Button
mushrooms (fruiting bodies derived from Agaricus bisporus) are
definitely a crowd favorite because they can be used in countless
culinary delights like Italian pizza and even pork stews. If
something tastes good it can be made better with the addition of
button mushrooms.
If
you think harvesting your own fresh button mushrooms at home is a
great idea, today's discussion will truly be a delight: we are going
to teach you how to grow button mushrooms at home with equipment and
raw material that can easily be acquired wherever you may be. The
beauty of mushroom cultivation is it can be done almost anywhere as
long as you can find the right tools and supplies. Let's get started!
Button
mushrooms can be grown in large wooden trays filled with inoculated
substrate. You can definitely transform your backyard into a
mushroom-growing area. Unlike plants, fungi do not need sunlight in
order to thrive. In fact, fungi thrive in zero sunlight conditions.
The
most essential factor that you should really focus on is the
temperature of the growing area. If you live in a country with four
seasons, it is highly recommended that you grow mushrooms during the
fall season and the spring season. A stable temperature range is
needed to ensure that cultivated mycelium will not recede and
eventually die.
Mushrooms
cannot be directly planted and grown like an herb or flower. Instead,
mushrooms are grown from grain spawn added to a substrate or media.
Grain
spawn is obtained by adding pure culture to sterilized grain. Within
a few days the grain spawn is ready to be added to the chosen
substrate. You can also use grain spawn to produce more grain spawn.
Flake spawn can also be used; just make sure that you use a rake to
evenly distribute the flake spawn throughout the corn compost.
If
you want to produce large quantities of button mushrooms, consider
acquiring corn compost. It is relatively inexpensive to
produce/acquire and it is a time-tested choice for cultivating button
mushrooms.
If
you have a large tract of land and plenty of capital, know that Ω
ton of properly inoculated substrate can produce more than one
hundred pounds of tasty, button mushrooms. Half a ton of corn compost
can be evenly distributed in a single growing bed no more than sixty
feet in length.
If
you do not like the idea of creating your own grain spawn at home,
you can just purchase some online or from a reliable distributor in
your area. Commercially available grain spawn are quite viable and
these products are continually tested by the manufacturers for vigor.
Grain spawn with high vigor will produce perfect mushrooms.
You
can supplement the sterilized substrate with manure. Traditionally,
mushroom cultivators use large quantities of horse manure to
supplement corn compost. If horse manure is not available you can use
the manure of common livestock like turkeys and goats.
If
you live near a large zoo you can even ask them for elephant manure!
Supplements that are high in nitrogen are categorized as "hot
supplements". This is the type of boost that your substrate
needs to produce large quantities of button mushrooms.