Growing mushrooms at home due to various factors is gaining unprecedented popularity. The leader among the mushrooms grown at home is the oyster mushroom. This is not surprising, since it is the simplicity of technology, productivity and picky oyster mushrooms that makes them accessible to everyone. Following the recommendations and instructions, everyone can easily, using only available tools and materials, to collect up to 3 kg of crop per kilogram of the original mycelium. The symbiosis of the correctly chosen room, the quality of the mycelium and the substrate is the key to successful cultivation of oyster mushrooms at home.
Where to grow oyster mushrooms, the choice of premises
Cultivation of oyster mushrooms at home, of course, should begin with solving a trivial, but very important issue - choosing the location of the mushrooms. When choosing, one should take into account that in natural habitat almost all mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms in particular, are most actively growing in places with good air exchange. Moreover, the humidity of places of growth, as a rule, exceeds 50%.
Thus, the cultivation of mushrooms at home should be organized in rooms that are able to recreate the natural environment. Such a room can be a greenhouse, a shed or a basement - this type of accommodation is the most popular, but in reality, the choice will be individual and will depend only on the compliance of the room with the following requirements:
- The humidity level of the room should be in the range of 70 to 90%;
- During the first three weeks, bags of mycelium should be hidden from sunlight;
- After the appearance of the first fruit rudiments, bags with oyster mushrooms for at least 8 hours should receive artificial or daylight daily;
- The air temperature in the room should not be lower than 20 degrees, but not higher than 30;
- Throughout the period, the technology of growing oyster mushrooms at home implies the presence of good ventilation.
Important! The selected room is the basis and the pledge of yield. The approach to addressing this issue should be extremely serious, since non-compliance with any of the requirements presented can not only reduce the speed of growing the mushroom crop, but also eliminate it altogether.
How to grow oyster mushrooms, preparation and processing of the substrate
Before you start growing mushrooms, you should understand how to grow oyster mushrooms and what the end result depends on. One of the fundamental points is the preparation and processing of the substrate, which is essentially a breeding ground for the growth of oyster mushrooms. As in the case of other stages, any error during the preparation stages may affect the yield, which is why it is recommended to follow simple rules and advice.
Purchase of mycelium
The sale of mycelium is carried out by many specialized shops and even individual companies engaged in the direct cultivation of oyster mushrooms. It is buying from such manufacturers is most desirable for a novice mushroom picker. In accordance with the requirements and technological features on a massive scale, mycelium, as a rule, is not used for more than a year, but during this period it has not been fully developed, that is, it gives a significant yield. Such a mycelium has already been developed and bears fruit, and its cost is significantly lower than the new mycelium.
The volume of purchased mycelium should be determined depending on the desired yield - with good care at home it is possible to get up to 3 kg of oyster mushrooms with each kilogram of mycelium. Keep in mind that bags for growing oyster mushrooms in a short period can produce up to three harvests. It is rather difficult to base the choice of mycelium when purchasing on any indicators due to the absence of many obvious evaluation factors, which is why it is important not only to pay attention to the size of the mycelium and its vastness, but also to make a choice in favor of a proven supplier-seller.
How to make the substrate yourself
The modern market is replete with a variety of substrates for the cultivation of various plants and fungi. However, some mushroom pickers invariably make a choice in favor of a substrate made with his own hands. Such a basis, of course, better takes into account the individual characteristics of the climate, care and conditions of detention, but it should be understood that the effectiveness of its use depends on the correct component composition, which, in turn, requires skills and knowledge.
As well as vegetable soil, substrates for the cultivation of oyster mushrooms should contain a high-quality base and mineral composition. It is imperative that the selected base — sawdust, husks, straw, etc. — is clean and pre-treated. It is strongly recommended to avoid the use of chemically treated bases - it is worth remembering that oyster mushrooms are grown for eating, therefore environmental friendliness and safety should come first.
Independent creation of a substrate is a fairly simple process consisting of only three stages:
- Disinfect the selected substrate by thermal and / or chemical treatment;
- Grinding of the substrate to fractions of no more than 4-5 cm and repeated heat treatment for two hours;
- Spinning
Did you know?In addition to eating, oyster mushrooms have found application in traditional and traditional medicine. Thus, in the popular recipes of eastern countries, the oyster mushroom is almost an integral part and is positioned as a panacea for many diseases.
Substrate preparation
The preparation of the substrate for the cultivation of oyster mushrooms begins with a commonplace, but extremely important choice of raw materials. The best results of germination and yield are achieved in a substrate of wheat or barley straw, sunflower husk, crushed corn cobs and its stalks, as well as buckwheat husks.
Important! In practice, the substrate is often found on the basis of sawdust or shavings of various types of wood, however, the growing of oyster mushrooms at home on a similar basisfor newbies-a rather complicated process that requires, moreover, a more laborious approach.Already in the first stages of the preparation of the substrate, it is strongly recommended to completely check the selected raw materials for purity and the absence of mold. The next stage is the grinding of the raw material base into small fractions with a total size of not more than 5 cm.
