Cultivation of Edible Mushrooms

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BACKGROUND

There is no doubt that mushrooms are super delicious but some of the gourmet varieties are very expensive and is quite difficult to get it fresh. But if you are a very big fan of mushroom and always want to keep your kitchen stocked up with mushrooms, then you have a good option of growing it in your own space.

The objective of this experiment is to know about the procedure to cultivate mushroom.

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REQUIREMENTS

Spawns or spores.

Growing medium

Terrariums

Compost

Suitable logs

Knife

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PROCEDURE

Selection of variety

Buy a mushroom spawn of your required variety-If you want to grow mushroom in a particular season then you can bring spores and inoculate but for getting to get best fruit it is always good to go for pre-inoculated spawn that are available in pre-mixed bags. Then you can grow these mushrooms in required growing medium, in a humid and dark location. Be sure to select varieties that you love to eat.

Mushroom growth and harvesting

Terrarium method of growing and harvesting

For growing a mushroom in a good atmosphere, you can choose a Styrofoam cooler, plastic terrariums or any kind of old grey trays and then cover it with a wet newspaper. Then fill the container with best medium that is suitable for growing mushroom. Materials like manure, rye meal, vermiculite and saw dust can be used for growing mushroom. The growing medium is very important as mushroom like plants cannot extract their nutrients and thus need a proper mix of sugars, starches, cellulose and nitrogen.^1,2

Now plant the mushroom spawn to about two-inch deep into the substrate. Or in other way you can spread the spawn in the growing chamber and then cover it with compost. Now it’s time to keep the chamber in a perfect temperature at about 21 degree Celsius. It will take about a span of 3 weeks for the spreading of the roots. As soon as a thin layer of mycelium is formed that acts as a root base for mushrooms, you can transfer this container to 16 degree Celsius temperature environment.Regularly keep the soil surface damp by spraying with water. Keep a watch if your soil is over saturated and slimy or any kind of fungal growth. Now it’s time to harvest the mushrooms. As soon as you see that the veil that connects the cap to the step of the mushroom, its time for harvesting as mushroom are now extremely ripe and tasty. You should pick the mushrooms from the substrate as it may loosen other mushrooms.

Log method of mushroom cultivation

You can go to a spawn supplier and buy some pre-inoculated logs and initiate cultivation with some freshly cut logs with the intacted bark. Most suitable is oak, but you can also choose ironwood, sweet gum, hard maple. But all logs should be 4 feet long and 4-8 inches diameter. For using one’s own log, you can use mushroom cylinders. Some of the common varieties that are used as plug spawn are oyster mushrooms and shiitake.^3,4

Now it’s time to inoculate in the logs and that should be done three weeks of cutting so that there will be no growth of unrequired organisms. If logs the logs are very dry then you can dip it in clean water. Clean off all the moss, lichens and any type of organism that can cause hinderance to the growth of mushrooms. In each log drill a diamond shaped pattern of about 3-8 inch.

Now its time to insert the plug spawn with a wax cover. For this put the plug spawn into the hole with the help of a hammer and cover the hole with a layer of wax so that the spawn remains protected from the pests. Be careful while heating the wax. It should be heated only to melt it and not much heat so that it will catch fire.

Now keep the logs in shade and avoid wind and sun. Cover the logs with fruiting blankets and choose a place having 60% shade cover to permit them to fruit. Some of the ideal places are evergreen trees or building as they can offer shade year around. Till the formation of mushroom keep the logs moist. This helps the mushroom remain established. Once the mushroom starts fruiting stop spraying water. Check frequently for fruiting. It takes about 5-12 months for fruiting although its different for different varieties.

Now it’s time for harvesting, as soon as you see that the mushroom lifts away from the stem, cut them with a help of knife. Although you can allow the mushroom to grow bigger before harvesting but this will decrease the number of mushrooms per log.

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CONCLUSION

Cultivating mushroom by own helps in getting fresh and good quality mushroom.

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REFERENCES

1. Beelman, R.B., D.J. Royse, and N. Chikthimmah. 2004. Bioactive components in Agaricus bisporus of nutritional, medicinal or biological importance. Mushroom Science16:1-16.
   
2. Beyer, D.M. 2003. Basic procedures for Agaricus mushroom growing. College of Agricultural Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
   
3. Carroll, A.D. and L.C. Schisler. 1976. Delayed release nutrient supplement for mushroom culture. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 31:499-503.
   
4. Chang, S.T. 2006. The world mushroom industry: trends and technological development. International J. Medicinal Mushrooms 8:297-314.