A Short Guide To Growing Oyster Mushrooms At Home
Do you want to grown oyster mushrooms at home? Then you’re probably looking for information on the web. Here you’ll find everything that you must know about cultivating them.
If you wish to find out how you cultivate oyster mushrooms at home, then you shouldn’t think that you’re the only one. Hundreds and thousands of people across the whole world want to know the same thing. After all, these people enjoy eating this edible fungus as much as you. Apart from being indescribably palatable when cooked properly, they are exceptionally healthy. One problem is that they aren’t always available everywhere. Naturally, if you manage to grow them at your house, then you won’t have to search for them at the local stores. The other issue is about knowing how to cultivate them. Fortunately, you have this topic to guide you.
- Start preparing: Now that you’re willing to grow them, you should start by buying oyster mushroom spawn and every other material required. Just make sure that you decide on the strain that you wish to farm. For instance, you can choose from pearl, blue, phoenix, golden, pink, and king oyster mushroom strains. After that, you have to select the substrate. It’s the source of food for the mycelium of the fungus, the vegetative growth that resembles a plant’s root. Straw is usually the most preferred substrate for all strains of this fungus. Other materials are equally effective, such as coffee grounds, sawdust, cardboard, and other agricultural byproducts.
- Readying the substrate: Now, you have to prepare the substance in which you will put the oyster mushroom spawn. The substrate will work as a hydrated and nutrient-rich source of food for the fungus. However, it should also be entirely free from microorganisms. Otherwise, they will end up competing with the mycelium and affect fungus growth. As already mentioned earlier, straw is the best and most pocket-friendly substrate material. It’s also quite easy to acquire. You have to pasteurize it by soaking it in hot water for one to two hours. Then, you must shift it to cold water containing high-pH lime and let it be for twelve to eighteen hours.
- Inoculation: The third step incorporates adding the spawn into the prepared substrate. Never starting mixing anything without cleaning your hands with soap and wiping them thoroughly. You should also apply a cleaning agent on the surface where you will work. Now, check whether the substrate has the right amount of moisture or not. You will moisten it during the pasteurization procedure, but it never hurts to double-check it. Based on the material that you’re using, the moisture content should be somewhere between 55% and 74%. Finally, mix the substrate and the spawn in a container, which could be a box, a barrel, or a large plastic bag, and then insert everything into vessels. You have to close the top with a paper clip, a rubber band, adhesive tape, or a piece of rope.
- Incubation: You can probably realize that it’s the phase where the fungus will begin to grow. The spawn that you introduced to the substrate will grow and spread across the entire mixture. It’s the initiation of the last phase called fruiting. While it’s better to keep the containers inside a cupboard or boiler room, it isn’t mandatory. Nevertheless, you can expect guaranteed results if you keep them inside dark, warm, and humid areas.
- Fruiting: Now, it’s time to reap what you had sown earlier. You will various types of fungi growing in the wild. Those umbrella-like stalks come out as a response to stressful conditions, such as the inadequacy of food. Basically, it’s a survival mechanism, and your task is to create an appropriate situation that will force the mushrooms to grow. You must provide indirect sunlight, a bit of fresh air, high amounts of humidity, and create the right temperature condition.
Final words
Once you have your favorite edible fungus, you can use the substrate to grow them again. For that purpose, you only have to submerge it in water for one night for rehydration. It should be ready to produce more.
