering the legs of the mushrooms.

Harvesting

Already 22 - 25 days after planting, the first crop can be removed. The fruiting period of porcini mushrooms is 40 - 45 days with a frequency of 10 - 12 days. Mushrooms are recommended not to be cut with a knife, as many prefer, but to twist gently so as not to damage the mycelium. The hole that remains after the removal of the mushroom must be sprinkled, a new one will grow in that place. Subject to all the rules of cultivation, about 20 - 25 kg can be harvested from one m²!

You will get such a harvest of porcini mushrooms only if you go around the whole forest yourself!

Important! Do not believe such videos, but rather just read the comments below it.

Video: how to grow a lot of porcini mushrooms on your site

Having decided to start greenhouse cultivation of porcini mushrooms at home, you need to be prepared for various consequences and results, namely failure... White mushrooms do not grow in artificially created environment, unlike the same oyster mushroom or champignons. That is why we strongly advise you to start growing the latter.

White mushroom or boletus is rightfully considered the king of mushrooms. Those who like to feast on the juicy pulp of this forest dweller sometimes travel long distances to collect full baskets of boletus and then prepare delicious and aromatic dishes and preparations from them. But some gardeners prefer to grow this delicacy on their backyards. It's a troublesome business, but will this stop real experimenters and lovers of porcini mushrooms?

Growing porcini mushrooms at home

Description of porcini mushroom

The porcini mushroom belongs to the Boletaceae family and is a tubular mushroom. It is quite large in size: its thickened at the base, a dense leg, resembling a barrel, can stretch up to 25 cm in height and 10 cm thick, while its average size is up to 12 cm.Its color ranges from white to red-brown with white streaked.

1. The diameter of the convex cap is also amazing, sometimes reaching 50 cm (the average size is from 7 to 30 cm). The skin is smooth, less often wrinkled, during rains - smooth and slimy, during drought - matte. The color of the cap ranges from creamy white to brown, and the older the mushroom, the darker the shade of the cap.

   White mushroom with a brown cap

2. Juicy and fleshy pulp after cutting does not change color, remaining white-yellow. Although sometimes there are individuals in which the color of the pulp can change to a pink-blue hue.
3. White mushroom is superior in taste to other mushrooms and is rightfully considered one of the best. The pulp contains a huge amount of nutrients and beneficial trace elements.
4. The porcini mushroom is used for cooking fresh, pickled or dried dishes. At the same time, during cooking or drying, the pulp of the mushroom emits a pleasant mushroom aroma. In some countries, boletus is eaten without heat treatment, and sauces are also prepared from it.

Description of porcini mushroom

Unfortunately, these mushrooms are practically not grown on an industrial scale due to their unprofitability. Boletus lovers have to either travel through the forests or grow this delicacy on their own.

The habitat of porcini mushrooms is a coniferous and deciduous forest.

Conditions and place for growing

To grow boletus mushrooms on your own personal plot, you will have to work hard and create conditions close to natural nature.

Symbiosis	In the forest, the porcini mushroom is in close symbiosis with the trees that surround it. Most often it is spruce, oak, pine, birch
Age of trees	Most often, porcini mushrooms grow in the forest where the trees are more than 50 years old, although they can also be found in pine forests 20-25 years old.
Neighborhood with other mushrooms	Scientists have found that the porcini mushroom most often appears in the neighborhood of other representatives of this kingdom: green tea, chanterelle, green russula
Soil cover	Boletus respects the forest in which the soil cover is represented by mosses and lichens
Air temperature	The most comfortable air temperature for porcini mushrooms ranges from 15-18 degrees in August and 8-10 in September. Sudden temperature fluctuations are undesirable
Humidity	The largest boletus harvests are observed after short thunderstorms or foggy nights.
The soil	Ideal soil for porcini mushrooms - loam, sandy loam or sand with good drainage
Light	Boletus loves light, but sometimes (depending on other conditions) it can abundantly spread in shaded forest thickets.

Based on all this, those areas where there are adult coniferous or deciduous trees are best suited for growing porcini mushrooms. Oak, birch, pine groves are suitable for organizing plantations. The place should be well lit, sufficiently humid, but not waterlogged. Before planting mushrooms, it is worth removing nearby herbs such as ferns and hoofs.

Best suited for growing porcini mushrooms are those areas where there are adult coniferous or deciduous trees.

