How to grow mushrooms at home. Growing mushrooms for your home business

Mushrooms have become part of the life of modern man. Delicious, nutritious, with valuable medicinal properties - they are present in the menus of gourmet restaurants, the culinary delights of an ordinary housewife and dietary meals for certain diseases.
The unfavorable ecology does not allow to fully enjoy the mushrooms grown in natural conditions. The fear of poisoning has long turned the traditional gathering in the forest into a pleasant memory. Fortunately, there is a decent alternative - growing mushrooms at home. Growing mushrooms in small volumes is possible in an ordinary apartment or on a balcony. But, it is hardly possible to call conditions comfortable for a person with high (90-95%) humidity and a periodic decrease in temperature to 10-15C.
But the owners of a private house with a basement, shed or garage can easily grow mushrooms not only for their table, but also for sale.
To start, you need three components - a suitable room, mushroom mycelium and a substrate (or soil).

Before you start growing mushrooms, you can familiarize yourself with the mushroom business on our website.
The room can be above ground or underground. The main thing is that it was possible to create optimal humidity, ventilation, illumination and temperature conditions in it. All these conditions are feasible and require a minimum investment. To create a humidity of 90-95%, a household spray is suitable. And with the help of a fan, it is easy to produce artificial ventilation. For above-ground rooms, there is enough lighting from the windows, for underground ones, 100 watt bulbs are used at the rate of 1 per 20 sq. M. Although champignons do not need light, they bear fruit well without it.

How to grow mushrooms at home all year round.

Indoor temperature should vary depending on the stage of cultivation. For the incubation period, it is 20-24C, and during fruiting - 10-15C. Therefore, in cold weather, controlled heating is desirable, for example, stove or underfloor heating.
Straw of cereal crops (wheat, barley, rye) or sunflower husks are used as a substrate for oyster mushrooms. When choosing it, it is important to consider:
- The main criterion for quality are cleanliness, dryness, absence of mold, foreign odors and impurities.
- By the degree of yield in the first place is wheat straw, then - rye, barley, in the last - oatmeal.
—The husk is used fresh, since it becomes infected during storage.

-For growing champignons it is better to use horse manure as a soil. But cow can also do if you add straw, leaves, potato tops to it.
Mushroom mycelium is nothing more than a mycelium, which is planted in a substrate, due to which mushrooms are formed.
Experienced entrepreneurs - mushroom growers advise to start growing mushrooms with oyster mushrooms.

They are considered the most unpretentious, earliest and least expensive to grow artificially.
The first crop can be harvested in thirty days (in winter - 45). Oyster mushrooms grow well at not the highest humidity (80-85%) and wide temperature ranges (from +10 to + 30C). They thrive not only on straw and husk, but also on sawdust of various trees, corn stalks and dry sugarcane fibers. For the process of growing oyster mushrooms, special mushroom blocks are needed. In fact, this is a plastic bag into which the substrate, mushroom mycelium and bio-additives are poured. From one such block, 2.5 -3 kg are removed at a time. mushrooms. With the maintenance of 100 blocks on an area of ​​30 sq. m. can easily be handled by one person.
Mushrooms bear fruit for a long time, up to 5 years.
As for champignons, they are able to grow in the absence of light, in a cool (12-18C) and humid room (65-85%), by laying the mycelium in the ground.
The first crop can be harvested after 45-50 days, and the subsequent ones - within 3 months.
Growing mushrooms at home is an affordable and economical activity that can bring pleasure and a stable income.

Oyster mushrooms on tree stumps video.

Supporters of a healthy diet and just curious gardeners are attracted by growing mushrooms at home. It allows you to supplement the family's diet with environmentally friendly, low-calorie foods that are almost fat-free, but rich in fiber and potassium. Self-cultivation of mushrooms only seems difficult and troublesome. Even beginners can grow them at a minimum cost. Knowledge of the technology and compliance with the requirements of mushrooms for keeping conditions will allow you to get a good harvest.

