Common champignon

Growing at home and in the country

Champignons are the most popular mushroom in cultivation and cultivation on an industrial scale. Only mushrooms can compete with him. Peppers can be planted in the country, in bags, containers, in a greenhouse and even in an apartment.

Here's what you need in order to breed common champignon, because growing it is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance:

• prepared substrate of straw and poultry manure, but ready-made soil can be purchased;
• create a closed bed 40 cm deep into the ground. The walls and lid are made of planks and insulated with polystyrene foam. The height of the entire structure is not lower than 70 cm;
• put compost in 2 layers, tamp well;
• measure the temperature inside the soil, because it is possible to sow mycelium only when the earth warms up to 22 degrees;
• mycelium - can be purchased at specialized stores.

How to grow peppers in the garden:

The acquired mycelium is stored in the refrigerator and kept at room temperature a day before planting.
The mycelium is laid out on a litter and planted in a garden bed to a depth of 7 cm in pieces in a checkerboard pattern. No more than 500 grams of mycelium are sown per 1 m2.
The first shoots will appear in 10 days. At this time, it is necessary to loosen the casing layer.
The collection is carried out carefully so as not to damage the nearby rudiments of new fruits

The mushroom is taken by the leg and carefully twisted.
The formed depressions are covered with earth.
After harvesting the first crop, the covering soil should be watered. It should be remembered that for mushrooms, dryness is better than excess moisture.

Taxonomy, characteristics and description of the structure

Yellow-skinned champignon belongs to the class of Agaricomycetes, champignon family (Agaricaceae), champignon genus (Agaricus). The adopted taxonomic name is Agaricus xanthodermus. Also known as Red Champignon, Yellow-skinned Pepper.

REFERENCE: The specific name xanthodermus comes from the ancient Greek xantho - yellow and derma - skin.

The hymenophore, or the lower part of the cap, is represented by thin, narrow, often spaced plates adhered to the stem. Their color changes from whitish to pinkish, and to gray-brown.

The pulp quickly turns yellow on the cut, at the base of the leg it is a rich yellow-orange color. When characterizing the smell, it is indicated that it is "pharmacy", resembles ink or gouache paint, carbolic acid. The taste is similar to the smell.

The leg is 6-15 cm long, 2 cm in diameter, white, hollow inside. The shape of the leg is straight, thickened towards the base. There is a wide two-layer brownish ring.

The spores are elliptical, dark chocolate colored powder.

A bit of history

The first description and established name of the Red Champignon appeared in 1876 in the works of the French botanist and mycologist Leon Gaston Genevier.

Similar species

This species is poisonous. Distinctive features - when cut at the base of the leg, the pulp becomes yellow. In addition, the flesh of a ginger champignon has a strong "medical" smell of carbolic acid (to some, it looks like iodine). Its fruit bodies are much smaller than that of the August champignon.

The mushroom is edible; its culinary qualities are not inferior to the August champignon. Differs in smaller size and lighter color of the cap.

1- Red champignon 2- Essetta champignon

Toadstool is pale

Extremely toxic mushroom, poisoning is fatal. Almost all types of champignons are in one way or another similar to it, but knowing the distinctive features, it is quite difficult to make a mistake.

1. First, there are no characteristic scales on the cap of the toadstool.
2. The second sign is a volva, an ovoid depression at the base of a toadstool. And, finally, in the pale toadstool, the plates do not change color, remaining white.

Cossack champignon (Agaricus sylvicola)

Synonyms:

Coppice champignon (Latin Agaricus sylvicola) is a mushroom of the mushroom family (Agaricaceae).

Hat:
Color from white to cream, 5-10 cm in diameter, first spherical, then prostrate-convex. Scales are practically absent. The pulp is relatively thin, firm; anise smell, nutty taste. When pressed, the cap readily takes on a yellow-orange color.

Plates:
Frequent, thin, free, when the mushroom ripens, it gradually changes color from light pink to dark brown.

Spore powder:
Dark brown.