If the planting material was made by the gardener on his own, then it is important to choose the soil for planting the mushrooms near the tree from which the adult boletus parent came from.

Sowing mushrooms should be at the end of the summer season or in early autumn to mid-September.

Seed preparation

If you decide to grow porcini mushrooms from material collected in forests, that is, from porcini mushrooms that grow in their natural environment, then it is important to choose mature mature mushrooms for the preparation of planting material.

1. Collect mother mushrooms that grow under the same trees as in your area.
2. Choose those mushrooms where the spores in the caps are already ripe (about 10 caps measuring 10-20 cm). You can take wormy or dried hats.

   Found a wormy porcini mushroom? Do not rush to throw it out, it is better to make a suspension for planting out of it.

3. Prepare a weak solution of potassium permanganate at the rate of 1 g per bucket of rainwater.
4. Add 15 sugar lumps to it for a nutrient solution.
5. Mash the selected mushroom caps thoroughly until a smooth porridge.
6. Place the resulting material in the solution and leave for several hours.
7. Strain the resulting mixture - this way we get a suspension that contains the spores of the porcini mushroom.

Preparation of planting material

We will tell you about the methods of planting with the help of a suspension just below.

In the case of using such seed, you can harvest the next crop no earlier than in a year, or even later.

Natural planting material can be made in another way. To do this, you should find an adult porcini mushroom in the forest and carefully cut off a layer of soil about 15 * 25 cm in size around it. The layer is divided into 8-20 small fragments and is laid in the soil in the garden bed.

Carefully cut off a layer of soil about 15 * 25 cm in size near the mushroom and get planting material

You can also grow porcini mushrooms at home from powdered mycelium, which is sold in stores.

Dry mycelium of porcini mushroom

Porcini mycelium

1. Choose a slightly shaded area under the trees and remove the top of the soil (30 cm) over an area of ​​about 3 square meters.
2. At the bottom of the pit, tree bark and fallen leaves are lined with a layer of about 10 cm.
3. It is also necessary to add humus or soil from under the trees.
4. Take powdered mycelium (20 g) and mix it with sand (1 L).
5. Sprinkle the mixture on the garden bed and cover with compost (layer about 3 cm).
6. The final stage is to cover it all with ordinary earth (a layer of about 4 cm).
7. Immediately after sowing, the bed is carefully watered, best of all with a drip method.

Such a bed will yield faster harvest and will delight you with porcini mushrooms for up to 5 years.

Sowing methods of mushrooms

Powdered mycelium purchased in a store is rarely used by mushroom growers as a planting material. Most often, they still prepare natural planting material, which they use in several ways.

Growing porcini mushrooms under birches

Method number 1. At a distance of about a meter from the selected tree on the site, carefully so as not to damage the root system of the plant, remove 15 cm of the top layer of soil. It is good if it turns out that the roots are slightly exposed. At the rate of 350 gr per ¼ sq.m. the roots are watered with the prepared suspension and then sprinkled on top with the previously removed soil. Now you need to moisten the garden bed - under each tree, carefully, so as not to wash off the future mycelium, pour up to 5 buckets of water.

For good mushroom growth, the soil must be moistened as it dries.

Please note: if the soil in the place chosen for planting is almost always wet by itself, then watering is carried out only during sowing. Additionally, the plantation is moistened only in case of severe drought.

Method number 2. To implement this method, a month before planting the mushrooms, it is necessary to prepare a special nutrient mixture. These are fallen oak leaves collected after winter, rotted oak wood (5%) and horse manure (5%). The components are laid out in layers (foliage alternates with manure and wood) and on top of the resulting heap is watered with ammonium nitrate (1%). After 7-10 days, this mass must be dug up to get a homogeneous substrate.

Ammonium nitrate for soil preparation for growing porcini mushrooms

Then we begin to prepare directly the ridge itself. A hole up to 30 cm deep and about 2 m wide is dug under the trees, where the resulting nutrient mixture is laid out in layers up to 12 cm. Each layer must be covered with a 10 cm layer of soil.In this case, the total height of the ridge will turn out to be about 50 cm. To avoid waterlogging, create a small elevation in the middle of the plantation.

On the surface of the prepared substrate, shallow pits are made in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of no more than 30 cm from each other, into which fragments of soil from under the porcini mushroom are either laid, or watered with a suspension and ground with a layer of up to 7 cm.