Choice of substrate

Most often, three types of mushrooms are bred at home:

The rules for growing them are almost identical. The difference can be traced only in the composition of the nutrient medium. Oyster mushrooms feel most comfortable on straw. For shiitake, wood is more suitable - sawdust of deciduous trees. Champignons develop fastest in compost. It is prepared in a special way by mixing the following components:

• manure (horse manure is better, but any other can be used);
• fresh straw made from rye or wheat;
• mineral compounds such as gypsum, chalk, meat and bone meal, brewer's grains, ammonium nitrate, urea, superphosphate.

Although these types of mushrooms have different nutritional requirements, they cannot be called too strict. With proper care, each of them will delight with the harvest in chopped straw or sawdust. The nutrient medium must be of good quality. Evaluate it by external signs: cleanliness, dryness, absence of mold, impurities and odors.

The mushrooms will bring the greatest harvest on wheat straw. On rye or barley, they will also delight you with their abundance and rapid growth. It is better not to take oat straw for growing mushrooms. When growing oyster mushrooms, sunflower husks can be used. Another requirement is imposed on it: it must be fresh. Aged husk is an excellent breeding ground for pathogenic microbes.

Mycelium or fungal spores?

The next step is the acquisition of mycelium, which will serve as material for sowing, seedlings. In the scientific literature, it is called mycelium. It is a base containing many germinated fungal spores. After placing the mycelium in a nutrient substrate, it begins to actively grow. First, thin white filaments are formed, which, as they develop further, turn into mushrooms.

The basis of the mycelium can be:

• rye grains;
• wooden blocks;
• sawdust.

So that the experience of home mushroom growing does not bring disappointment, you need to purchase high-quality planting material. Specialized shops will come to the rescue here. The cost of wood with viable fungal spores is higher than that of grain mycelium. But she has an important advantage - a higher plant resistance to viral diseases.

On sale there are also just spores of mushrooms. Champignons or oyster mushrooms are also obtained from them. This process will be like growing any garden crop from seed. When planting spores, you will have to be patient, because the time before harvesting will be much longer. This way of growing mushrooms will require a certain skill, which only practice can get. Therefore, it is not suitable for beginners.

Preparation of the culture medium

The nutrient medium is prepared for sowing the mycelium by sterilizing it. This is an important step that cannot be skipped. Finely chopped straw or sawdust can contain pathogens that can destroy plantings. They will die during the sterilization process. It is not difficult to carry out the procedure at home. After filling a heat-resistant bowl with straw or sawdust, add water to it so that the material becomes damp. Then the dishes are placed in the microwave oven, turning it on at maximum power. Warm up the nutrient medium until excess water evaporates. This usually takes about 2 minutes.

If there is a lot of straw or sawdust, sterilization is carried out in batches.

The productive use of mycelium involves its thorough distribution in a nutrient medium. So the mycelium will give more harvest. At this stage, warmth is important to disputes. It stimulates their growth. Therefore, the nutrient medium is heated using an electric pillow.

Part of the treated straw or sawdust is placed on a baking sheet or in a shallow but wide saucepan. After scattering the mycelium on the surface of the material, mix it slightly with your fingers. Place the dishes with the nutrient medium on the electric pillow, setting its temperature at around + 21 ° C. Then the structure is placed in a place securely protected from light. A wardrobe is ideal for this. Keep the mycelium in it for 3 weeks. During this time, it will spread in straw or sawdust.

Requirements for growing conditions

For the development of mushrooms, 3 conditions are necessary:

1. high air humidity (around 90-95%);
2. ventilation;
3. temperature regime.

If the incubation period of the mushrooms is transferred in a warm place, then with the entry into the growth phase, they begin to need coolness. The temperature is comfortable for them at the level from +10 to + 15 ° C.

Therefore, the experience of home mushroom growing in an apartment is unlikely to be successful. If you have a glazed balcony, you can put the seeded mycelium on it. But in order to create an optimal microclimate there for it, you will have to make a lot of efforts.

