Laura Smith
Mushrooms are a fun and nutritious food to grow at home. They are not plants, but fungi, and are more closely related to humans than plants! They are also not photosynthetic, so they must obtain their food from pre-existing material. The process of growing mushrooms involves introducing spores or mycelium to a suitable substrate, allowing the mycelium to permeate the substrate, triggering mushroom development, and harvesting the mature mushrooms. The substrate must provide the right mix of nutrients, including sugar, starch, lignin, fats, protein, and nitrogen. Oyster mushrooms, for example, can be grown on sterilized straw and sawdust or recycled coffee grounds.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What are mushrooms? | Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi, thriving on substrates rich in organic material. |
| Why grow mushrooms? | Mushrooms are tasty, nutritious, and can be grown indoors or outdoors. |
| What do mushrooms need to grow? | Mushrooms need adequate moisture, proper temperature, and limited light. The substrate in which they grow must provide the right mix of nutrients, including sugar, starch, lignin, fats, protein, and nitrogen. |
| What are the steps to grow mushrooms? | 1. Inoculation: Introduce mushroom spores or mycelium to a suitable substrate. 2. Colonization: Allow the mycelium to permeate the substrate fully. 3. Fruiting: Trigger mushroom development through environmental adjustments. 4. Harvesting: Collect mature mushrooms at the optimal time by twisting and pulling up. |
| What are some challenges of growing mushrooms? | Contamination, maintaining a balanced environment with humidity and fresh air, and figuring out the right substrate for growth. |
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What You'll Learn
Choosing a substrate: hardwood sawdust, straw, or coffee grounds
Choosing the right substrate is crucial for successfully growing mushrooms. Mushrooms derive their nutrients from the substrate they grow in, which can be composed of various materials, including hardwood sawdust, straw, or coffee grounds. Here is a detailed guide to help you choose and prepare one of these substrates for mushroom cultivation.
Hardwood Sawdust
Hardwood sawdust is a practical and popular substrate for mushroom cultivation, favoured by both enthusiasts and commercial growers. The sawdust method involves inoculating hardwood sawdust with mushroom spawn and providing the ideal growth conditions. Oak, beech, or maple are ideal choices for sawdust, ensuring that the wood is untreated to prevent harmful chemicals. The sawdust is then mixed with supplements to enhance nutrition and moisture content. This mixture is packed into bags or containers, sterilized to prevent contamination, and then cooled to room temperature. The sawdust method is versatile and suitable for growing oyster, shiitake, and lion's mane mushrooms.
Straw
Straw is another versatile and inexpensive substrate for mushroom cultivation, used by both home-based growers and commercial farms. Wheat straw, oat straw, and rice straw are common choices, ensuring they are free from mould or rot. Straw is easy to break down, pasteurize, and mix, making it ideal for beginners. Oyster mushrooms are a great choice for growing on straw, with various strains such as blue, golden, pink, pearl, phoenix, and king oyster varieties thriving in this substrate. King oyster mushrooms benefit from a casing layer that provides additional humidity for optimal growth.
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds offer an innovative and sustainable substrate for mushroom cultivation, utilizing waste coffee grounds from cafes and local businesses. The beauty of using coffee grounds is that the brewing process pasteurizes the grounds, eliminating the need for sterilization equipment. Oyster mushrooms grow particularly well in coffee grounds, and the process is relatively simple, requiring only coffee grounds, mushroom spawn, and bags for containment.
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Preparing the substrate: sterilization and moisture
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi, thriving on substrates rich in organic material. The substrate in which mushrooms grow must provide them with the right mix of nutrients, including sugar, starch, lignin, fats, protein, and nitrogen.
Different substrates require different preparations before they can be used to grow mushrooms. Most nutrient-rich substrates, like supplemented sawdust fruiting blocks and rye grain, require full sterilization. However, for substrates with lower levels of nutrition, like straw or non-supplemented hardwood sawdust, simple pasteurization will suffice. This can be achieved by adding boiling water to the substrate to pasteurize and hydrate it at the same time.
It is important to maintain a high moisture level in the substrate (but with no standing water) and to ensure some airflow. The humidity can be maintained by routinely spraying the substrate with water. After harvesting, cover the substrate with plastic wrap to keep it moist for the next flush of mushrooms, which should appear in 1-2 weeks.
Contamination is a common issue when growing mushrooms, so it is important to keep the growing environment clean and to watch for signs of contamination, such as green mold. If contamination occurs, the substrate will need to be discarded.
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Inoculation: introducing spores or mycelium to the substrate
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi and require an adequate mix of nutrients, moisture, temperature, and limited light to grow. The process of introducing mushroom spores or mycelium to a suitable substrate is called inoculation. This is a critical step in the cultivation process, as it involves creating the ideal conditions for mushrooms to thrive.