After sowing, the ridge is moistened and covered with fallen foliage.

Method number 3. The garden bed is prepared in the same way as in method # 2. Small dried pieces of the tubular part of the mushroom are placed in the substrate, opening a few centimeters. After 3-4 days, they are taken out, and the soil is slightly moistened. In this case, the harvest will appear next year.

The harvest of porcini mushrooms

Growing in a greenhouse

Porcini mushrooms can be grown in a greenhouse in any of the ways. To make the boletus feel comfortable in it, you should first prepare the room.

1. Use a material that does not allow light to shade a small area of ​​the greenhouse and place several containers of water there to create the necessary level of humidity.
2. Barrels can also be replaced with sawdust, which is periodically sprayed with water. This material retains moisture very well.
3. Do not forget about ventilation: the greenhouse is either ventilated or a fresh air supply system is provided in it.

Tips for growing mushrooms in a greenhouse

The mushroom beds in the greenhouse are prepared in the same way as in other methods. It is best to add a little forest soil to the garden soil.

Fertilizers and care

The porcini mushroom is a capricious comrade. Fruiting does not begin immediately, but, at best, after a year and requires special attention. You should not give up, even if all the waiting times have already passed: continue to maintain the necessary conditions in the beds - it is quite possible that the mushrooms will begin to bear fruit 2-3 years after planting.

Watering the garden is best done with a spray bottle. Pay special attention to this procedure during a drought or trying to grow boletus in arid regions. On average, the frequency of watering is once every 7 days with 5-6 buckets of water.

On average, the frequency of watering porcini mushrooms is once every 7 days with 5-6 buckets of water

If the bed is located under a tree, then water is poured onto the trunk of the plant.

Fertilizing a porcini mushroom plantation is very good with coffee grounds. It accelerates their growth and protects them from midges, mold and diseases. To prepare top dressing, the grounds are mixed with natural ground coffee and a mineral complex is added. Fertilizer is applied at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. per square meter of the ridge.

Fertilize porcini mushroom plantation very well with coffee grounds

If the soil on the site dries out very quickly, then a little hydrogel is added to the soil in the garden bed with mushrooms.

Video - Growing porcini mushrooms

Thanks to its rich taste and delicate aroma, the porcini mushroom is considered the most valuable trophy from the "quiet hunt". However, not all gourmets like to wander through the forests in search of prey, but this delicacy is not cheap. However, there is a way out! Let's find out how to grow porcini mushrooms on your own plot.

How to prepare seed yourself

To grow mushrooms at home, you need to stock up on seed. To cook it yourself, you need to find overripe boletus in the forest (dried and wormy ones will do).

To obtain seed, you need about 10 caps. At home, separate them from the stalks and prepare a container of water. Alcohol (3 tablespoons per 10 liters), potassium permanganate (1 g per bucket) and granulated sugar (50 g) can be added to the water. Knead the caps in your hands and add them to the water to make a homogeneous mass. It should be infused for about 10 hours. Then strain it. Spores of fungi are contained in water, cake is not needed. Use the caps collected in the forest within a few hours, otherwise they will deteriorate. You cannot freeze them.

To grow boletus at home, you can use the mycelium brought from the forest: having found an adult mushroom in the forest, cut off a layer of earth around it about 25x25 cm. At home, you can completely lay the mycelium in the prepared soil, or divide it into 8–20 pieces.

Buying ready-made mycelium

Growing porcini mushrooms at home is possible with the help of a purchased mycelium. The mycelium of the porcini mushroom can be either dry or already germinated, placed in a substrate. If you intend to purchase it online, choose a trusted and reliable supplier. When buying directly, pay attention: the sprouted mycelium of porcini mushrooms should be red in color with small yellow blotches. The presence of black and green areas, as well as a strong smell of ammonia, indicate that the product is spoiled.

In open areas, planting the mycelium of porcini mushrooms should be carried out under a forest tree. The first harvest can be expected next year. Fruiting from the mycelium lasts on average 3-4 years, but if useful microorganisms (for example, "Baikal EM-1") are added to the water for irrigation, this period can be increased to seven years and, moreover, the yield can be increased.