Leg:
5-10 cm high, thin, hollow, cylindrical, slightly widening at the base. The ring is strongly pronounced, white, can hang low, almost to the ground.

Spreading:
Coppice champignon grows singly and in groups in deciduous and coniferous forests from June to late September.

Similar species:
It would be a big mistake to mistake the pale toadstool (Amanita phalloides) for the champignon. This, one might say, is a classic of toxicology. Nevertheless, the main differences between champignons and representatives of the genus Amanita should be known to every young mushroom picker. In particular, the plates of the pale toadstool never change color, remain white until the end, while in champignons they gradually darken, from light cream at the beginning to almost black at the end of their life path. So if you find a small lonely champignon with white plates, leave it alone. This is a poisoned pale toadstool.

It is much easier to confuse Agaricus sylvicola with other members of the mushroom family. Agaricus arvensis is usually larger and does not grow in the forest, but grows in the fields, in gardens, in the grass. Poisonous Agaricus xanthodermus has a strong unpleasant odor (which is described differently everywhere - from carbolic acid to ink), and does not grow in the forest, but in the field. You can also confuse this species with the crooked champignon or, otherwise, "distinctly nodule" (Agaricus abruptibulbus), but the latter is somewhat thinner, higher, does not turn yellow so readily, and is less common.

Edibility:
Cossack Champignon - This is a good edible mushroom that rivals the best of champignons.

Video about mushroom champignon coppice

Remarks Still, it remains unclear how to distinguish between numerous similar types of champignons, even if professionals cannot agree on this. On the one hand, the mind prompts you to focus on the habitat. On the other hand, this is fully justified only for mycorrhizal fungi, and champignons, like all saprotrophs, in principle can grow everywhere, if there would be fertilization.

Description of dark red champignon

The diameter of the dark red champignon cap is large - from 10 to 15 centimeters. For a long time, the shape of the cap is conical-bell-shaped, and in older specimens it becomes prostrate. The cap is fleshy, densely covered with fibers or scales of a red-brown color.

The leg is strong, thickened at the base. The color of the leg is white. At the slightest pressure, the leg turns red. There is a wide hanging ring on the leg.

The plates in their youth have a juicy pink color, as they mature they become dark red, and in old age they become completely brown-black. Spore powder of purple-brown color. The pulp is white; it turns red on the cut. The pulp has a pleasant smell.

Evaluation of the taste of dark red champignons

This is a good edible mushroom. Dark red champignons can be cooked in different ways: boil, fry, pickle, salt and dry.

Similarity of dark red champignons with other species

A characteristic feature of dark red champignons is the reddening of the pulp, which is why it is distinguished from other species. This mushroom can be confused with inedible champignons, but they smell less pleasant.

Other mushrooms of this genus

Curve champignon is an edible mushroom. The diameter of its cap reaches 7-10 centimeters. Initially, it looks like a blunt bell, but over time it resembles a truncated cone, and even later becomes prostrate. In young specimens, the plates are covered with a blanket, and the edges of the cap are bent downward. The surface of the cap is silky, cream or white, and later becomes ocher. In places of damage, the cap turns yellow.The leg is flat, cylindrical, up to 8 centimeters high and up to 2 centimeters in diameter. With age, it becomes hollow. It is similar in color to the cap and also turns yellow when pressed.

Curved mushrooms grow in coniferous forests. They bear fruit from July to October. They grow on the forest floor. Often found in groups, but there are also single specimens.

Bernard's champignon is a conditionally edible mushroom. The diameter of its cap ranges from 4 to 12 centimeters. The hat is thick, fleshy and tender.

Its shape is initially spherical, and over time it becomes flat-spread. The color of the cap is white or off-white, sometimes a pinkish or brown tint is noticeable. The surface of the cap is silky and shiny. The leg is dense, 3-8 centimeters high and 0.8-2 centimeters thick, the same color as the cap. There is an unstable ring on the leg.

