Grow oyster mushrooms at home in winter

Table of contents:

• Basement preparation
• Single-zone or multi-zone growing technology?
• Preparation for sowing mycelium
• Preparing and sowing mycelium
• Growing and picking mushrooms
• Common mistakes when growing mycelium
• Common mistakes when growing mushrooms

Many people find it nearly impossible to cultivate mushrooms at home. But this point of view is incorrect, because growing oyster mushrooms in the basement does not require a serious investment of time or effort. And you can get a lot of advantages from such an unusual hobby.

Oyster mushroom is unpretentious, always gives a good harvest.

1. This mushroom is not whimsical at all. The temperature in the room where it will grow must be maintained in the range from + 9 ° С to + 30 ° С with air humidity in the range of 80-85%.
2. Oyster mushroom is a very high-yielding crop. You can place 330-500 mushroom blocks per 100 m2. And from one block, 2.5-3 kg of mushrooms are harvested up to 10 times a year.
3. These mushrooms do not require significant and labor-intensive maintenance. And one person may well look after the mycelium.

If you decide to grow mushrooms in the basement of your own home, you can not only provide your own family with this useful product, but also build your own, albeit not too large, but profitable business.

Basement preparation

Any basement with the necessary microclimate is suitable for growing oyster mushrooms. It must be remembered that the strains of this fungus, which are now common on the Russian market, do not bear fruit at temperatures above + 25 ° C. Therefore, you do not need to build a special greenhouse.

The following conditions must be met in the basement:

• the air temperature must be maintained in the range from 15 ° С to 20 ° С;
• air humidity not lower than 80% and not higher than 95%;
• good ventilation and proper lighting must be established.

All these conditions are easy to provide in an ordinary home basement.

For normal oyster mushroom growth, the basement temperature should be within 15-17 degrees and 80% humidity.

For the normal growth and development of fungi, the balance of humidity and air temperature is very important. Remember that under the same indoor conditions the level of moisture saturation in the air is higher, the lower the temperature. For example, at + 20 ° C, the humidity is 90%. If the temperature drops to + 19 ° C, then the humidity rises to 100%. And when the air warms up to 21 ° C, the humidity level drops to 82%. Therefore, for effective cultivation, compliance with certain standards is required.

Such conditions require special thermal and waterproofing of the basement. But this does not require re-equipping it. It is enough to use a suitable covering material. Experts recommend spreading straw or wrapping paper on the floor, covering the concrete with a thin layer of soil or sand. It is only necessary to change the damp material in time.

Fungi require a low level of carbon dioxide in the air for normal growth. Centrifugal fans will help to provide optimal conditions for growing oyster mushrooms.

The mushroom plantation requires neither windows nor natural light. It is necessary to equip the basement with fluorescent lights (so-called fluorescent lamps).

Naturally, it is necessary to be especially careful when choosing materials for equipment. Wood and metal mushroom growing shelves are cheap but short-lived. They quickly rot, rust and mold. And parasites can also start in the tree. Therefore, it is worth giving preference to plastic and concrete.

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Single-zone or multi-zone growing technology?

Mushrooms do not need light to grow.

For effective mushroom cultivation, you may need one or several rooms at once. It depends on which growing technology is used in a particular case.

If, after inoculation, that is, the introduction of microorganisms into the nutrient medium (inoculation), the blocks with fungi are constantly in the same room, then the development of the mycelium (mycelium) and fruiting occurs side by side. This is called single zone growing technology. With multi-zone technology, the germination of mycelium in the substrate occurs in one compartment of the room, and the mushrooms bear fruit in another.

Both cultivation methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Single-zone technology allows you to save usable basement area (no additional room for mushroom blocks is required). But then there is a need for additional equipment to change the temperature, degree of illumination, air humidity and the level of carbon dioxide in it.

Technological scheme for growing oyster mushrooms (single-zone technology).

With a multi-zone solution, it is necessary to equip several rooms. But the conditions in them will be constant. In this case, you will need one germination area and one fruiting area.

For the normal development of the mycelium, a higher temperature is required than for fruiting. But the light and additional ventilation are not needed for the mycelium.

It should be borne in mind that during the growth of the mycelium of oyster mushroom, a significant amount of heat is released. And if you correctly arrange the blocks, then you can save a lot on heating, when additional heating is needed only in the first few days of germination. The optimal arrangement of blocks is considered to be one in which up to 200 kg of substrate is placed on each 1 m2 of floor.

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Preparation for sowing mycelium

The mycelium can be planted in 2 ways: in ordinary building plastic bags or on artificial stumps located in specially prepared shelves.

To prepare the stumps, you will need any kind of hardwood logs. Low-grade wood is also suitable. Usually they take logs up to 1.5 meters long and 10-15 cm in diameter.Before sowing mycelium, cuts are made in the stumps at a distance of 30 cm from each other and about 5 cm deep.

Scheme of the Dutch mycelium.