Selection and preparation of the substrate

To grow mushrooms in the garden, you can use a purchased substrate or cook it yourself. To do this, you need to mix straw, sawdust of deciduous trees, sunflower husks. Other sources recommend alternating layers: one from a mixture of dead leaves with sawdust, the second from the same mixture with the addition of soil. It is important that none of the components contain rot and mold. Before planting mushrooms, the substrate must be properly moistened, and it is recommended to use boiling water or steam - this will kill harmful bacteria at the same time.

Growing features

First, decide where you will grow your crop: in a basement, a greenhouse or on a plot. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

First, consider how to grow a porcini mushroom on the site.

The cultivation of porcini mushrooms in a personal plot assumes the presence of coniferous or deciduous forest trees there. Fruit ones will not work - you need to grow porcini mushrooms in the country away from any cultivated plants, be it trees, shrubs or vegetables.

Remove the top layer of earth (about 15 cm) around the selected tree. It is desirable that the roots are exposed at the same time, but in no case should they be damaged. If using a spore infusion, pour it on the ground (approximately 350 ml per 25 cm2). Then cover again with earth and water abundantly - either along the trunk or with shallow irrigation. In this way, you can plant a porcini mushroom in the country in August-September.

To plant mycelium, make a 1.5 sq. m in diameter and 30 cm deep. Place the substrate in it, alternating it with the ground in 10 cm layers. The height of such a bed should be 20 cm above ground level. Plant the mycelium in the substrate in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 30 cm between the bags. Carefully water the garden bed, cover it with a layer of fallen leaves.

Planting mycelium can be carried out from May to September.

Caring for planted mushrooms consists mainly of abundant watering. For the winter, it is recommended to cover them with a thick layer of foliage, spruce branches or straw.

When growing mushrooms indoors, it must first be sterilized with a 1% chlorine solution, otherwise pests may start, including various types of mold and parasitic insects.

Growing mushrooms in a greenhouse or in a basement implies creating a warm and humid microclimate, since it will not work to grow many porcini mushrooms in dry air. In order for the greenhouse atmosphere to meet these requirements, it is recommended to install several barrels of water or wet sawdust there.

The substrate for the premises is the same as for open areas. In the basement, bags with small incisions are filled with them. Sowing is recommended with mycelium.The bags should be placed no closer than 5 cm from each other.

During the incubation period (until the caps appear), the temperature should be maintained at + 23–25 ° C; a temperature of +30 ° C will destroy most of the myceliums of the grown crop.

Lighting is not required at this time. In the greenhouse, it is advisable to muffle it as much as possible, in the basement it is simply not to turn it on. Airing is not necessary, but the humidity should not be more than 90%, so that mold does not start. Also, for its prevention, disinfection is periodically done with a chlorine solution.

Growing mushrooms need different care: when the caps appear, the temperature is lowered to +10 ° C. Now the greenhouse or cellar should be well ventilated - oxygen is necessary for the normal development of boletus. Lighting is required for 5-6 hours a day. To grow porcini mushrooms in a greenhouse, it must be muted, without direct sunlight. It is advisable to spray mushrooms from a spray bottle 2 times a day: this will make their structure denser. The first crop can usually be taken in 20-25 days.

Moldy bags must be removed from the premises immediately. Mushrooms cannot be grown on them, but they can become a good fertilizer.

Please note: boletus can hardly take root without trees, and the first attempts to grow in the basement may be unsuccessful. But if you intend to start breeding porcini mushrooms in this way, choose the Dutch mycelium: in Holland, a boletus variety was bred, which grows most easily "in captivity".

But having mastered all the subtleties, indoors you can get a harvest of mushrooms all year round or even start growing porcini mushrooms on an industrial scale: since growing boletus is more difficult than champignon or oyster mushroom, it is much more appreciated.

Mushroom picker tips

Finally - small secrets of mushroom growing.

When self-collecting the seed, the boletus that grew near the type of tree that is on your site will take root better. When physically transferring mycelium, their appearance must necessarily match.

It is recommended to disinfect the substrate or soil with a solution of tannins 2-3 hours before planting. It can be made from cheap black tea: 50-100 g is poured into 1 liter of boiling water and brewed until it cools completely. Another option is oak bark. It will need 30 g per 1 liter of water. The bark should be boiled for an hour, adding water to the original volume as it boils. Each "mushroom" tree needs 2-3 liters of one of these solutions.

Video "Self-cultivation of porcini mushrooms"

From this video you will learn how to grow porcini mushrooms on your site.