There is one more factor that must be taken into account when thinking about growing mushrooms in a residential environment. When they mature, they release many spores into the air. If inhaled, they can provoke a serious allergic reaction: cough, runny nose, watery eyes. In the room where mushrooms grow, you need to be in a gauze bandage, or better - in a respirator. Long-term daily inhalation of spores can cause asthma. It is worth noting that only fully ripe mushrooms are thrown away. Usually the crops are harvested earlier, not allowing their caps to overgrow. Having isolated the spores, they begin to dry out and become unfit for food. Growing mushrooms in a basement or similar premises (cellars, sheds, garages) will be more productive and safer.

After removing from the cabinet, the culture medium with the seeded mycelium is sprinkled with a thin layer of soil and well sprinkled with water. Professionals advise covering the planting container with a damp cloth folded in several layers or a towel. This will help to avoid rapid evaporation of the water. The state of the mixture is carefully monitored, preventing it from drying out and overheating.

It will be possible to notice small mushrooms after 3 weeks. Their readiness for cutting is determined by their caps. You can start harvesting when they finally separate from the legs. A common mistake for beginners is trying to pick mushrooms with their hands. In this case, the mycelium is often injured. New mushrooms, which are still inside the nutrient mixture, are also damaged. To avoid this, the crop is cut with a sharp knife. The collected mushrooms can be cooked immediately or put in a paper bag and put it in the refrigerator. The maximum storage time is 7 days.

Mushrooms on the tree

Some mushrooms (boletus, shiitake, chanterelles, reishi) are grown on wooden blanks - logs. They are clogged with corks seeded with mycelium, which are made from birch. It is not difficult to get such material, it is on sale. Logs are cut from deciduous trees. Poplars, maples, elms, oaks are well suited for this. The length of the blanks should be 30-50 cm, and their diameter should be 20-50 cm. Saw them out in advance, no later than 2 weeks before settling with mycelium, since fresh wood has high antifungal properties.

Plugs are inserted into holes, which are drilled with a drill to a depth of 5 cm, without touching the core of the log. They are made in a checkerboard pattern throughout the workpiece, retreating 10 cm between them. The sticks with mycelium are compacted. You can use a hammer for this.

Before starting work, wash your hands thoroughly with soap. In the process, they carefully monitor so that no debris gets into the holes.

Then the logs are placed in a basement or other room where mushrooms are to be grown. The mycelium will eventually spread from the birch plugs, completely populating the workpiece. When this happens, the mushrooms will begin to sprout into the log from the cracks. This process usually takes 9-12 months. It is strongly influenced by external conditions - temperature and humidity.

Alternative way

Waste-free practitioners prefer to use coffee grounds for growing mushrooms. It contains nitrogen, manganese, potassium, magnesium. In such a nutrient medium, mushrooms develop quickly, it is ideal for growing oyster mushrooms. The advantage of coffee pomace is that it does not need additional sterilization. The one that he passed during the brewing is enough. But this method is not for everyone. The reason is simple: mycelium can only be sown in fresh grass. It should be brewed during the day. It is not easy to get such a volume of drunk coffee at home, but there is a way out - ask for cake in the nearest cafeteria.

Next, you need to prepare the landing container. Special durable bags made of geotextiles are available for sale. But mushrooms can be grown in regular freezer bags or milk cartons, as well as in ice cream boxes. Only 2 conditions must be met: the container must be clean and roomy.

The mycelium is evenly distributed over the surface of the coffee grounds, slightly mixing it into the cake. Do this with clean hands, washed with antibacterial soap. After sowing the drunk coffee, it is placed in a container or bag and tightly closed. It is then placed in a closet or under the sink. For germination, mushrooms need darkness and warmth (+18 to + 25 ° C). In such conditions, the thick should lie for about 3 weeks.

When the mycelium completely populates it, it will turn white. Then the cake is placed in a bright place, shading it. A 5x5 cm hole is cut in the upper part of the bag. The culture medium is sprayed with water in the morning and in the evening. It should not dry out, otherwise it will not get a crop. After 5-7 days, small mushrooms will appear from the coffee cake. They will grow literally before our eyes. The main thing is not to forget about hydration. Whitened coffee grounds can be planted on site by burying it in compost or covering it with bark.

