Many mushroom pickers swear by secret places where you can find tasty edible mushrooms year after year. As a mushroom lover, you can proceed more easily if you simply grow certain types of mushrooms yourself.

The peculiarities of growing mushrooms

Botanically, fungi are not counted among the plants, as their growth differs relatively greatly from them. After all, fungi do not have chlorophyll, which means that they cannot carry out photosynthesis themselves. Rather, many types of fungi obtain the energy they need for growth from the decomposition processes of wood and other plant matter. The visible fruiting bodies of the fungi above the surface of the earth represent only the tips of the fungi, with which they can spread further in the landscape via spores.

The mycelium as the "root" of the mushrooms

The so-called mycelium, a root-like network in the substrate, forms the main part of most known fungal species. This not only provides the energy supply for the growth of the visible fruiting bodies, but can also be used to spread through the soil without spores. The largest known honey fungus in North America covers an area of several square kilometers, making it one of the largest living things on earth.

Understanding fungal growth for successful cultivation

Only with an understanding of the basic factors of fungal growth can they be cultivated successfully. Many fungi place far greater demands on the location and environment than shrubs and trees. Mycorrhizal fungi that live in symbiosis, such as porcini mushrooms, have so far hardly been cultivated because they depend on living together with the root system of certain tree species. Since each type of mushroom has very specific requirements for its habitat, these factors must be specifically created by humans for mushroom cultivation.

Mushroom varieties for breeding

Only certain types of mushrooms are suitable for breeding. Others, on the other hand, are still harvested almost exclusively in nature for the food trade. This also includes species that are strongly represented seasonally, such as:

  • chanterelles
  • porcini mushrooms
  • oyster mushrooms

Other strains, on the other hand, can be grown with controlled temperature and humidity levels, even by novices with the right substrate and fungal spores.

Prepare the substrate

Lime mushrooms and button mushrooms can be grown well in a dark basement on straw bales or on coconut substrate. To do this, the straw is first dipped in water and then inoculated with fungal spores from specialist retailers. With mushrooms, it takes about two to three weeks until the mushroom mycelium has grown well through the entire substrate. The development of the coveted fruiting bodies can then take place within a few days and, like the entire growth phase, does not require any light. So that regular watering of the cultivation substrate does not lead to problems, a cellar room or shed that can tolerate high humidity over a long period of time should be selected for cultivation.

Cultivation on dead wood

Some varieties of edible mushrooms grow particularly well on deadwood, as they decompose it and use the released energy for their own growth. Oyster and lime mushrooms belong to this category of fungi, which after a few weeks of maintenance can cover a small dead tree trunk. The specialist trade has pieces of wood that have already been inoculated with the appropriate spores. But you can also purchase spores in the form of sticks, which you sink into the boreholes of your own deadwood trunks. In order to be able to ensure a warm and humid climate as easily as possible, small plastic greenhouses are suitable as protection over the cultures of oyster and lime mushrooms. These also keep foreign fungal spores from the air from colonizing the respective subsoil.

tips and tricks

The cultivation of edible mushrooms requires different skills in the production of certain environmental factors, depending on the type of mushroom selected. Beginners should first use mushrooms in a prepared culture box. This only has to be watered regularly to ensure growth of the tasty mushroom caps. In this way, the same box of mushrooms can be harvested two to three times in a row without further care, until the energy from the cultivation substrate has been used up.

Category:

Vegetable garden