The frame of the shelf for growing is mounted from scraps of metal pipes, corners or wooden beams. The structure consists of 4 vertical posts and 3-4 shelves, on which artificial stumps are placed. The length of the side of the frame should be approximately equal to the length of the harvested logs, that is, 150x150 cm. The shelves are at a distance of 30 cm from each other. The lower shelf rises above the floor to the same height

But the easiest way is to use construction bags 35x75 cm or 35x90 cm in size. They do not need additional processing, you can place them in the basement as it is convenient for you.

Before sowing mycelium, the bags are filled with a pre-prepared substrate. Fresh sawdust (necessarily deciduous trees) or sunflower husks are used for it. The substrate must necessarily meet the following requirements:

• there should be a smell of fresh wood or sunflower;
• the color of sawdust can be from white to deep yellow;
• the moisture content of the mixture should not exceed 30%.

To fill 1 bag measuring 35x75 cm, you will need 2.5 buckets of dry filler.

Oyster mushroom scheme.

Before filling the growing bags, the substrate must be pasteurized, that is, treated with specially designed organic additives. But you can do without expensive funds. To do this, you need slaked lime. It must be taken in a ratio of 1% to the total mass of the substrate in the bag. Lime is mixed with the filler, then soaked in a suitable container (without removing the filler from the bag), pouring hot water for 2.5-3 hours so that it completely covers the substrate.

The bags are removed from the water, suspended, allowing the water to drain. The finished filler should be slightly damp, crumble easily and not stick to your hands.

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Preparing and sowing mycelium

The mycelium is bought as needed, because its shelf life is only 5 days at temperatures from + 15 ° C to + 25 ° C. To form one block of oyster mushrooms, 200-285 g of mycelium are required (depending on the type of strain).

Before sowing, mycelium can be fertilized with special organic additives that will help increase yields by up to 30% and shorten the growing period. Add them strictly following the manufacturer's instructions. But usually the powders are added at the stage of processing the filler for the bags, and the solutions - just before the inoculation of the mycelium.

The mycelium is an underground organ. Its popular name is "mycelium".

Before sowing, be sure to wash your hands and disinfect gloves. Remember that growing mushrooms requires strict hygiene practices.

If the mycelium was stored in the refrigerator, then it must be removed from there 3.5 hours before sowing. The temperature of the mycelium should be approximately equal to room temperature.

The mycelium is added to the prepared substrate in a ratio of 2.25% per block, that is, approximately 190 g per 9 kg of filler. The substrate with the mycelium is compacted tightly so that there are no voids. The bag is tied tightly and left in a clean and warm room for 27 hours.

Mycelium grows at temperatures from + 16 ° C to + 22 ° C.

Mycelium grows at an air temperature of + 16 ° C to + 22 ° C. About 1.5 days after sowing, characteristic whitish spots appear under the surface of the bag. For the normal development of oyster mushroom mycelium, the block temperature should not exceed + 29 ° С (optimally - + 25 ° С). If the temperature rises higher, then the room needs to be cooled.

After 5-8 days, the substrate turns brown, and after 10-12 days, the block turns completely white. Mushrooms germinate on days 14-16.

Oyster mushrooms are bred not only by sowing mycelium, but also using caps of old mushrooms. But this method is unreliable, and it will take you at least 1 year for a new crop to appear.

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Growing and picking mushrooms

When good growth of the mycelium is visible to the naked eye, cuts are made in a crosswise manner in the bag (the length of the cuts is approximately 2.5 cm). One mushroom block requires approximately 11 holes. For this period, the mushroom blocks are best placed about 10-30 cm above floor level. This will prevent the accumulating carbon dioxide and pests from reaching the oyster mushroom.

When fungi form, abundant watering is necessary. It is best done with a spray bottle. To supply water inside the bag, you can punch additional holes in the block or pour through the already made slots for the growth of oyster mushrooms.

The main feature of a ripe mushroom is the formed hymenial plate.

The best way to humidify the air for effective oyster mushroom growing is to use a high pressure diffuser at the beginning of the basement duct. In winter, if possible, apply steam. You can also increase the humidity inside the room by watering the floor, but this method should not be abused.

The main feature of a ripe fungus is a formed and elastic hymenial plate (inner side of the cap). In this case, the edge of the oyster mushroom must still be bent down. When the edges are straightened, spores are released and the mushroom loses weight. Therefore, it is worth harvesting a little ahead of time.

When picking mushrooms, you need to pull them out of the substrate, not cut them off. Slices of the legs are an ideal place for the development of green mold (trichoderma).

Up to 4 shoots can be grown on one block. Typically 2 shoots are the largest. But after the 4th harvest, the substrate should be completely changed, even if the mushrooms continue to grow. Along with the fungi, pathogens also multiply, which are capable of infecting the entire basement.

All work must be carried out with goggles, a mask and gloves. Taking these precautions will help protect not only your oyster mushrooms, but your health as well.