Protein-rich mushrooms have become an indispensable ingredient in many dishes. They are added to salads, snacks, scrambled eggs, cereals, soups, roasts, pilaf, stews, hodgepodge, sauces. They go well with meat, fish, liver, pasta, vegetables. Few can resist pies and other pastries with mushroom filling. You can endlessly experiment with them in the kitchen, discovering more and more new flavor combinations.

There is nothing difficult in growing mushrooms for a family or for sale. All they need is a comfortable environment: a nutrient medium, temperature conditions, high humidity and ventilation. They don't have to pay much attention. If you want and have a minimum of knowledge, it will not be difficult to achieve success in home mushroom growing.

Growing mushrooms at home is a task that anyone interested in growing food for their own consumption should tackle at least once. Mushrooms are a beneficial addition to any diet because they are low in calories and fat, but high in fiber and potassium. Plus, they're easy to grow at home. Mushrooms are best grown in an area where temperature and conditions are easy to manage. Knowing how to grow mushrooms at home will help you carefully manage your growing conditions.

Steps

Part 1

Choose the type of mushroom to grow. There are three types of mushrooms that are easiest to grow at home: oyster mushrooms, champignons, and shitaki. The cultivation methods for these mushrooms are similar, but each requires its own ideal growing medium.

• Oyster mushrooms are best grown in straw. Shiitaks grow better on deciduous sawdust, and mushrooms grow on compost manure. These different nutrient media reflect the different nutritional requirements of each species. However, each of the three species is fairly easy to grow in sawdust or straw.
• The choice of mushrooms for growing is a matter of taste. You need to grow those mushrooms that you like.

1. Buy mycelium. Myceliums are sawdust permeated with fungal mycelium - in fact, the root structure of the fungus. They are used as seedlings of plants to promote growth.

   • You can buy high quality mycelium from your online store, gardening store, or other specialty organic store.
   • Buy the mycelium, not the spores. Some stores also sell spores that look more like plant seeds (rather than seedlings). Growing mushrooms from spores takes more time and practice and is best suited to a seasoned mushroom grower.

2. Sterilize the culture medium. If you grow mushrooms in straw or sawdust, you must sterilize this substrate before sowing the mycelium. This is done in order to kill any microorganisms that might compete with the mycelium.

   • To sterilize the medium, place it in a heat-resistant bowl and add enough water to make the straw or sawdust damp. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat it on high power for two minutes or until the water has boiled away.
   • The heat will kill all microorganisms, making it a safe breeding ground for the mycelium to take. You may have to work in batches to sterilize all straw or sawdust completely.

3. Heat the substrate to spread the mycelium in it. The mycelium must be thoroughly spread in a nutrient medium for the mushrooms to grow. Warm temperatures stimulate growth.

   Place the substrate in a suitable location. After three weeks, place the substrate in a dark and cool place (about 13 ° C). As a rule, a basement or cellar is suitable for this, but in winter, a closet or drawer in an unheated room will do.

   • If you notice green or brown spots on the substrate (like moldy bread), remove those spots and discard.
   • Pour a handful of soil onto the substrate and sprinkle everything with enough water to moisten thoroughly. You can cover the baking sheet with a damp towel to prevent moisture loss.
   • You can place a low heat lamp next to the baking sheet. It will replace the sun, and the mushrooms will begin to reach for it and grow upward, which will further facilitate their collection.
   • Keep the mixture moist and cool while the mushrooms are growing. Check it periodically and spray with water as needed.
   • Mushrooms prefer coolness. The most important thing is not to let them overheat. At temperatures below 21 ° C, the mushrooms should grow excellently.

4. Harvest when the mushrooms are fully grown. After about three weeks, you will have small mushrooms. Maintain moisture, coolness, and darkening to encourage their growth.

   • When the mushroom caps are completely detached from their legs, they can be collected. You can pick mushrooms with your fingers, but you risk damaging newly developing mushrooms below the surface. Better to use a sharp knife to cut the mushrooms at the base of the stem.
   • Rinse the mushrooms before cooking. The harvested mushrooms can be stored in a paper bag in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

   Part 2

   Growing mushrooms on coffee grounds

   1. Remove the coffee grounds. Growing mushrooms from coffee grounds is an interesting project that reuses coffee grounds that would otherwise go to waste. Coffee grounds are an excellent breeding ground for mushrooms (in particular oyster mushrooms), as they are already sterilized during the coffee brewing process and are full of nutrients.