Bernard's mushrooms grow in saline areas such as coastlines or along roads that are treated with salt. These mushrooms bear fruit mainly in groups. Bernard's mushrooms grow from summer to autumn.

Description

Hat

The average diameter is from 5 to 10 centimeters, but it happens that it reaches 15 cm. At the beginning of growth, the shape of the cap is ovoid, later it straightens and takes the shape of a saucer. From above, the cap is covered with large grayish-brown scales, the surface is fibrous to the touch, especially in the middle. When the flesh of the cap is pushed, it turns red, then turns brown.

Leg

About 1.5 cm in diameter, up to 10-12 in height, in large specimens - up to 15 cm. The surface is scaly, fibrous, painted white or grayish. The shape is cylindrical, often curved. In a young mushroom, the leg is solid, as it matures, cavities appear, then the leg becomes hollow. In the upper part there is a well-distinguishable leathery ring that disappears as the mushroom ages.

Pulp

Brittle, white, at the site of a break or cut, it turns red almost instantly. With a pleasant slightly sweet taste and mushroom aroma.

Spore layer

Lamellar, the frequency of the location of the plates is average. At a young age of the fungus, the plates are light pink, as they grow, they acquire a red hue, and in the old fungus they become dirty brown, turning into black. Spore powder chocolate, round, smooth spores.

Useful properties of champignons

Champignon mushroom is a real storehouse of trace elements potassium, calcium and phosphorus, as well as vitamins of group B. As a dietary product, it is unmatched, allowing you to get the necessary nutrients and not overloading the body with calories. In cooking, this delicious mushroom is used to prepare all kinds of dishes in different ways: champignons are fried, stewed, pickled, dried.

In cosmetology, champignons are used as face masks, since they have a beneficial effect on the skin.

Champignon is also widely used in medicine. Its use is beneficial for diabetics. The special substances contained in the composition of the mushroom contribute to the destruction of cholesterol plaques, prevent the occurrence of atherosclerosis and heart attack, and lecithin, which is also present in the composition of the fungus, improves the state of the nervous system.

Champignon mushrooms begin to be harvested in early summer and finish at the end of October. It is better to use only young mushrooms, as old ones do not bring any benefit. It is necessary to process the harvested champignons in the next few hours after harvesting.

Views

About 200 types of champignons are known.For a complete list, see Species of the genus Champignon

Similar species

Due to its particularly large size, large-spore champignon is difficult to confuse with other species, but young specimens may look like some edible mushrooms:

The main difference is that this species is predominantly forest, and it grows mainly among the pines. It looks like it has a significant thickening of the base of the leg. By maturity, the hymenophore of fungi of this species acquires a black and red coloration, while in large spore it remains brown.

Most similar view. He is also large and prefers open spaces. Some sources even consider the large-spore champignon to be a species of field mushroom (Psalliota arvensis subsp. Macrospora), so there are no clear differences between them.

1-Champignon curve 2-Field champignon

Yellow-skinned champignon

In addition to harmless, edible species, there is also a poisonous double - this is Yellow-skinned or false champignon. It stands out with a distinct smell of gouache paint. Has a yellowish coloration of the base of the leg.

Also, young specimens may look like toadstools or fly agarics. Champignon can distinguish colored plates and slight reddening of the flesh when cut from the pale toadstool and the smelly fly agaric.

Thus, some doubles of the large-spore champignon can be very dangerous.

Therefore, you should pay attention to a number of their distinctive properties.

Growing champignons in the country or at home: step by step instructions.

Due to its taste, champignon is a welcome guest in the human diet, therefore, mushroom cultivation at home, in the country or in the basement is widespread. There are not so many conditions and methods for growing mushrooms. These mushrooms love moisture and coolness, so they can be grown both outdoors and in greenhouses or greenhouses. However, the most profitable cultivation of champignons in darkened and damp basements, in which special climatic conditions have been created, allowing you to harvest all year round.

Substrate for growing mushrooms.

