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Growing Button Mushrooms at Home – a

Full Guide
Introduction to growing button mushrooms

Button mushroom (Agaricus spp.) is one of the most widely cultivated

mushrooms in the world. Growing white button mushrooms is a very easy
and inexpensive procedure. Growing button mushrooms is a great project
for a beginning gardener because their spores grow quickly and easily. Then,
they can be grown indoors; you can plant them at any time of the year. To
grow button mushrooms, all you need is the proper equipment and some
patience. Growing button mushrooms is a good place to start since they’re
both tasty and easy to maintain. Button mushrooms are one of the easier
types to grow.

A step by step guide to growing button mushrooms

Unlike some mushroom varieties, it is simple to !nd button mushroom
spores, and they’re some of the most versatile of the mushrooms in the
kitchen. It is perfect for soups, stir-fries, chicken dishes, and scooped on top
of steaks. Button mushrooms grow well in nitrogen-rich manure, such as
cow or horse manure. If you don’t have 100% manure, equal parts of
compost and also manure work as well. The cost of button mushroom is
approximately Rs 90/kg.

Preparing to plant button mushrooms

Button mushrooms are very easy to grow for several reasons, one of which is
that they don’t require sunlight. Then, that makes them perfect for
apartment dwellers and those who have way too many indoor plants taking
up window space already. Button mushrooms can be grown at any time of
year, including winter. Growing button mushrooms can be as simple as
grabbing a growing kit and then following the directions.
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 Setting up growing trays for mushrooms
Consider buying a kit if it’s your !rst time growing button mushrooms.
Mushroom kits have all of the materials that you need for planting and
growing mushrooms and are great for beginners. They contain manure,
substrate, trays, and a spray bottle for watering the mushrooms. Growing
kits tend to have speci!c directions that can di"er from traditional
mushroom growing methods. Be sure to read the package carefully and then
follow the directions. Some kits already have the spores for growing a
speci!c type of mushrooms, while others just contain growing trays and
appropriate substrate.

Buy large trays for growing the Button mushrooms. Choose trays that are
about 14 by 16 inches and at least 6 inches deep. To start, the only plant in
one tray, which will continue to produce mushrooms for 3 to 6 months.
Growing Trays can be made of plastic, metal, or wood, depending on what
you have available. As you become a more experienced cultivator, then you
can grow multiple trays at once and have an almost constant supply of
mushrooms. Create a mixture of equal parts of compost and manure. Button
mushrooms need a growing environment that contains a lot of nitrogen. Use
your compost and purchase manure, such as horse or cow manure, at the
store, or buy both if you don’t have a compost pile.
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 If you plan on growing a lot of button mushrooms, you can make this
mixture in a large bucket and cover it after you use some of it. Otherwise,
mix as much as you’ll need to !ll one tray. Your manure and compost
mixture will make a strong smell, so make it in a well-ventilated area.

Fill the trays with 6 inches of the growing mix. Then, pour the mixture into
the trays carefully, leaving at least 1 inch of space at the top of the tray. Make
sure the soil is level and is spread evenly across the tray. White button
mushrooms tend to spawn well in warm compost, thus don’t worry if the
compost is still hot when you place it in the tray.

Choosing a spot for growing Button mushrooms

Button mushrooms enjoy growing in areas that are cool and dark, so you
want to pick somewhere to grow them that is between 65-75℉. It needs to
be shielded from light and any disturbances. Many mushrooms growers
select a basement or crawlspace to grow their white button mushrooms. If
you live in an apartment and dark closets work as well.
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 Requirements for growing Button mushrooms
In case if you miss this: Growing Capsicum Hydroponically.
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 Requirements for growing Button mushrooms.

Temperature requirement
Button mushrooms like warmer mediums to spawn, so if the compost gets
too chilly, put the tray on a heating pad to bring the temperature to 70℉.
Then, you don’t want to heat the soil any higher than that because it can kill
the spores.