In order to completely exclude the infection of the substrate by all sorts of harmful organisms, which is certainly unacceptable in the context of the further use of farmed oyster mushrooms for food, it is strongly recommended to be subjected to heat treatment. Moreover, this procedure will also increase the moisture content of the raw materials to the desired level.
The processing process consists of several actions:
- The room of the cleared and crushed raw materials in metal ware of large volumes;
- Filling the substrate with a large amount of water (in a ratio of at least 1: 2);
- Cooking the substrate for 2-2.5 hours until complete softening of the feedstock;
- Drain the remaining water and cool the substrate to a temperature of 30 ° C and its full spin.
Important! Waterlogging of the original base, despite the dependence of the oyster mushroom on moisture, will certainly make the resulting substrate unsuitable for growing mushrooms at home. So, when compressing raw materials in the hand, only a small amount of drops is permissible.
The process of forming mushroom blocks
Mushroom blocks are a kind of bed where oyster mushrooms are grown. As a rule, a plastic bag is chosen as the “capacity” for a block. It should be noted that the bag must be disinfected or heat treated without fail. An effective method of treatment is washing with a bleach solution. The optimal bag volume should be at least 5 kg.
After disinfection of the substrate used and the capacity for it, the formation of mushroom blocks begins - layer-by-layer filling of the bag with the substrate and mycelium. Based on the recommendations of experienced mushroom pickers, for each 5-6 cm layer of substrate should be about 0.5 cm of mycelium. It should be noted that the first and last layer in the bag must necessarily be a substrate.
At the end of the filling of the mushroom block, the bag is tightly tied at the neck. The final stage - block perforation - consists in cutting small holes at a distance of 10 cm from each other. And do them best in a checkerboard pattern.
How to care for oyster mushrooms
As a rule, it is not difficult to grow oyster mushroom mycelium at home — it is enough to create proper climatic conditions and properly care for the mycelium during the ripening period, following the recommendations.
Maintaining climatic conditions, incubation period of ripening oyster mushrooms
Starting from the first days of growing mushrooms, you need to decide at what temperature the mushrooms grow in the created conditions - the temperature should be constant (within 20 - 30 ° C) and not vary by more than 1-2 degrees. Exceeding the upper temperature limit will certainly cause a heat shock in the oyster mushroom mycelium and kill future mushroom shoots. Lower temperatures also have a devastating effect.
Along with the temperature regime, the cultivation of mushrooms at home should be accompanied by a constant level of humidity. Fortunately, even novice mushroom pickers without the experience of growing oyster mushrooms have automatic systems for maintaining moisture through irrigation. The incubation period of aging in optimal conditions usually takes about 20-25 days.
Did you know? The color of the oyster mushroom cap depends on the created growing conditions. So, the chosen and constantly maintained temperature is about 20WITHwill allow you to get a light hat, and 28-30WITH- dark. However, this in no way affects the taste.
How to care for mushrooms during growth
Caring for mushrooms, despite the apparent complexity, is quite simple and does not require special skills and means. The main requirement is to maintain conditions of detention. During the incubation period, the room should not be ventilated, since the carbon dioxide emitted autonomously creates the most favorable conditions and slightly increases the level of moisture.
To ensure an adequate level of lighting for each square meter of space should be at least 5 watts of power lighting. Daily coverage is at least 8 hours.
Watering the substrate with mycelium should be carried out at least once or twice a day (with exceptionally warm water). In order to prevent diseases of oyster mushrooms in the room, it is recommended to carry out daily cleaning using chlorine-based products.
Important! In some cases, even with proper care and proper conditions of maintenance, individual “blocks” of mycelium can produce a small crop or not bear fruit at all. In such situations, it is important to carefully sort out the substrate, clean it and check for the presence of fungus and mold. If the substrate and mycelium are infected, the bag must be immediately removed from the rest.
How to harvest
The first harvest of oyster mushrooms should be expected 1.5 months after disembarking. Collecting mushrooms should be carried out carefully, cutting off the mushroom almost at the base. To avoid damage, it is advisable to use a knife. It is noteworthy that during the harvest of oyster mushrooms, it is not necessary to cut off each mushroom individually, as is the case with other species, but with entire families. This will allow to keep the harvest longer and maintain its quality.
Did you know? Already after 2-3 weeks after harvest, you can wait for the re-harvest. And in order to speed up the process of ripening, it is enough to completely cut off the stem and carefully sort out the substrate.
Despite the high market value of oyster mushrooms, the process of growing them is quite simple and accessible to everyone, even at home. It is noteworthy that the technology of growing oyster mushrooms at home does not have any special secrets - simple compliance with the recommendations will certainly guarantee high yields of tasty and environmentally friendly mushrooms.