      • For 500 g of mycelium, you will need 2.5 kg of fresh coffee grounds. The best way to get that much fresh coffee grounds (brewed on the same day) is to go to a cafe and ask kindly. Most likely, they will gladly give it to you.

   2. Find a container for mushrooms. It is best to use a special filter bag that can be purchased with the myceliums. If not, you can use a large airtight freezer bag, a cleaned milk carton, or an ice cream carton with four holes pierced in the sides.

      Transfer the mycelium to a container. Wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap, then stir the mycelium into the coffee grounds, crushing it with your hands to distribute it evenly. Place the planted coffee grounds in a plastic bag or container and seal tightly.

      Place the mycelium in a suitable environment. Place the bag or container in a warm, dark place between 18 and 25 ° C, such as under a sink. Leave it on for about three to four weeks until the contents are completely white due to the mycelium settling in the coffee grounds.

      • If green or brown spots appear on the substrate, cut them out to avoid poisoning later.

   3. Move the mushrooms. When the contents of the bag or container are completely white, move it to a bright place (but not in direct sunlight) and cut a 5x5 cm hole on top. Moisten the contents of the container by watering it twice a day to prevent drying out - the mushrooms will not grow too dry conditions.

Fresh mushrooms on the table all year round? Why not! Many gardeners have long been cultivating crops in their homes and feasting on natural, crispy, and low-calorie foods. Even beginners will be able to cultivate mushrooms at home. Important criteria in this matter are quality seeds, mycelium and conditions for planting and growing.

Skillful gardeners shared the secrets of mushroom growing and told how to achieve a productive result.

Home Mushroom Basics

Not all types of mushrooms are suitable for indoor living, with the exception of winter mushrooms. Their compact size allows you to plant crops directly on the windowsill, and their unpretentiousness makes this process very simple.

In addition to honey agarics, you can grow a harvest of oyster mushrooms and mushrooms at home. But they will require more serious conditions and separate premises.

Mushroom farming includes:

• Suitable premises.
• Optimal conditions are temperature, humidity and lighting.
• Types of mycelium.
• Quality seeds and spores.
• Growing technology and capacity.
• Type of culture.

Before you start breeding, you need to decide on the type of plants and the method of cultivation, the choice of premises and the creation of favorable conditions depend on this. Each type of mushroom requires a certain air temperature, humidity and ripening time. Therefore, the selection of a variety must be approached very seriously.

Types of "indoor" mushrooms

Most often, the most popular types of mushrooms are used in home production, which do not require much trepidation and hassle when grown in a garden or indoors. These can be woody or soil varieties, namely:

1. 1. Oyster mushrooms - grow well at + 16–20 degrees in a specially equipped room (continuous fruiting) or in natural conditions - in the garden (the fruiting period is only 1 season). Harvesting takes place in 25-40 days. Suitable for beginners.
2. 2. Champignons - are considered the most expensive type of mushrooms at the initial stage. For cultivation, a substrate with a high content of nutrients, high-quality mycelium are purchased and conditions for growth are created: good ventilation with maintaining an air temperature of +12 degrees and a humidity of 80%, they turn on diffused lighting every day, but for a short time. Champignons ripen for about 30-40 days.
3. 3. Shiitake - performed well in a deciduous sawdust environment. PVC bags are filled with large sawdust of deciduous trees, hung by hooks or placed on pallets. Holes are made on the surface of the bag through which condensate flows out. Watering - once a day. The cultivation technology is suitable for oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms, only the harvest of the latter will have to wait much longer.
4. 4. Porcini mushrooms, like champignons, love compost humus with a high nitrogen content and high humidity (at least 90%), air temperature + 8-12 degrees, as "whims" you need daily illumination with diffused, dim light for a short time. Realistically growing porcini mushrooms in the garden, but the harvest is seasonal.

Champignon

Porcini

All of these delicacies can be purchased in the store at any time of the year, but homemade and grown with love and awe are much tastier.