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Common mistakes when growing mycelium

If you do not maintain the desired temperature in the basement, mold will appear on the oyster mushroom.

If, when growing mushrooms, you observe a weak mycelium puffing, and the ripening time has increased significantly, then the most likely reason for this lies in the non-observance of the optimal temperature regime necessary for the correct formation of the mycelium. In order to fix the problem, you will need to adjust the temperature in your basement.

Sometimes weak fluff is accompanied by the appearance of dark or green spots on the surface of the block. The reason for this is the dirt introduced during the preparation of the substrate or during inoculation. Remember that growing mushrooms requires strict hygiene standards.

Mold can also cause these stains. In any case, you shouldn't risk your entire harvest. Isolate the affected unit from the rest and thoroughly sanitize the basement. It is possible that mold and mildew will not have a significant effect on the crop. But it's not worth the risk.

Mold can be the cause of the appearance of numerous colonies of fluffy mycelium both in open areas of the substrate and on the fruit bodies themselves. In this case, the affected oyster mushrooms turn yellow, lose their elasticity and become watery. Such lesions are caused by the fungus Artrobotrys pleuroti. In this case, the mushroom block must be completely destroyed along with the harvest, and the basement must be carefully treated with disinfectants.

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Common mistakes when growing mushrooms

If there is insufficient ventilation in the room, the oyster mushrooms will dry out.

On already ripe or young mushrooms, a characteristic bloom may appear, resembling a grayish muslin. Such a defeat is also called a spider web. The fungus softens, and the decay of the carpophorus (fruit body) is accelerated several times. Mold is also to blame for this problem. Be sure to isolate the affected blocks, remove and destroy the infested areas along with the crop (it is wiser to destroy the entire block). Try changing the water you use for irrigation. Perhaps the pathogens were in it. Treat the room with a solution of baking soda and salt. The crop must be harvested in a timely manner and without residue. Fully sanitize your basement. After collecting the surviving mushrooms, completely replace the substrate with fresh and sow new mycelium.

If you notice that excess water accumulates under the polyethylene of the mushroom block and an unpleasant putrefactive smell appears, then you have overmoistened the substrate, and the block has swamped. This may be due to improper watering when using a watering can rather than a spray bottle. Or the drain holes in the bag are not large enough. Increase the number of holes to remove excess moisture. You can make 2-3 additional cuts at the bottom of the block 3-5 cm long. Be sure to try to increase the ventilation of the entire room.

Oyster mushrooms are perennial mushrooms, if you create constant optimal care for them, they will give a good harvest every year.

With insufficient ventilation, violation of the temperature and humidity of the air, oyster mushrooms can be delayed in development, and some of them will dry out. This can be avoided by adjusting the microclimate in the basement, maintaining the optimum temperature and humidity, and adjusting the ventilation. Almost all newbies face this problem. After all, each room has its own unique characteristics. It is possible to find the optimal conditions only by experience.

Due to non-observance of the technological rules of cultivation, the appearance of the oyster mushroom may also change: the leg becomes disproportionate in length, the cap, on the contrary, is formed small and bends in the form of a funnel, the entire body of the mushroom is bent. Most often, this is caused by an excess of carbon dioxide in the air, low humidity in the room or a lack of light. As soon as you notice unwanted changes in your mushrooms, try using different lighting and ventilation modes.

These are the basic rules and features of cultivation, according to which oyster mushrooms are grown in the basements of private houses. Mushrooms do not require a serious investment of effort, time or specialized knowledge. It is enough to adjust the necessary equipment once so that it provides optimal conditions, and you can harvest a very useful product all year round.

If you decide to grow mushrooms on your own, it is better to start with oyster mushrooms. Growing these mushrooms at home does not require the study of complex theoretical information or special skills. Oyster mushrooms are not as demanding as other types (for example, mushrooms). Another argument in their favor will be high yields. You can cook many delicious dishes from them, the taste of which will not leave anyone indifferent. Let's figure out what are the ways to grow oyster mushrooms and how to cope with the difficulties arising for beginners.

Growing methods, their pros and cons

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

Positive aspects of the first method:

• it does not require the creation of special conditions, since a natural environment is needed for maturation;
• for the same reason, the extensive method does not have to spend a lot of money;
• in addition, the mushrooms do not need constant supervision in this case.

But there are also negative aspects:

• the appearance of the crop depends entirely on the season and suitable weather;
• ripening period is quite long;
• due to the impossibility of control, it will not be possible to turn this hobby into a business and grow mushrooms for sale at home.

With intensive technology, the growing conditions are created by the mushroom grower himself at home.

Pros of the intensive method:

• the ability to control the time of harvesting;
• You can also regulate the amount of harvest - when using this method, it will be more;
• thanks to this, it is possible to sell mushrooms and compensate for costs.

Some cons:

• you will have to make more effort and spend a lot of time doing landings;
• cash investments will also be required - to create the necessary conditions at home.

In the intensive method, the mushrooms are ripened in a cellar or other suitable room.

