Growing Mushrooms at Home

Growing your own mushroom at home is easy and not as difficult as you think. Mushrooms can be a rewarding project because of the multitude usage of it. Generally, the common mushroom such as the Agaricus species can grow easily on compost, held in bags, trays, and boxes or raised beds. Here are the methods on how to grow your own mushrooms, making your own compost, casing and harvesting.

Compost making

Choosing good quality of mushrooms compost can give a very big effect on the success of a crop. There are 3 stage operations which are normally used in making mushroom compost: Preconditioning All the raw materials are mixed, moistened and allowed to undergo through some initial decomposition in a large heap. Usually, a mixture of straw and manure makes up the bulk of the compost. Make sure the compost is moist but not over wet during this stage. Add 1.5kg of gypsum and 1.2 kg of urea or ammonium sulphate. The center of the heap will become hot and its color will darken within two weeks. Composting Turn the heap every 2 to 3 days and to keep them moist, water when necessary. Peak heating Moved the compost indoors or into a shed after a further 2 to 4 weeks where the temperature and oxygen content are better controlled. Keep the temperature in the heap between 40 to 60 degrees centigrade. You can use a thermometer to check the temperature and turning the heap regularly. The compost will be uniformed, non greasy texture and dark brown. You will not smell any trace

of ammonia which occurred earlier. Make sure to use the mushrooms compost as soon as possible after it has been prepared.

Spawning

Spawn production is a very sophisticated scientific process, hence most mushroom grower do not produce their own spawn. Spawn varies in color which depends on age. If there is little or even no sign of white mycelium growth of the fungi, it is categorized as fresh spawn. If it\s too dense then this may indicate that the spawn is too old. Always choose spawn in between these situations. You have to check whether there is a visible sign of non mushroom growth. Don\t purchase if there are two different types of mycelia in the same spawn. If you chose to grow in spawn, the optimum of temperature for the mycelia is 25 Celsius. A cottony growth should appear around the grain after about three or four days depending on the conditions. After about 2 weeks, the mycelia should have thoroughly grown through the compost. Provide a ventilation or cooling system to take the temperature down. It is important as once the mycelia have grown to this point, it will generally increase heat in the compost.

Casing

To stimulate the mushrooms growth, a layer of material or casing will be put over the top of the compost. Usually the casing that can be used is usually high in organic material and should be free from any pests and diseases. You can sterilize the casing by drenching it in formaldehyde solution or by pasteurization at 60 Celsius for 3 hours. The casing should have an open mixture, non water repellent when dry and have a pH between 6.5 and 8. When applied to the compost, the depth should be of 3 to 50cm over the top of the compost. To test whether the casing is being applied evenly, test the depth at frequent intervals.

Harvesting

There are 3 stages in which the mushrooms may be harvested which are the buttons, where these are unopened with gills are not exposed and will remain unopened throughout until they are eaten. The harvest at this stage will not be as abundant, and the flavor is not as good as the developed fruits. For cups stage, the veil has opened or will probably open before it is used. These mushrooms, they have a rounded cap and are also preferred to the fully opened mushroom. While the fully opened mushrooms or flats, the gills are exposed and the cap has flattened. The mushrooms are larger and the gills go first pink and then slowly become dark brown as time goes on. To pick the mushrooms, pick each mushroom with an upward motion and break them off at the casing surface.

Growing indoor mushroom kit

Indoor mushroom kit can help you to produce home grown mushroom supply for all year round even during winter time. The best thing that you won\t need a big space, hence the name \indoor mushroom kit\ which means that it can be done inside your home. Mushrooms can get into any dish used in any multitude of ways. Unlike regular garden vegetables that are produced by seeds, mushrooms are produced by spores underneath the cap. The microscopic bodies are far smaller than the tiniest seeds. They are also produced from germinated spawn which are the threadlike mycelia grown in a specially prepared medium. Think of the spawn as the seedlings and the spores as the seed. Here are the methods on how to grow your own mushroom kit in your home.

Things to get you started The most convenient and reliable way to start your own growing edible fungi is with an easy-to-use mushroom kit. Generally, the kit will consist of a cardboard box or perforated bag that contains pre-inoculated media for growing mushrooms, and all the ingredients that you need to get started. Most of the kits will produce several crops within a period of 8 to 15 weeks which depends on the type of mushroom. The price of mushroom kits may vary according to the species and manufacturers.

Cool and damp temperature Bathroom, kitchen, garage and basement, unused cabinet, shower, and underneath the kitchen sink are among the primer indoor mushroom growing locations that you can use. You don\t have to get a big space for your mushroom kits. However, you need to create a near darkness, humid environment within 70 to 80 percent which is ideal for mushroom growth. While for the temperature, keep it between 55 to 70 degrees.

Light control There should be no direct light for the area where the kits inhibit. Some types of mushroom such as the oyster mushrooms might need some filtered or indirect light to

produce. White mushrooms, cremini and Portobello mushrooms however need complete darkness to produce. Any amount of light will cause them to develop dark brown caps.