A nutritious substrate consisting of straw and manure is used as the soil. After several harvests, the waste material can be used as fertilizer for agricultural areas. By the way, the preparation of the substrate is the most important and difficult stage in the technology of mushroom cultivation. After all, the result depends on the nutrient medium.

The substrate is a soil mixture containing nutrients, the main component of which is compost.

To prepare compost for growing mushrooms, you will need:

• 20-25% fresh, well-dried straw (preferably wheat or winter rye)
• 75-80% horse (ideally) or cow dung.

Compost for growing mushrooms: stages of preparation.

1. For 1 sq. m. of the plot, which is set aside for a mushroom plantation, requires 30 kg of pre-moistened straw and 15 kg of manure.
2. Each component is laid in several layers (3-4 layers) and a substrate is formed. The straw is moistened and fertilized with a dung "layer".
3. After a week, 6-7 kg of gypsum (or alabaster) is added to the substrate, and all layers are thoroughly mixed.
4. Re-stirring should be done after 4 days and, if necessary, re-moisten the mixture. Then 2 kg of superphosphate and 5 kg of crushed chalk are added. With a time interval of 4 days, there are two more mixing of the components.
5. After 3-4 weeks from the moment of formation, the compost for growing mushrooms is considered ready.

Champignon growing technology.

For sowing, a laboratory mushroom mycelium is required. There are two types of mycelium: grain and compost. You can buy champignon mycelium in any thematic store or in specialized "mushroom farms".

The methods of sowing mycelium depend on the place that was chosen for planting the mushrooms. The sowing process itself is absolutely not complicated. The mycelium is staggered into the substrate by 4-7 cm.There should be gaps of about 20 cm between the sowing sites.

It is very important during the ripening period to maintain an optimal level of moisture in the room. After about a week, the soil must be covered with a casing mixture, which is made from chalk and peat (1: 9)

After 5 days in the room, it is imperative to lower the temperature to 13-17 ° C.

Regular watering of the soil is definitely required, and the room needs daily ventilation.

How to harvest champignons?

Champignons ripen unevenly, within 3 months. You need to collect them, carefully twisting them with your fingers so as not to damage the "relatives" growing in the neighborhood

When the entire mushroom crop is harvested, it is important to thoroughly treat the room with a disinfectant.

Edible types and varieties of champignons

Some species grow exclusively in forests (A.silvaticus and A.silvisola), and soil saprotrophs (A.bisrorus, A.bitorquis and A.subreronatus) grow in open spaces, among grass stands of different heights. Among other things, there are desert species, which include A. bernardii and A. thabularis.

Field champignon

A. arvensis has a rather large fruiting body, with a thick-fleshed, rounded-bell-shaped or convex-outstretched cap, in the center of which there is a small tubercle or slight flattening. The pulp is white or creamy, with almond or anise aroma. An ocher tint and slow yellowing may be present. The surface is silky or smooth, covered with yellowish or brownish scales. The plates are often spaced and characteristically swollen. The area of ​​the pedicle is cylindrical, smooth, with expansion or thickening at the base. Spores are black-brown.

Forest mushroom

The fruiting body of A. silvaticus has an ovate-bell-shaped or flat-spread cap, often with a protruding tubercle, rusty-brownish brown coloration, with a large number of dark scales. The pulp is white in color, reddening at the cut. The plates are white, reddish or dark brown in color, narrowed at the end. The area of ​​the leg is cylindrical, slightly swollen at the base, with a whitish filmy ring.

Common champignon

A.samrestris has a hemispherical cap with curved inward edges, flat-rounded or outstretched in shape. The central part is convex. The surface is white or brownish in color, it can be dry, silky or finely scaly. The pulp is white in color, reddening at the cut. The plates are white, pinkish or dark brown in color, with a purple tint.The region of the peduncle is straight and even, with a widening or swelling at the base, with a wide whitish ring.