Mycelium selection

First of all, you need to purchase "seeds" - in mushrooms they are called mycelium. Recently, it has become much easier to do this - there are many online stores with mail delivery throughout the country. But there are also local companies. For beginner mushroom growers who fear failure, it is enough to purchase one kilogram of mycelium. The result will be about three to four kilograms of mushrooms. You can purchase the material in advance. Mycelium is stored in the refrigerator for up to two months, but it cannot be put in the freezer. It is not allowed to get mycelium on the skin, therefore, when opening the package, do not forget to wear gloves.

When buying, pay attention to the following recommendations.

• Check reviews for a store or individual seller.
• Even if you are an experienced mushroom grower, purchase a small amount of planting material from a new supplier for the first time.
• Learn all the information about the selected variety, the time of mycelium growth, mold resistance.
• Check the expiration date on the packaging.
• Check the temperature of the mycelium immediately after delivery - it should be about +20 degrees Celsius.
• The mycelium should be free of black and green spots.
• The color of the "seeds" is bright orange, interspersed with yellow.

Growing on stumps

If you are a beginner and are not yet ready to invest a lot of effort and money in growing mushrooms, try the extensive method.

To plant oyster mushrooms in this way, you do not need a lot of materials.

• Hemp that is on the site of your house. But they can be sown only in late April or early May, when a constant high temperature is established.
• Pruning from deciduous trees such as beech or aspen. They should be no more than half a meter in height and fifteen centimeters in diameter.

Check every stump carefully - they should be free of mold.

Advice

If the wood is dry, soak it in water for several days. Only in such conditions will mycelium be able to develop.

The technology is as follows:

• drill or cut out six centimeters in the stumps (they should be staggered);
• mycelium is placed in these holes;
• then they need to be covered with moss;

There is another way - you need to saw off a disk two centimeters thick from the top of the stump. Apply a layer of mycelium to the cut. Cover with a disc. For strength, nail it down.

After sowing, stack the logs on top of each other in a room where the temperature is maintained at +15. Leave them there for three months, covered with plastic wrap or thick cloth. By the end of the term, a white bloom will appear on the stumps. This means that it is time to "plant" them. To do this, at a distance of half a meter in the ground, they dig holes and fill them with wet leaves. Hemp is placed in them - to a depth of fifteen centimeters. The soil around them must be constantly moist.

The harvest will appear at the end of summer. You can collect it throughout the fall. For the winter, the planting must be protected by sprinkling with straw.

Preparing for growing in the basement

To grow oyster mushrooms in an intensive way at home, you will need to prepare a basement that meets the following requirements:

• it must maintain a temperature of +15 degrees;
• a good ventilation system is needed in the basement;
• its depth can reach five meters;
• you need to create bright lighting;
• there must be a source of clean water in the basement.

Other types of premises are also suitable:

• cellar;
• poultry house;
• greenhouse;
• garage;
• cowshed.

The main condition is that this basement should not be adjacent to the living rooms of the house, since spores can cause allergies.

The next important condition for harvesting is a good substrate. This is a breeding ground, thanks to which mushrooms will grow. To prepare it, you can use:

• buckwheat husk;
• wheat straw;
• barley straw;
• cobs of corn.

Grind one of these materials or a mixture of them. Fill it with warm (up to twenty-five degrees) water for twenty minutes. Stir the workpiece periodically. Drain this water and fill a container with hot water (not boiling water). Cover with something heavy and let sit for five hours. Drain, squeeze out the substrate (liquid residues can cause mold) and add nutrients (urea and superphosphate) to it.

Basement landing

In this growing technology, it is not only the place and the basis for planting that are important. The vessels must also be prepared. Oyster mushrooms are usually grown in bags. At home, ordinary garbage bags as large as possible are also suitable.

Punch holes in them at intervals of twenty centimeters.Through these holes, the mushrooms will break out.

The bags need to be filled with substrate and mycelium. The bottom layer should be the substrate - pour fifteen centimeters of the mixture. Sprinkle it with a layer of mycelium. Alternate them, filling the volume of the vessel by 2/3. The bags should be moved to the basement and placed on top of each other or hung from the ceiling.

Planting care

In the early days of growing oyster mushrooms, it is most important to maintain suitable conditions.

• The temperature in the bags will rise, but it is important to ensure that it does not reach +30 degrees (when growing at home, in a small basement, it is enough to use a fan for this).
• Keep flies out of the basement.
• The lighting can be switched on after three days.
• The humidity in the basement should be about 95% (for this you need to spray the walls and floor with water, but not the oyster mushroom plantings themselves).

When collecting oyster mushrooms, you also need to follow some rules.

• They do not need to be cut off, but unscrewed from the substrate.
• After harvesting the first crop, it is important to maintain the same conditions in the basement for two weeks, then another batch will appear soon.

Conclusion

Oyster mushrooms are the most suitable mushrooms for growing at home. They don't need much care. The conditions for their development are easy to maintain even at home.

