Mushrooms have many health benefits. Their nutritional value is very high and they are more or less fat-free. Besides this, mushrooms enhance the taste of every dish they are added to. Cultivating mushrooms is a hobby taken up by many nature enthusiasts as nurturing any kind of plant is a great way of connecting with nature. If you are a regular mushroom grower, you must have observed that growing mushrooms using spores does not make a mushroom strain genetically identical to the one you desire. Learn to grow shrooms without spores, by making use of the tissue culture method which ensures that you have a genetically identical mushroom strain.
I. Sterilization
Choose an appropriate place like a small room which is cool and dark and can be closed from all sides. Sterilize everything, right from the place to all the instruments to be used in the production of mushroom. HEPA filters can be used to purify the air. A good way to sterilize the instruments is to use food ingredients polypropylene autoclave bags. Simply follow the instructions written on the bags to make sure that everything is germ free.
II. Spawn Production
Take a very small piece of a mushroom strain and put it on an agar plate. An agar-agar plate is a sterile Petri dish containing a growth medium which facilitates the culture of microorganisms. Provide the mushroom with the proper temperature and keep it slightly damp. After about a fortnight, you will notice that the mushroom tissue culture i.e. mycelium has grown and filled the entire agar plate. For growing mushrooms without spores, mycelium is a good alternative.
III. Choice of Substrate
Substrate is the organic material on which the mushrooms grow. Be very careful while choosing a substrate. Some types of edible mushroom varieties like the Agaricus and the button mushrooms grow on compost. While others like oyster mushrooms, Lion's Mane mushroom and Maitake grow on woody materials such as raffia, wood chips, sawdust or straw.
IV. Preparation of Substrate for Harvesting
Understanding the correct procedure of preparing the substrate for harvesting is very essential. It is a very complicated process and might take a couple of weeks. Compost is considered ready for harvesting only when it is full of white actinomycetes bacteria. Remember to sterilize the substrate before the spawn is introduced to it. For this, heat it up to a certain temperature, so that it removes the harmful bacteria and yet does not kill the beneficial microbes. Let it cool. Add calcium sulfate to it and the compost is ready for harvesting. Woody materials take lesser time to mature. Simply provide them with a heat treatment like hot water steeping which can be easily carried out at home and the harmful organisms will be removed from the organic material.
V. Harvesting
Introduce the spawn containing mushroom mycelium to the chosen substrate. Make sure that the mycelium should have grown into healthy, white filaments in the agar plate itself before it is introduced to the substrate. Maintain the substrate at an ideal temperature of 60 – 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
VI. Aftercare
For providing a proper growth environment to the mushrooms, sprinkle them with water now and then, so that humidity is maintained. Also cover them with a layer of soil so that the moisture is conserved. It will take about 2 – 4 weeks for the mushrooms to colonize, depending on the type of mushroom cultivated. When mushrooms are grown on woody materials, they need to be maintained in controlled conditions of light and temperature, hence it can prove to be quite difficult.
Growing mushrooms or in fact maintaining any kind of vegetable garden can be quite a challenge, especially if you are a beginner. It is recommended that you buy a mushroom kit from a commercial mushroom grower. The mushroom kit provides you with ready mushroom culture. Alternately you can purchase the initial food thickeners spawn from a professional and introduce the growing fungus to a substrate that you have prepared at home. Already prepared substrates are also available in the market. Buying a mushroom kit will make the cultivation hassle free and you will be able to enjoy the whole process thoroughly.
Now that you are growing mushrooms yourself, learn some mushroom recipes. Cook mushrooms at home and enjoy a scrumptious meal with your near and dear ones.
I. Sterilization
Choose an appropriate place like a small room which is cool and dark and can be closed from all sides. Sterilize everything, right from the place to all the instruments to be used in the production of mushroom. HEPA filters can be used to purify the air. A good way to sterilize the instruments is to use food ingredients polypropylene autoclave bags. Simply follow the instructions written on the bags to make sure that everything is germ free.
II. Spawn Production
Take a very small piece of a mushroom strain and put it on an agar plate. An agar-agar plate is a sterile Petri dish containing a growth medium which facilitates the culture of microorganisms. Provide the mushroom with the proper temperature and keep it slightly damp. After about a fortnight, you will notice that the mushroom tissue culture i.e. mycelium has grown and filled the entire agar plate. For growing mushrooms without spores, mycelium is a good alternative.
III. Choice of Substrate
Substrate is the organic material on which the mushrooms grow. Be very careful while choosing a substrate. Some types of edible mushroom varieties like the Agaricus and the button mushrooms grow on compost. While others like oyster mushrooms, Lion's Mane mushroom and Maitake grow on woody materials such as raffia, wood chips, sawdust or straw.
IV. Preparation of Substrate for Harvesting
Understanding the correct procedure of preparing the substrate for harvesting is very essential. It is a very complicated process and might take a couple of weeks. Compost is considered ready for harvesting only when it is full of white actinomycetes bacteria. Remember to sterilize the substrate before the spawn is introduced to it. For this, heat it up to a certain temperature, so that it removes the harmful bacteria and yet does not kill the beneficial microbes. Let it cool. Add calcium sulfate to it and the compost is ready for harvesting. Woody materials take lesser time to mature. Simply provide them with a heat treatment like hot water steeping which can be easily carried out at home and the harmful organisms will be removed from the organic material.
V. Harvesting
Introduce the spawn containing mushroom mycelium to the chosen substrate. Make sure that the mycelium should have grown into healthy, white filaments in the agar plate itself before it is introduced to the substrate. Maintain the substrate at an ideal temperature of 60 – 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
VI. Aftercare
For providing a proper growth environment to the mushrooms, sprinkle them with water now and then, so that humidity is maintained. Also cover them with a layer of soil so that the moisture is conserved. It will take about 2 – 4 weeks for the mushrooms to colonize, depending on the type of mushroom cultivated. When mushrooms are grown on woody materials, they need to be maintained in controlled conditions of light and temperature, hence it can prove to be quite difficult.
Growing mushrooms or in fact maintaining any kind of vegetable garden can be quite a challenge, especially if you are a beginner. It is recommended that you buy a mushroom kit from a commercial mushroom grower. The mushroom kit provides you with ready mushroom culture. Alternately you can purchase the initial food thickeners spawn from a professional and introduce the growing fungus to a substrate that you have prepared at home. Already prepared substrates are also available in the market. Buying a mushroom kit will make the cultivation hassle free and you will be able to enjoy the whole process thoroughly.
Now that you are growing mushrooms yourself, learn some mushroom recipes. Cook mushrooms at home and enjoy a scrumptious meal with your near and dear ones.