Finding spawn
You need to use spawns, not seeds, to grow button mushrooms. And you
can purchase ready-made spores online or at a nursery. Some spores have
already been inoculated or mixed in with a substrate, such as dirt, hay, and
sawdust. You want to purchase spawn from an experienced mushroom
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 cultivator rather than a random seller online. High-quality spawn is more
likely to produce button mushrooms.

Materials needed for growing button mushrooms

White Button Mushroom Spawn – Spawn is mycelium in its stages that are
beginning.

A Box – First, !nd a cardboard box that is at least 6 inches deep. A box with
an area that is large as well as it o"ers your mushrooms more room to
cultivate. A cardboard box works well, so long as it’s at least 6 inches deep
and 14 inches by 16 inches. You need a box with plenty of surface area for
mushrooms to grow. If you don’t have cardboard, then you can use wood,
instead. Boxes can be made of plastic or metal as well, depending on what
you have obtainable.
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 A garbage bag – Garbage bag will likely to be used to line the !eld that
above keeps things from getting messy and helping moisture stay put. This is
used to line the cardboard box to stop things from getting messy while
keeping moisture in its place.

Composted Manure – It is the perfect growing medium for white button

mushrooms as it’s a food source for them as well. You need certainly to
ensure you will get about 100% manure and not a manure mix. Cow manure
is most bene!cial, but you can make use of other kinds of manure example
sheep if unavailable. The most garden that is great or centers will sell cow
manure.

Newspaper – Newspaper keeps the mycelium damp while it spreads and

grows across the medium.

Vermiculite – Many beginner mushroom growers make the error of planting

button mushrooms in complete manure. Though, to have success, you’ll
need to mix your manure with vermiculite. While, the manure supplies the
mushroom nutritional elements, guarantee aeration, and vermiculite
moisture retention.
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 Inoculating Button mushrooms
If you’re new to growing button mushrooms, then follow these steps;
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 First, take an open garbage bag and line a box with the bag.

Then, add a 50/50 mixture of vermiculite and manure. Read the directions
on the spawn to know how much you need and for example, 50 grams of
white button mushroom pawn needs 5kg of growing medium to inoculate.
More is always better and it doesn’t need to be perfect. The mix shouldn’t
be too deep about 3 inches at the most.

Wet the medium with a bit of water. It must be damp but not waterlogged.

Sprinkle the button mushroom spawn onto the damp growing medium.
Mix it into the top 2 to 3 inches of the moist compost.

Take 4 to 5 layers of newspaper, spray with a bit of water, and lay the
newspaper on top of the scattered spawn.

Cover the top of the box by using a plastic bag with a few holes to help
retain moisture.

Growing white button mushrooms

Growing white button mushrooms doesn’t need sunlight, which is especially
nice for the indoor gardener whose windows are full up with plants. They can
be grown at any time of year, with winter preferable, making for a great
gardening opportunity when everything outside is cold and bleak. Growing
button mushrooms takes spores, tiny microscopic things that will grow into
mushrooms. And you can buy mushroom growing kits made up of organic
material inoculated with these mushroom spores. White button mushrooms
grow best in nitrogen-rich manure, such as horse manure. To make an
indoor bed for your mushrooms, !ll a wooden box that’s at least 6 inches
deep with manure. Leave a few inches about 8 to 9 cm of space below the
rim of the box. Spread the inoculated material from your kit on the top of the
soil and mist it thoroughly. Keep your bed in the dark, damp, and warm
around 21°C for the next few weeks.

In case if you are interested in this: Hydroponic Setup Cost, Requirements.

After a few weeks, you should notice !ne white webbing on the surface of
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 the bed. This is called mycelium, and it’s the start of the mushroom colony.
Cover mycelium with a couple of inches (5 cm.) of damp potting soil or peat
this is called casing. Lower the bed’s temperature to 12°C. Make sure to keep
the bed moist and it may help to cover the whole thing with plastic wrap or a
few layers of wet newspaper. In about a month, you must start to see
mushrooms. Care of button mushrooms after this point is easy. Harvest
button mushrooms by twisting them out of the soil when you’re ready to eat
them. Fill in space with more casing to make way for new button
mushrooms. Your bed must continue to produce mushrooms for 3 to 6
months.