There are two ways to grow them. One of them requires less effort, but the result will be a long wait for the harvest. For another, you need to prepare the room, but thanks to this you will quickly get a large amount of mushrooms.

Choose the method that seems to you the most successful, and feel free to start planting. In this case, you will be satisfied with the result.

How to grow oyster mushrooms at home? By a certain technology. Then you don't have to spend money on buying mushrooms. And it will certainly be possible to safely eat them without fear of poisoning.

Where to begin

You always need to start by getting to know the experience of other people, so to speak - studying the materiel. There are many articles and videos about growing oyster mushrooms at home. After acquaintance, you will need:

Two rooms. One directly for growing, the second for the incubation period. It is assumed that this will be one room. Then it is necessary to strictly observe the temperature regime and regulate the level of air humidity.

• Nutrient substrate. Sold ready-made, packaged.
• The mycelium itself. Pay special attention to the expiration date.
• Fan. The most common, household.
• Antiseptic. Rubbing alcohol or chlorine solution.
• Rubber gloves, a gauze bandage for the face, a sharp knife, thick plastic bags.

Naturally, you have to be patient (a process of more than one day) and the desire to taste your own grown oyster mushrooms.

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Requirements for the premises

For growing mushrooms at home, you need to allocate a separate room. It doesn't have to be a bedroom or living room. A basement, a cellar, a shed, a garage - they all fit perfectly. For the incubation period, the temperature should be maintained no higher than 24-26 ° С, the air humidity should be no more than 70%.

Separately, it must be said about cleanliness. Wash every centimeter with bleach is not worth it. It is better to treat it with a sulfur-smoke bomb or simply whitewash the walls with lime with the addition of copper sulfate. Then no extraneous mold will infect the mycelium.

The main condition is that all ventilation openings must be closed with a fine mesh. Mushroom flies strive to fly into the aroma of mycelium and ruin the whole idea from the very beginning.

For the period of germination and harvesting, the humidity in the room should be at the level of 80-95%, the temperature should not be higher than 18 ° C.

Advice. A basement or cellar is the most optimal room. In such places, there is always high humidity, and the temperature can be increased with an ordinary heater.

Preparing the substrate for oyster mushrooms

As a nutrient medium for growing oyster mushrooms at home, you can use any substrate available, as long as it contains cellulose. It is she who feeds on the mycelium. Experienced mushroom growers use sawdust, small branches or shavings. For beginners, it is best to use:

• barley straw
• sunflower seed husks
• corn stalks, leaves
• wheat straw
• buckwheat husk
• corn cobs

First of all, you need to carefully sort out the prepared raw materials. The mass must be clean and dry. The presence of mold or the presence of only the smell of decay already indicates that the raw materials are not suitable for growing oyster mushrooms.

After taking the mass, it is necessary to thermally process it for reliability. This will get rid of harmful bacteria, insect larvae, and at the same time moisturize it. For this, raw materials are poured into metal dishes, poured with clean water. Heat to a boil, boil for about 40 minutes. Then leave for 3 hours.

Then the excess water is drained, and the raw materials are put under a press to remove the remaining liquid. Alternatively, the substrate is poured into a tissue bag and hung.

As soon as the temperature of the mass drops to 24-26 ° C, you can start planting.

Advice. For best results, a little fresh yeast is added to the raw material before planting. Approximately 50 g per 15 kg total weight.

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Planting material

It is very difficult to prepare a good quality mycelium on your own. Therefore, it is better to buy it from seed shops or from oyster mushroom growers. How many grams do you need? The calculation is very simple. For 10 kg of raw materials, you need about 400 g of mycelium.

First of all, before buying, you need to carefully examine the package with planting material. Gray or black spots, a distinct smell of ammonia are signs of incipient mold. This mycelium is not suitable for planting. The color of the vegetative body of the fungus should be from bright yellow to orange.

It is not recommended to order planting material through Internet resources. Indeed, the photograph may show something completely different from what will be in the package.

Advice. If the mycelium was purchased in advance, then it must be stored in the refrigerator before planting, no more than 9 days. Temperature 3-5 ° С is the most optimal.

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The most crucial moment

The substrate has been prepared, the planting material has been purchased and has already lain for a day at room temperature. We took a deep breath, we can start.

The most important thing is that there should be no slightest draft in the room. Fungal spores are very volatile. The slightest breath and then you can find oyster mushrooms in places that are completely unsuitable for them.

All instruments must be disinfected. Knife, tight bags, hands. You can wash it thoroughly with laundry soap or wipe it with aseptoline. Hands can be additionally protected with gloves. They also need to be treated with an antiseptic. Be sure to wear a gauze bandage. The ingestion of fungal spores into the lungs is not a very pleasant event.

The process itself:

• The mycelium is crumbled without opening the bag.
• Raw materials are poured onto the bottom of the prepared plastic bag.
• Oyster mushroom vegetative body is laid out on top with a thin layer.
• Layers are repeated all the way to the top.
• The bag is tightly tied.