Growing methods

Cultivation methods fall into several categories and determine the yield and volume of the crop. Some are suitable for home production and others for business.

• The extensive method helps to breed the crop for home use: cooking, drying or preservation in medium volumes. In this case, mushrooms grow in the garden or in the country, in a place suitable for them with high humidity and shade, the harvest here is small and seasonal. The advantages of this method are its low cost and ease of care - maintaining moisture and selecting a suitable stump or substrate. Minus - the risk of a lack of harvest in bad weather conditions (cold or extreme heat).
• The intensive method consists in equipping special rooms for growing for industrial purposes or for harvesting, regardless of the season. The disadvantage of this method is in investment and the creation of the necessary requirements for the growth of mushrooms.

Optimal conditions and premises for growing

Having decided on the type of mushrooms and the method of growing them, it is worth creating a favorable environment for the development of mycelium. First of all, you need to find a place or room. If the planting will be carried out in the garden, you should choose an area protected from direct sunlight, with the necessary humidity and optimal temperature. Detailed information is offered by courses for beginner mushroom growers.

As a room for growing mushrooms, you can choose a basement, cellar or other building that meets the following requirements:

• The presence of ventilation.
• The ability to maintain a certain air temperature and humidity (if necessary, install a heater).
• Ample space for shelving with boxes or bags.
• Additional lighting.
• Area for processing raw materials and storing crops (preferably protected by a partition).

The greenhouse can be adapted for cultivation by equipping it with a heater.

Necessary materials

In addition to the premises, you will need mycelium (mycelium, seeds), a substrate and containers for germination.

The mycelium is the root system or germinated seeds of fungi that are placed in a nutrient medium for future growth and harvest. The mushroom box can be purchased online, at a nursery or a specialist store. It looks like a layer of sawdust infected with fungal spores.

The containers most often used are boxes (for mushrooms), plastic bags (for oyster mushrooms) and tree logs (for oyster mushrooms and shiitake). In the basement, metal racks are made, on which containers or bags with mycelium are distributed. And for convenience, mushroom growers recommend isolating a section of the working surface with a partition for processing, cleaning and storing the harvested crop.

Choosing a substrate for planting

Along with the purchase of mycelium, it is necessary to purchase a substrate in which the "mushroom seedlings" will multiply. Each type of mushroom has a specific habitat. For example, champignons and porcini mushrooms grow well in compost, oyster mushrooms - in straw, and shiitake - in sawdust.

The substrate can be purchased ready-made in plastic bags or prepared by yourself. As a nutrient mixture for mushrooms you will need:

• Any manure.
• Rye or wheat straw (fresh and roasted in the oven against pests and fungi).
• Mineral components (chalk, urea, saltpeter, superphosphate, meat and bone meal or gypsum).

All ingredients must be fresh, otherwise harmful microflora will simply ruin the crop or it will develop much stronger than the seedlings. The best substrate for oyster mushrooms is wheat straw or sunflower husks (as fresh as possible). A good harvest will come from rye or barley straw, but not very good from oat.

Straw or sawdust is sterilized to remove disease-causing viruses and diseases. This can be done in a regular kitchen microwave. Crushed straw is placed in a bulk ceramic container and poured with water for impregnation, after which it is sent to the oven for drying.

After processing the substrate, heated straw and mycelium are placed in a container (bowl, bowl, pan, box), mixed, heated in a warm place at a temperature of +21 degrees and placed in a dark place for 3 weeks.

On day 21, the overgrown mycelium is placed in a cool place (cellar) for ripening and the formation of a crop. Moisten the mixture as needed, but overmoistening should be avoided. The first collection will appear in 2.5-3 weeks. The mushroom is considered suitable for cutting when the cap is fully formed and detached from the stem.

Mushrooms on the tree

It is possible to grow mushrooms not only in a nutritious substrate, but also on the trunk of a deciduous tree cut a day ago. This method requires a suitable log (poplar, oak, elm, maple) and mycelium-infested birch corks (commercially available). Holes with a depth of 5 cm are cut out on the log in a checkerboard pattern and they are clogged with corks, in which there are already spores of mushrooms. Distribution occurs over the entire surface of the log, the distance between the plugs should be at least 10-15 cm.