Supplementation with protein-rich supplements such as cottonseed meal,

soybean meal, alfalfa meal, and feather meal, etc. has been found to
increase the button mushroom yield. Supplementation can be done at
spawning or after spawn run before casing.

Care for Button Mushrooms

Moisture
You’ll want to check mushrooms once a day to be sure that the newspaper is
moist. If it’s not, spray with more water. Never pour water onto the compost
mixture or the paper, or you will make wet spots that aren’t the right
consistency to encourage mycelium growth.
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 Adding Casing
Within 3 weeks, you should see a white web of mycelium spreading over the
top of the manure and vermiculite mixture. Once you see the mycelium and
remove the heating pad. Then, take more of the 50/50 manure and
vermiculite mixture, and cover it with 1 inch of the mix. This part is called
adding casing, and it’s required to encourage the button mushrooms to
appear. You can mix parts of peat and soil, or peat and chalk. Then, spray
with water so that everything is damp. Remember not to dump water on top
and cover with plastic again.

Fruiting
Check once a day to be sure that the medium is damp and then spray if
necessary. Wait another 3-5 weeks, and white button mushrooms should
start to grow. Once mushrooms begin to form, continue to mist the soil and
then keep it damp.

Common pests and diseases of Button mushrooms

Dactylium Disease
This Dactylium disease looks like webbed, cottony growth on the surface of
the casing and mushrooms. It might turn gray or pink, and the mushrooms
will develop a soft, watery rot. Getting rid of this disease requires good
sanitation practices. Make sure the casing must be kept clean and sanitized,
along with all tools and equipment.

Green Mold
When the dense layer of mycelium changes to green, you could have green
mold. Developing button mushrooms will be brown and might be cracked or
distorted. Getting rid of green mold disease is achieved by good sanitation
practices, and make sure the compost is adequately sterilized before use.

Verticillium Spot
If you have small spotting on mushrooms or deformed mushrooms, and you
might have a verticillium spot. A severe infection can cause a deformation
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 called dry bubble and mushrooms might become covered with gray, fuzzy
growth. Then, you can destroy this fungus by using salt. Put the salt in a cup
near the bubbles to dry them out and there are some fungicides to treat
verticillium spot, but it could kill the mushrooms as well.

Harvesting Button Mushrooms

When button mushrooms are mature, then the cap pops open. When you’re
ready to harvest, twist the mushrooms out of the soil. If you don’t want to
twist them, then use a sharp knife to cut through the stem, just below where
the cap meets the stem.

During the growing period, while you pick the button mushrooms, look for
any fogging. Fogging means button mushrooms that have gone soft. You
want to remove these as well as any old mushroom stems or spongy
material attached to these. Then, you can !ll in space with more casing to
make space for new mushrooms. The harvesting process is done at the
button stage and caps measuring 2.5 to 4 cm. across and closed are ideal for
the purpose. The !rst crop appears about 3 weeks after casing. Mushrooms
require to be harvested by light twisting without disturbing the casing soil.
Once the harvesting is complete, the gaps in the beds must be !lled with
fresh sterilized casing material and then watered.

The above information may be used to grow mushrooms in Polyhouse, on

the terrace, in backyards, on raised beds, in pots and containers. You may
also like this: Oyster Mushroom Farming.
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 Table of Contents
1 A step by step guide to growing button mushrooms
1.1 Preparing to plant button mushrooms
1.2 Setting up growing trays for mushrooms
1.3 Choosing a spot for growing Button mushrooms
1.4 Requirements for growing Button mushrooms
1.4.1 Temperature requirement
1.4.2 Finding spawn
1.5 Materials needed for growing button mushrooms
1.6 Inoculating Button mushrooms
1.7 Growing white button mushrooms
1.8 Care for Button Mushrooms
1.8.1 Moisture
1.8.2 Adding Casing
1.8.3 Fruiting
1.9 Common pests and diseases of Button mushrooms
1.9.1 Dactylium Disease
1.9.2 Green Mold
1.9.3 Verticillium Spot
1.9.4 Harvesting Button Mushrooms
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 Author: Jagdish Reddy

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