Small scale mushroom

A. squamuliferus is distinguished by a thick-fleshed, at first semicircular, later convex-outstretched cap, with the presence of a wide and obtuse tubercle. The surface part is of fine-scaled type, silky. The area of ​​the leg is cylindrical, sometimes with a slight tuberous base, white, silky-fibrous type. The pulp is white in color, turning pink or reddening at the break. Dark brown spore powder. Plates are free type, often located, brownish in color. The spores are ellipsoidal, with a smooth surface, light brownish in color.

Garden champignon

A.bisrorus has a rounded cap, with curved edges and a residual private veil, represented by thin flakes, pure white or with a brownish tinge. The surface of the cap is smooth, with a gloss in the central part or of the radial-fibrous type, sometimes with scales. The pulp is dense and juicy, acquiring a pinkish or red tint at the cut. Plates of young specimens of pink coloration. With age, the plates turn dark brown with a characteristic purple tint. The leg is cylindrical, pinkish, with a well-defined ring.

Champignon dark red

A. haemorrhoidarius is characterized by a convex or conical cap with a blunt apical part. At the ripening stage, the cap opens almost to a fully flat shape. The skin on the surface is brownish-brown, cracking into individual fibrous-type scales.

The pulp is white, with a thick red color on the cut. It has a not too pronounced mushroom or sour aroma, and also has a mild and pleasant taste. The stem is off-white in color, with a hollow interior and a scaly surface below the ring. At the base of the stem, there is a noticeable thickening immersed in the ground. A well-pronounced membranous ring. Free-type plates, often located, light pink in color.

Mushroom chunky

A. spissicaulis is similar to the previous species and has a hemispherical, rapidly expanding to almost flat cap. The skin is whitish in color, with a smooth surface that is prone to cracking and the formation of brownish yellow scales. The edges are folded down. The flesh is whitish in color, noticeably thick in the cap part. A grayish-red hue appears on the cut and there is a noticeable almond aroma. The leg is club-shaped. The plates are loose and relatively sparse, reddish or chocolate-blackish-brown in color.

How to distinguish the false edible counterparts of a poisonous mushroom?

Outwardly, it is similar to its edible "counterparts": common mushroom, meadow and maroon mushroom, only differs from them in the characteristic unpleasant odor of carbolic acid. The table shows the main characteristics of these types of mushrooms.

Double view	Hat	LPs	Pulp	Leg	Leg ring	Smell	Places of fruiting
Champignon common or meadow (A. campestris)	6-15 cm in diameter, thick, white, sometimes brownish, dry, silky, or with small scales	White, pinkish, dark brown with a purple tint when ripe	White, thick, turns red at the break. Typical mushroom taste	5-9 cm long, 1-3 cm thick, straight, swollen at the base, cap color	Filmy, wide, white, in the middle of the leg	Pleasant mushroom	On humus-rich soils: in gardens, vegetable gardens, parks, meadows, on the territory of livestock farms
Field champignon (A. arvensis)	8–20 cm in diameter, thick, fleshy, white or creamy, with age - ocher hue, smooth, slowly turns yellow when touched	Frequent, widened towards the edges, the color changes from white to mustard, brown-purple, chocolate and almost black	Dense, becomes softer with age, light, easily separates from the cap, pale yellow at the break. It tastes sweet	6-10 cm long, 1-1.5 cm thick, smooth, straight, thickened at the base, cap color	Large, wide, two-layered, located in the upper third of the leg	Pronounced aniseed or almond	On the soils of open spaces: in meadows, forest glades, in parks, gardens, along the roads
Cossack champignon (A. sylvicola)	5–10 cm in diameter, smooth, silky to the touch, white or creamy, in old mushrooms it is pale brown or grayish. Lemon yellow stains when pressed	Wide, often spaced, free, at first white or grayish, then pink or brown with a light edge, in old mushrooms - dark chocolate	Thin, dense, white, slowly turns buffy yellow on cut. It tastes nutty	6–12 cm long, 1–1.5 cm thick, thin, thickening towards the base. Hollow with age	Wide, leathery, hanging down, white above, grayish below	Coniferous, mixed forests, often under beeches and spruces, on humus-rich soils

See the difference between mushrooms in the photo.