When carrying out this procedure, you should be as careful as possible and adhere to hygiene: wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and disinfect the tools (hammer, drill bit). When blocking the holes, make sure that there is no debris in the place on the plugs.

Gradually, from birch blanks, the mycelium will spread throughout the log, and mushrooms form on the cracks. This will take 9 to 12 months. The harvested log is placed in a basement with optimal conditions and the required humidity.

Coffee grounds as soil

With its high antifungal properties, coffee grounds can also be used as a substrate for the germination of mushroom crops. After heat treatment (brewing a coffee drink), it is ready for use. Only a fresh portion of ground grains are suitable. At home, such an amount of grounds is unlikely to be collected, but you can solve the problem by asking for waste at the nearest coffee shop.

The composition of the grounds contains a large number of trace elements necessary for the growth of mushrooms: manganese, potassium, magnesium, nitrogen, etc. A regular bag for freezing food is suitable as a container, in which holes must be made. This soil is good for growing oyster mushrooms, it is not suitable for other crops.

For germination, the mycelium is mixed with the grounds and placed in a bag that is stored for 25-30 days in a dark but warm room. When the substrate turns white, make a couple of holes in the bag. Spraying is carried out through them. The first mushrooms will appear from there.

Deservedly and rightfully considered the standard for other mushrooms. He looks attractive - with a fleshy brown hat on a white pot-bellied leg, and his taste is excellent. When fried, porcini mushrooms emit a special, nutty aroma. The mushroom got its name - white - because its incision does not darken during drying and cooking, while maintaining a juicy, appetizing structure. And today we will consider the cultivation of porcini mushrooms at home and not only.

White mushroom: description

Almost everywhere white mushroom is also called boletus. And also he is called a bear, belovik, wood grouse. No matter how else this forest handsome man is called in numerous corners of Russia, he always looks distinctive:

1. The boletus cap is brown. It changes its bulge with the age of the fungus. From a semi-cylindrical shape in a small mushroom, it gradually makes a transition to an almost flat, about 20 cm in diameter, hat of an adult mushroom.
2. The stem is always whitish, with characteristic brownish vertical veins. Initially, it has the shape of a barrel, and as it grows, it stretches into a dense, powerful cylinder.

Now you can visually distinguish the porcini mushroom (you received the description) from other forest mushrooms.

Varieties of porcini mushrooms

The porcini mushroom has many forms, and their varieties depend on the trees under which the mushroom grows and in symbiosis with which it enters:

1. The pine shape is perhaps the most colorful of the shape. It has a beautiful brown hat and a slightly purple tinge, slightly thickened underneath.
2. The spruce form is the most common in central Russia. The hat has a brownish-reddish color, with spots and a rim along the edge. The leg is barrel-shaped, covered to the middle with a fine mesh.
3. Oak form - strong porcini mushrooms with elastic brown caps with a grayish tint.
4. Dark bronze shape - the name speaks for itself. Hats are dark, wrinkled; legs are brownish.

The boletus growing in shaded areas has a lighter color of the cap. And their fellows, who grew up in the sun, have a rich brown top. does not tolerate heavily shaded and mossy places. For example, it will not grow in a dense forest. And he will choose comfortable, slightly shaded or sunny places.

We grow mushrooms in the country

If the mushroom picker returns from the forest with a basket full of boletus, it means that he did not go mushrooming in vain. Many people wonder if it is possible to grow mushrooms in the country in order to admire the beautiful landscape, and, of course, it is guaranteed to have a rare product on the table. Yes, growing a king of mushrooms in a garden is quite possible, although not an easy task. It is necessary to know the intricacies and peculiarities of breeding this fastidious forest sturdy fellow, but as a result of hard work, the first white mushrooms will grow near your country house.

So, growing mushrooms in the country. It will not be easy to achieve results because the porcini mushroom belongs to the mycorrhizal group, which speaks of their duty and very difficult intergrowth and interlacing with the roots of the trees under which they live. This is a very complex and vital symbiosis for fungi. Without a tree, or rather its roots, the so-called fungus root cannot form and the fruit growing on the surface cannot develop. Therefore, alas, it will not work to grow porcini mushrooms in a bare area.