In order for the mushrooms to sprout faster, it is advisable to lay out the planting material closer to the walls of the bag than to the center.

You can do it even easier. Raw materials are poured into prepared bags, small cuts are made with a knife. Mycelium is laid in them, then sealed.

Advice. Don't take huge packages. Anyway, oyster mushrooms will only grow outside. The most optimal size holds about 5-8 kg of the finished mixture.

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Incubation period

So, the bags are full, tied, awaiting their fate. Which? Warmth, darkness, tranquility. The incubation room should have a temperature not higher than 18-20 ° C. The substrate gets very hot, the vegetative body may die.It is impossible to ventilate the room, the emitted carbon dioxide is very important for the germination of oyster mushrooms.

What to do? Fan! Saves the situation, helps to cool bags, does not make drafts.

One day after the laying, the previously made incisions are opened. If the mycelium was laid in layers, then it is imperative to make cuts with a sharp knife. Vertical 2-3 cm high, horizontal about 0.5 cm wide, the distance between them is 10-12 cm.

Packages should not fit tightly to each other. A free space of at least 7-9 cm is left between them.

The incubation time depends on the variety, ranging from 16 to 24 days. Detailed information can be obtained from the manufacturer, or read on the packaging.

It is important to periodically enter the room and inspect the bags. The appearance of black spots and an unpleasant odor indicates that the tools and materials were not sufficiently disinfected. The normal state is a light, almost white color of the contents, a characteristic pleasant aroma of mushrooms.

Advice. Inspection is carried out as quickly as possible. Any light is not desirable for mycelium right now.

First fruiting. Important aspects

It is important not to miss the moment when oyster mushroom rudiments appear. They can be seen with the naked eye. On a white background - gray tubercles. In the meantime, bags with mushrooms are transferred to another room, or the conditions are changed in the same:

• The temperature is reduced to 10-18 ° C.
• Increase air humidity up to 90-95%.
• They put artificial lighting with fluorescent lamps for a period of at least 8 hours per day.
• Be sure to ventilate the room. At least 4 times a day.

The main factor for the first fruiting period is moisture. At the same time, it is impossible to water the oyster mushrooms. They can rot before reaching their size. The ideal way out of the situation would be frequent spraying of walls, floors, spraying water in the air. Care should be taken not to get water on the mushroom caps and bags.

Advice. If light-colored oyster mushrooms are needed, then the temperature is kept at 12 ° C. To obtain a dark cap, the temperature is raised to 18 ° C.

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Second fruiting

After the first harvest is harvested, the mushroom blocks are not thrown away! Oyster mushroom gives up to 5 harvests from one planting. The mushroom holder rests for about 12 days, then pleases with a new portion of a healthy treat. It is very important not to change conditions during breaks between harvests. Then one block can bear fruit up to 4 months.

And if there is no separate room

How to grow oyster mushrooms at home if there is no separate room? It's also very simple! When did this stop a Russian person, if he needed to? There is no basement, which means growing on stumps is a completely alternative option.

This will require:

• Smooth stumps of non-resinous trees.
• Planting material.
• A secluded spot in the garden with good shade.
• Burlap, film.
• Enthusiasm is welcome.

The wood must be healthy, free from mold, rot or debris. It is advisable that before use it lay no longer than 10 months. Poleshki are soaked in clean water for 3 days, pressing with oppression so that they do not float.

Then holes are made in the tree, preferably with a drill. The diameter is about 1-1.5 cm, the depth is about 5-7 cm. The oyster mushroom planting material is poured inside, the holes are plugged with moss. If there is no drill at hand, then they simply cut off the upper end of a log 5 cm thick, apply a vegetative body. The resulting saw cut is placed on top. For reliability, you can strengthen the structure with nails.

The procedure is carried out in March. Before the logs are planted in the garden, they are folded into a pyramid, covered with burlap and foil. Periodic ventilation, regular inspection for mold growth is the key to success. After a while, the mycelium will completely braid the wood, the hemp will turn white.

With the onset of warm weather (mid or late May), the woods are planted in the garden. They choose shaded places: under trees, vines, on the north side of buildings.The stumps are installed vertically, burying 12-15 cm into the ground. Damp foliage or soaked old barley grains can be placed at the bottom of the holes.

Caring for the logs consists only in carefully watering the soil around, if the weather is dry, hot.

Subject to the technology, the first harvest appears from the end of August. Lasts until mid-November, depending on climate and weather conditions. For the winter, the poles are covered with spruce branches or covered with leaves. Ideally birch. They disinfect well and do not allow the mycelium to rot.

Of course, this method is not suitable for industrial cultivation of oyster mushrooms, but very good for home use. Good yields can be obtained at low cost. The only negative is seasonality. Oyster mushrooms do not grow under the snow in winter.

Advice. Such poles with bunches of oyster mushrooms can become an original decoration of the site. They can be cooked as much as there is enough free land. There will be enough mushrooms for themselves and their relatives and for sale.

