How to grow oyster mushroom yourself?

It should be noted that growing oyster mushrooms is not only an exciting and fruitful activity that allows you to provide yourself with mushrooms, but also a good business idea that can bring tangible income. The process is simple, the result is impressive. If you grow these mushrooms, following all the tips and using proven technologies, the harvest will be bountiful. Of course, in terms of taste, oyster mushrooms are perhaps inferior to traditional types such as boletus, honey agarics and porcini mushrooms. But, firstly, none of the listed species will be so easy to grow in your country house, getting such a harvest, and secondly, if oyster mushrooms are cooked correctly, they will be quite competitive.

Oyster mushroom growing methods

Oyster mushrooms, among other advantages, also have useful qualities. From among the most valuable varieties from this point of view, the royal oyster mushroom stands out. This variety is sometimes compared to taste even with porcini mushrooms. In addition, royal oyster mushroom tolerates lower humidity levels and higher air temperatures more easily. Therefore, this variety is often preferred when growing these mushrooms. There are other species, and before starting to grow them, you should familiarize yourself with the varietal characteristics of each of them.

There are intensive and extensive methods of growing oyster mushrooms. Intensive provides for the preparation of the premises, the creation of special conditions in it, the selection and preparation of the substrate, the laying of the mycelium in it, the formation of mushroom blocks, their care, and harvesting. This method is used to grow mushrooms for sale, since it does not depend on the season, climatic conditions, and allows you to quickly get a large amount of harvest.

The intensive method, in turn, is divided into two types - sterile and non-sterile. Sterile technology for growing oyster mushrooms is only possible for professionals, since it requires not only a room with the necessary conditions, but also special equipment, as well as certain knowledge and skills. In most cases, for growing oyster mushrooms for sale, especially at the initial stage of production, a non-sterile intensive method is used. This is the optimal combination of physical, financial costs and the result obtained.

The extensive method involves growing mushrooms in the open air, for example, in a vegetable garden or in the country. In this case, much hassle and financial investments will not be required, unlike the previous method, since the premises and equipment are not needed, the mycelium of the mushrooms can be planted on any stumps left over from cutting down deciduous trees. You can use specially prepared logs, but growing oyster mushrooms on stumps is a more common and convenient technology. The disadvantages of the extensive method are that it is unlikely that it will be possible to grow a large number of mushrooms, moreover, the harvest will depend on weather conditions and can only be harvested during the season.

Intensive method

Growing mushrooms using this method will require a room in which suitable conditions can be created, as well as basic equipment, plastic bags, mycelium and substrate. Almost any wood waste from the processing of deciduous trees, buckwheat or sunflower husks, straw, chopped corn cobs can be used as a substrate. Oyster mushroom mycelium can be purchased without difficulty, the main thing is to use the services of reliable suppliers that have already proven themselves. If the mycelium is initially of poor quality, the whole idea will be wasted.

First of all, you need to choose and prepare a room.A garage, a basement, and a greenhouse will do. In fact, any room is suitable for these purposes, which will meet several basic requirements:

• the ability to maintain an air temperature of about +20 ^aboutC during incubation and +12 ^aboutC during fruiting;
• the presence of ventilation or the possibility of full ventilation;
• high (from 90%) humidity;
• lighting during fruiting.

In order for the room to correspond to this level of humidity, all accessible surfaces can be regularly moistened with water - the main thing is that water does not fall on the mushroom blocks themselves - the mycelium absorbs moisture from the environment. It is also desirable that the room has drains for water, the excess of which will periodically need to be removed. Such equipment of the place for growing oyster mushrooms will greatly facilitate the care of them.

It is necessary to form mushroom blocks, which are a substrate containing mycelium and placed in sterilized bags. To do this, you need to take, for example, sawdust, which is the best option for oyster mushrooms, boil them in water for about an hour. Next, the water must be completely drained, and the sawdust must be cooled to a temperature of about + 26 ^aboutC. This substrate should be mixed with the mycelium so that the mycelium is about 3% of the volume of the material, and then put the mixture into bags of approximately 5-7 kg each.

After that, two-centimeter vertical cuts must be made in the bags in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of about 15 cm from each other and the finished mushroom blocks must be placed on racks or hung on horizontal yards. From this moment, the so-called incubation period begins. Spores begin to germinate, filling the entire substrate with filamentous hyphae. During this period, the room may not be lit. It is important to ensure that the temperature in the bags does not exceed +30 ^aboutC. Equipping the room with a fan in advance will help to cope with this problem.

The next period is fruiting. Mushrooms will begin to appear through the slots made in the bags. They will grow quite quickly and abundantly. The color of mushroom caps depends on the light intensity. The more light, the darker the hat. The crop will grow in about two weeks. It should be collected (by twisting, not cutting off the mushrooms) and wait for the next one. After another couple of weeks, the next harvest wave will begin. One bookmark bears fruit up to four times. The main thing is to comply with the conditions and ventilate as often as possible, otherwise mold may form on the mushroom blocks. If this does happen, the infected block must be discarded immediately.

Extensive method

Not everyone has the ability and desire to grow mushrooms using the intensive method, look for premises and equipment, monitor compliance with conditions and sell large volumes of products. Some gardeners prefer to grow oyster mushrooms only for their own needs in their country house. In this case, the mycelium is placed on the following types of bases:

• hemp from apple trees, pears and other deciduous trees, which are available in almost any country house;
• logs of the same tree species, prepared in a special way;
• containers or boxes with holes in the side walls, filled with a substrate, mainly straw, sawdust, a mixture of wood waste.

Sowing mushrooms in the country is carried out most often in May, when the air temperature will establish itself in a positive value throughout the day. The mycelium can be sown on stumps - this is the simplest solution, which practically does not require preliminary preparation of the base. It is enough to drill several holes in the stump, up to 5 cm deep each, and place the mycelium in them, laying on top with moss. Subsequently, you will need to monitor the soil moisture around the stump. In dry times, water it 2-3 times a week.

However, even an extensive method in the garden or in the country can grow a sufficient amount of mushrooms for sale.This will require the equipment of an impromptu "plantation", which is a piece of land where prepared logs with mycelium placed in them are located. The logs must first be processed a little. You should start at the end of winter in order to place them on the site in the spring.

Advice

A layer of wet straw or leaves should be placed on the bottom of the hole, the end of the log should be placed on them, and then drop it.

First of all, you need to choose healthy logs - without signs of rot or fungus. Soak them in water for a couple of days if the logs are too dry, then make cuts or holes in them. Place mycelium in each, cover with plasticine. Put the logs in a stack in a shed or basement, the air temperature in which is about +15 ^aboutC. Cover everything with burlap, ventilate well. In the spring, dig in the logs in the allotted area about 10 cm deep, leaving a distance of about half a meter between them. The equipment of such a mini-farm at your dacha will allow you to harvest every season for five years.

Regardless of what kind of oyster mushroom will grow in the country - royal, steppe, lemon or any other - the growing process will bring a lot of positive emotions, and a rich harvest will also bring income. Eating oyster mushrooms is not only tasty, but also healthy. In any case, it is worth mastering this occupation. Perhaps he will become a real hobby for all family members.