A long-standing and well-proven method of cultivation is in an area where trees between ten and thirty years old grow. White mushroom settles under pine, spruce, oak, birch, beech. Matching tree species when replanting mycelium is necessary. The more similar the conditions of the summer cottage plantation of boletus to their forest location, the more chances that they will successfully take root.

White mushrooms at home

If you wish, you can master the cultivation of mushrooms at home, having studied the accumulated experience of scientists from Holland. With the help of the technologies they recommend, you can start growing the product in greenhouses and dug cellars.

The cultivation of a plantation with an intensive method, namely, it is taken into service at home, has its own difficulties. One of them is a considerable investment, the purchase of equipment to ensure the required temperature and humidity in the room. But the advantages of this growing method are considerable - fertility throughout the season and a good ripening rate. For effective indoor cultivation, it is recommended to use mycelium cultivation.

Requirements for planting material

It is advisable to purchase planting material from suppliers with recommendations, carefully study all the initial data of the mycelium indicated on the label. It is very important to pay attention to the smell and color of the mycelium. If there is a weak ammonia smell, immediately reject the batch of planting material - it was overheated and is now unviable. The color of a healthy exudate is orange with a slight yellowness.

Having brought home the packages with the purchased mycelium, you need to cool them, ventilate and only then start preparing before laying. The contents of the bags are crushed without tearing the packaging. Thus, they maintain a gentle and adaptive temperature regime for the future mycelium. When laying, sterility is very important:

• it is necessary to work with gloves;
• premises for growing porcini mushrooms and laying mycelium should be separate;
• opening the package, it is necessary to process it with a disinfectant solution.

Mushroom growing technology

To complete the topic of the previous paragraph, let's start with the method of germinating a crop at home. So, growing mushrooms at home. Here are the main stages of indoor work:

1. Boiling in bags for 1-1.5 hours and subsequent cooling of the substrate. (Hole water drainage bags).
2. Mixing mycelium and substrate on disinfected tables. The availability of domestic material should be at the level of 5%, and imported - 2.5%.
3. Putting the mixture into bags. Tamp the grafted substrate tightly into bags, flatten one side and make several cuts for the mushrooms to germinate.
4. Place the bags vertically on the shelves. Watering is normal, without strong waterlogging. Ventilation of the room is required.
5. If the care was correct, the crop of mushrooms can be harvested for at least six months.

This is how porcini mushrooms are grown at home. Yes, quite difficult, but worth it.

Growing methods in the garden

Growing porcini mushrooms at home is strikingly different from growing in a personal plot. But first things first.

For cultivation of porcini mushrooms on the site, first prepare the place for laying the mycelium. On the top layer of soil previously removed with a shovel, compost or soil with peat is laid. Lay the planting material, cover it with a layer of turf removed earlier.

The most effective options for harvesting seed is to bring several pieces of mycelium the size of a chicken egg from the forest. Such blanks are planted in the soil without processing, it is only important to observe at least two conditions:

1. The trees under which the boletus grew in nature should be of the same species with the plants at the new planting site.
2. You need to dig out the material very carefully - porcini mushrooms are hard to grow together with the roots and restore communication with the satellite tree.

Sowing forest mycelium

How to grow porcini mushrooms if there is no way to purchase a quality one

A very good effect is obtained by the method of sowing mycelium using the cap and the tubular part of the porcini mushroom. Take 5-6 mature caps, maybe even with wormholes, and soak for a day in a bucket of water. Then the contents are kneaded with your hands. The thick is separated into another container. The thick mass is the body of the mushroom, and it comes in handy too. The bare roots of the tree are spilled with the remaining liquid with a large number of spores, then everything is covered with a layer of thick mushroom substance and sprinkled with previously removed soil on top. It is necessary to carefully water the planted mycelium and carry out subsequent watering once a week in the absence of rain.

Now you are familiar with the cultivation of porcini mushrooms at home, and in the garden, where, with proper observance of all technologies, you can get a harvest of boletus the first time in a year or two. Good luck!