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Several nuances

1. All work on the cultivation of oyster mushrooms is recommended to be carried out in a gauze bandage. Mushrooms secrete a large number of spores, which can lead to allergies.
2. When harvesting, oyster mushrooms are twisted by hand from the substrate. When cutting with a knife, you can infect the mycelium with putrefactive bacteria, then you will have to forget about the next crops. The remaining roots of the mushrooms also harm the mycelium. A large amount of moisture is lost through them.
3. If the slightest signs of mold appear in one of the bags, you must immediately remove it from the room so that the rest does not become infected.
4. The spent substrate is an excellent fertilizer, it will be a pity to throw it in the trash. Taking it out into the garden or pouring it out in the garden is the right decision. By the way, the remains of mycelium next year can give a small harvest of oyster mushrooms, if you pour the mixture somewhere near a reservoir or under trees.
5. When grown indoors, the first two waves of fruiting are the most productive. The second and third years of cultivation are the most prolific on the woodlands.

Growing oyster mushrooms on your own at home is a very real thing. Just follow the instructions and enjoy the result!

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Video: technology for growing oyster mushrooms

Growing mushrooms at home and in private plots has not yet become common. What for? After all, and so the forests are filled with white mushrooms, mushrooms, chanterelles and boletus mushrooms every autumn. But there are mushrooms that either do not grow in our forests at all, or do it with great reluctance. They can perfectly diversify the menu, and also make good money on them. For example, an oyster mushroom plantation in your own dacha is more than real! It is an ideal mushroom for household cultivation. Delicious, inexpensive (in terms of labor costs and the cost of the technological process). Oyster mushroom can be grown in different ways, but there is an option chosen by the time and experience of many amateur mushroom growers.

Growing oyster mushrooms at home

"Children of the Underground"

For the first phase of growing mushrooms, which is their reproduction with the help of mycelium (mycelium), you can do with any ground room - a shed, for example.

The second, main phase is better for mushrooms to "live" in a cellar or basement, that is, underground in the cool.

Growing oyster mushrooms - photo

Both premises for a mushroom plantation must be carefully prepared and equipped with ventilation, electricity and water supply. From the inventory, you will definitely need thermometers to control the degree of heating and cooling of air in the room. The equipment will need a water heater.

By the way! Temperature regulation in a room with growing oyster mushrooms is best controlled by conventional ventilation. To do this, you will have to provide for the possibility of wide opening of windows or doors.

There are several mandatory procedures that must be performed in a building or underground room where mushrooms will grow.

1. The premises are whitewashed with lime and then dried using active ventilation.

   The walls are whitewashed with lime - photo

2. Then the place of cultivation is sprayed with bleach (4% solution).
3. After processing, the doors / windows are closed and the inside is left to disinfect for two days.
4. Then the object is ventilated for the same amount of time.
5. A similar disinfection treatment for conveyor re-cultivation must be performed every cycle.

What mushrooms grow on

Oyster mushrooms differ from their forest counterparts in that they do not grow in soil. They need a substrate for successful growth. You can make a suitable mixture from many components:

• dried straw of field cereals;
• the shell of sunflower seeds is suitable;
• it is very good to use sawdust of trees, but not conifers, but deciduous ones;
• corn stalks, reeds are suitable.

Substrate preparation

All this will become an ideal "soil" for oyster mushroom plantations. The components can be used separately, and it is acceptable to mix them in arbitrary combinations and proportions. The ingredients must be dry. Before use, they need to be crushed (the optimal size of fractions is in the range of 0.5-3 cm). The resulting mixture should have a pleasant odor, not contain traces of mold, fungal debris and foreign objects.

Prepare the substrate on the surface of the earth; this is not necessary in the cellar. For proper preparation and compliance with all regulations, certain procedures must be followed.

1. The crushed mass is poured with boiling water until it is completely covered, to destroy all kinds of competing organisms in the form of other varieties or harmful microflora.

   Moistening and stirring the substrate

2. The substrate thus poured, steamed to the state of "porridge", is tamped into large barrels or other containers suitable for the capacity and left to swell up to half a day.
3. Then the mass is taken out of the barrel and laid out for complete cooling and evaporation of some of the moisture on a wide film with a thin layer.

Stage one: mycelium - building up mass

Oyster mushroom mycelium

The preparation is over. Mycelium purchased. You can proceed to the first stage, the task of which is to build up its mass.

Advice! How to check the quality of the mycelium of the oyster mushroom progenitor? He must have some characteristics. Snow-white color, with a small proportion of substrate blotches with a darkish tint. The second parameter is smell. Despite the fact that this mushroom does not grow in the forest, the mycelium should smell like forest mushrooms.

1. In a dense transparent polyethylene bag, with a volume of 20 to 60 liters, a layer of wet cold substrate is laid. Layer height - 8 cm. Carefully leveled by hands.