The first step in inoculation is to select the right substrate. Mushrooms grow on a variety of substrates, including hardwood sawdust, straw, and supplemented sawdust fruiting blocks. The substrate provides the necessary nutrients for mushroom growth, such as sugar, starch, lignin, fats, protein, and nitrogen. It is important to ensure that the substrate is free from contamination and prepared correctly, depending on its nutrient level. For example, nutrient-rich substrates require full sterilization, while substrates with lower nutrition levels, such as straw, can be pasteurized using boiling water.
The next step is to introduce the spores or mycelium to the substrate. Spores can be purchased from reputable companies, ensuring fresh and high-quality spores. The mycelium, often referred to as spawn, is the fungal material needed to initiate cultivation. It is important to maintain a clean environment during this process to prevent contamination. Additionally, the substrate should be kept moist, and proper airflow should be maintained to create the ideal environment for mushroom growth.
After introducing the spores or mycelium, the substrate should be maintained at the right temperature and moisture level. This stage, known as colonization, involves allowing the mycelium to permeate the substrate fully. This process may take some time, and patience is crucial. Regularly monitoring the substrate and ensuring consistent conditions will help create the ideal environment for mushroom development.
Once the mycelium has fully colonized the substrate, environmental adjustments can be made to trigger mushroom development. This stage is known as fruiting and requires careful monitoring to ensure the mushrooms receive the necessary care. Growing mushrooms is a rewarding process that requires attention to detail and the ability to replicate the natural habitat of the fungi.
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Fruiting: triggering mushroom development through environmental adjustments
Fruiting, the third stage of mushroom cultivation, involves triggering mushroom development through environmental adjustments. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi, and they thrive on substrates rich in organic material. To induce fruiting, the following environmental conditions must be met:
Temperature
Temperature plays a crucial role in successful mushroom growth. The ideal temperature range is between 50-70°F (10-21°C), but the specific temperature requirements vary depending on the mushroom species. To trigger the transition from the vegetative to the fruiting stage, it is necessary to lower the air temperature by about 10°F.
Humidity
Maintaining high humidity levels is essential for mushroom growth and fruiting. The humidity should be above 85%, and ideally around 90% relative humidity, to induce pinning and subsequent fruiting. This can be achieved by routinely spraying the substrate with water and ensuring no standing water. However, it is important to avoid over-misting, as standing water or puddles can indicate excessive humidity.
Lighting
Mushrooms require limited light, and most kinds of light can be used, including fluorescent bulbs or indirect sunlight. If using indirect sunlight, it is important to rotate the chamber to ensure even light exposure and maximize yield. Artificial lighting can be simulated with 12-hour cycles or left on 24/7, depending on preference.
CO2 Levels
CO2 levels play a crucial role in fruiting. Lowering CO2 levels signals to the mycelium that it has reached the surface, triggering the development of fruit bodies. This can be achieved by introducing fresh air exchange to remove CO2 from the surface of the casing.
Substrate
The substrate, or growing medium, must provide the right mix of nutrients for the mushrooms, including sugar, starch, lignin, fats, protein, and nitrogen. Different mushroom species may have preferences for certain substrates.
By carefully controlling these environmental factors and providing a stable growing environment, you can successfully trigger mushroom development and induce fruiting.
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Harvesting: collecting mature mushrooms
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi, thriving on substrates rich in organic material. They require adequate moisture, proper temperature, and limited light. By replicating their natural habitat, you can cultivate various species successfully.
Mushrooms are ready to harvest at different times, depending on the species and growing conditions. Blue Oyster mushrooms, for example, grow very fast and need to be checked daily. You will know they are ready for harvest just before the cap starts to curl upward—a sign that they are about to drop spores.
When collecting mature mushrooms, simply twist the stem of the mushroom and pull it up. There will be a lot of vermiculite on the stem, but this can be brushed off easily. Some stems, like those of Oyster mushrooms, are not desirable to eat, so you will probably discard them.
After harvesting, place the tray back in the fruiting chamber, or cover it with plastic wrap so that the substrate stays moist. A new flush should appear in 1-2 weeks.
Always be on the lookout for signs of contamination. If you see any green mould, or anything other than fluffy white mycelium and mushroom pins, it’s time to throw out the harvest.
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Frequently asked questions
You will need a plastic tub or baking pan, mushroom spawn (seedings), growing substrate (e.g. compost, straw, sawdust, or coffee grounds), a damp towel, and a spray bottle. You can also buy mushroom-growing kits that include these materials.
First, place several handfuls of your chosen substrate into your tub or pan. If using straw or sawdust, pasteurise it first to kill off any contaminants. Next, mix the spawn into the substrate and raise the temperature to 70 degrees. After 2-4 weeks, the spawn will have taken root in the substrate, forming a white fuzz called mycelium. Drop the temperature to 55-60 degrees. Once the surface is covered with mycelium, remove the newspaper, wet well, and cover with a layer of clay-loam soil or a mixture of soil and sawdust. Keep the temperature at 23°C for the first five days, then lower it by a little bit each day until the mushrooms pop up. Mushrooms will be large enough to harvest after about three weeks.
Oyster, button, and shiitake mushrooms are the easiest for beginners.
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