Types of mushroom to grow Oysters, wine caps and various button type mushrooms are suitable and the easiest types of mushroom to grow inside your home. You can also grow your own cremini and Portobello mushrooms as long you are following the right methods. You can also purchase the Shiitake mushroom kits for indoor growing. The kit contains the same materials such as the cardboard that contains pre-inoculated media.

Miscellaneous The key of growing mushrooms kit is keeping the moisture and constant humidity crucial for mushrooms to develop and grow. Avoid dry air that can be quickly lead to the downfall of any mushroom growing endeavors. The medium should be kept moist but not so much that it will become wet and soggy. A water filled bottle for a daily misting will help to provide needed moisture and help to maintain a humid environment. Using an electric fan will also increase the air circulation with constant flow of air.

Growing mushroom kits

Mushroom kits have become so popular for their versatility. We want to grow our own instead of buying it from the store. So, the mushroom kit is like a half-way measure. Mushroom spores cannot be sold in packets like other vegetables seed. So you have to purchase the mushroom kits which contain semi-unprocessed state of mushroom. It\s not hard to grow your mushroom kit. All you have to do is to know some methods about planting them and patience. Here are steps on how you can grow your own mushrooms:

Mushroom kits comprises of a box, compost ad growing medium, mycelium spores and some peat moss casing. Remove the peat moss bag and lightly pour over the compost

covering the mycelium once the kit is opened. Then, scarify the surface to enable the spores to grow with a fork or some other instruments. Mushroom kits need to be kept at a constant low temperature of 15 to 25 Celsius (60 to 78 Fahrenheit). The mushrooms do not necessarily need to be in the dark. Provided they are kept away from the direct sunlight. Your mushrooms won\t grow and your kit may struggle to produce at all when the room\s temperature shifts above or below this range. It is advisable for you to start your mushroom kit or delay it for a few weeks but don\t hold any longer than this. Within 7 to 10 days, you will start to produce mushrooms. In the first yield, almost 50% or half of your fruit will be produced with subsequent production slowing with each harvest until eventually the kit stops producing altogether. Once the mushroom kit has expired, there is nothing you can do with it except tossing the growing medium into the compost heap, this will happen in most cases. It is possible to continue growing more of the mushrooms if you have access to more mycelium spores and provided the peat moss casing is replaced and the compost medium is still moist. There is a lot of mushroom kit that offers different types of mushroom other than white button mushroom. Such are Shiitake, Portobello, Enoki and many other varieties which are now making their way into the marketplace as gardeners start to experiment with these diverse fungi.

April 14, 2010

Grow Your Own Mushrooms

By MICHAEL TORTORELLO Dont underestimate the mushroom. Yes, it often fancies dead things and dung, but the fungus is a biological kingdom unto itself. In the riot of the woods or the harbor of the backyard, mushrooms follow their own rules in their own good time. According to Paul Stamets, who wrote the definitive guidebook Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, there are thought to be 14,000 varieties. Perhaps 200 have been cultivated. A couple of species are really pretty bomb-proof, said Mary Ellen Kozak, an owner of Field and Forest Products, an online retailer. Oyster mushrooms are one. Shiitakes are one. Both can be cultivated in hardwood. The logs should be dead, but not too dead. A diameter of four to six inches will work nicely. Starting with a drill, a mallet and a dauber, heres what youll need: a drill bit ( 5/16 inch); a bag of plug spawn; cheese wax; and the courage to be discovered in the garage, giving a bikini wax

to a piece of lumber. You can buy all those things except the last one in the Plug Spawn Starter Kits (starting at $29.50) from Field and Forest Products (715-582-4997; fieldforest.net). The inoculating process takes all of 20 minutes: drill the holes, pound in the pegs and seal the holes with wax. Next, lay the log in a shady place, hosing it down when the sun is in a punishing mood. Then wait. Not everyone associates gardening with power tools. For those who dont, Ken Litchfield, who teaches mushroom cultivation at Merritt College in Oakland, Calif., recommends raising garden giants a good grilling mushroom on beds of wood chips. Mr. Litchfield gets his chips from an 18-wheeler. But a small, three- to six-inch-deep bed of hardwood chips (or chopped straw) should work fine, mixed with soil and spread in a shady spot. After wetting the substrate with a hose, sprinkle a bag of spawn over the top. Mr. Stametss company, Fungi Perfecti (800-7809126; fungi.com), stocks a five-pound bag of Wood Chip Spawn for $20. Rake in the spawn, water and cover with more chips or straw. Then: more waiting. Not a member of the land-owning class? If you can grow mildew in bathroom grout, you can probably manage one of Fungi Perfectis Indoor Mushroom Patches ($24 to $29), which arrive with the mushroom mycelium already growing. Varieties include shiitake, lions mane, pioppino and reishi. Plop the kit on a plate, prop up the plastic humidity tent and you are done. That wasnt so bad. Even the pathologically impatient can wait for these mushrooms: The kits can start fruiting in just a few weeks.

Mushroom Tissue Culture process Mushroom Spawn Production Fruiting Bag Production Mushroom Beds using agricultural waste Processing and Marketing

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