   Laying the substrate

2. Lay on top, ramming tightly, mycelium, in a three-centimeter layer (you can simply break it into small pieces to tamp without voids).
3. Then the substrate is laid and compacted, but already with a layer of 15 cm.
4. Again a three-centimeter layer of mycelium.

   Mushroom substrate bags

5. The procedure should be repeated until all the acquired mycelium runs out. In this case, there should be a substrate layer of 8 cm on top.
6. The resulting "puff cake" is compacted, the bag is tied tightly with twine and set in a vertical position.
7. The entire surface of the bag is pierced with a long disinfected (can be ignited on fire) nail, 120-150 mm in size. Not every 25 cm² has one hole.

   How to make a perforation of a mushroom block

Advice! There should be more holes at the bottom: this is necessary to drain the liquid constantly forming in the package.

Immediately after the procedure, a clear separation of the layers into dark and light (substrate and mycelium) will be visible through the film of the bag.

The temperature required to increase the mycelium mass should be kept at + 18 ... 26 ° С.Germination of mycelium spores will begin in three days, and ten days later you can observe a miracle. The whole mass will turn into mycelium and become completely white. After that, the bag is untied and multiplication is continued to the required amount.

Hanging substrate bags and growing oyster mushrooms

One full standard bag gives life to 8-10 other bags with interlayer (substrate + mycelium). When, finally, the required amount of mycelium for your purposes is formed, then 2 bags from every ten are left for the subsequent increase in mass, and 8 are transferred to obtain the long-awaited harvest of oyster mushrooms.

Fruiting process

Growing oyster mushrooms

The whitened substrate must be kept in the "native" bag for another 5-6 days after ripening, if this bag is sent for fruiting. During this period, it will finally mature, become "monolithic", will be as dense as possible.

To activate the beginning of the crop formation, bags with completely processed substrate mycelium are kept at + 3 ... 5 ° С for another three days. To enable the mushroom fruiting body to grow, it will need room to grow. To create it, holes 3-5 cm in diameter are cut out in polyethylene (one per square meter). The packages are moved to an underground room in temperature conditions of + 10 ... 16 ° С. Here they are installed at a distance of at least 30-40 cm from each other, always vertically. To make it more convenient to water the mushroom "plantation", the bags are placed with ribbons in three rows with a 70 cm gap between them.

Advice! If you are the happy owner of a high basement, then you can also place bags with future mushrooms on additional shelves located along the walls. Such placement will increase the used area, and hence the mushroom yield.

Care for future mushrooms

Once a day, the bags should be slightly moistened, and the room itself should be thoroughly ventilated, since in the process of fruiting oyster mushrooms, a large amount of carbon dioxide is formed. As for the lighting in the dungeon, during the first week it will not be needed at all, and then it would be nice to illuminate the room. Mushrooms will grow in any case - with or without light - but backlighting can significantly increase the yield.

Watering oyster mushrooms

If all conditions are met, the first fruiting will begin in 10 days. When the mushroom heads begin to lighten (after the whitish, dark and greyish brown stages), you can harvest. After a while (about three weeks), the second fruiting will begin with a much lower productivity. Two series of fruiting, taking into account a well-chosen base and high-quality mycelium, yield up to 45 kg of oyster mushrooms from 100 kg of the substrate used. When the harvesting of mushrooms of the second second wave is completed, the packages are taken out of the basement, and, after sanitizing the underground room, a new batch is placed in it. This conveyor method makes it possible to carry out 6 double fruiting cycles per year.

Basic rules for growing oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms grow in a bag of hay

Table. Growing conditions for cycles

1	Germination of mycelium bodies into the substrate	10-14	20-24	90	not required
2	Ripening and fruiting	4-5	22-28	95	not required
3	Growth of the fruiting body (1 wave)	7-10	15-19	85	100
4	Growth of the fruiting body (2nd wave)	7-10	13-17	85	100
5	Harvesting, unloading the substrate, disinfection of the chamber	2	irrelevant	irrelevant	not required

Value and use

Fresh Oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushroom is highly valued for its beneficial nutritional properties. In taste, it is not inferior to other cultivated mushrooms and even surpasses them, and in terms of the value of the composition, it has no competitors at all. Not hard, but dense texture, light bread flavor and subtle aniseed notes on the palate. For cooking - a godsend, since oyster mushroom is a versatile mushroom. It can be boiled, fried, canned (pickled and salted), stewed, dried.The only product that the popular mushroom doesn't go well with is fish. Otherwise, in salad, hot, soups, as a stand-alone culinary masterpiece - oyster mushrooms are wonderful.

Fresh oyster mushroom - photo

Important! A prerequisite for the preparation of any mushroom dishes is its heat treatment. In its raw form, it contains chitin, which is not absorbed and rejected by the human body.

Growing a mushroom, given the right premises and some free time, can become not only a useful and nutritious hobby, but also a way to make good money by supplying healthy and tasty oyster mushrooms to the retail network.

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