Features of growing champignons at home
Marinated, fried, baked champignons are a delicacy that will leave few people indifferent.
If you have started to think about growing mushrooms at home, then information about the features of planting, caring for and growing champignons will be useful to you.
Content:
- Features of growing champignons at home
- Planting mycelium - take the process responsibly
- The time has come to reap the long-awaited harvest
Features of growing champignons at home
Champignon are rightfully considered one of the most popular types of mushrooms. They have a pleasant taste.
Housewives add mushrooms to soup, pancakes, and also marinate the delicacy. Growing champignons at home is a difficult process, but if you put in enough effort and desire, the mission will be achievable.
First you need to decide on a place to plant mushrooms. A dark, cool place that can maintain high humidity is ideal.
Experts recommend paying special attention to the choice of soil, since the result you get depends on it.
Compost is considered the best soil option for growing champignons. It should consist of 30% rotted straw and 70% horse manure.
Naturally, you can use other types of humus, for example, cow's, poultry's. Although the yield will decrease slightly.
Substrate for mushrooms must be cooked in an open area, protected from sun and rain.
Naturally, you can also use a closed room, although this can play a cruel joke on you - the fermentation of soil components releases ammonia and carbon dioxide that are hazardous to health.
Correct calculation of substrate components for an area of 3 m:
- 100 kilograms of straw
- 70% manure per 100 kilograms of straw
- 2 kilograms of urea
- 2 kilograms of superphosphate
- 8 kilograms of plaster
- 3 kilograms of chalk
First you need to deal with the straw. The straw needs to be soaked and laid in 3-4 layers. During the laying process, each layer of straw needs to be moistened, and in this case you use about 400 liters of water.
The next step will be the addition of superphosphate, chalk, and urea. The components are thoroughly mixed together and added to the layers of straw.
It's time to burn the compost. After three weeks the compost will be ready. Make sure that excess moisture and direct sunlight do not get into the substrate.
We found out that preparing compost is the key to successful cultivation of champignons at home.
For better combustion of compost, it is necessary to use a special stack that reaches a height of 1.5 meters.
Planting mycelium - take the process responsibly
To obtain a harvest, it is necessary to use high-quality, selected, sterile mycelium, which is grown in special laboratories.
In stores you can find two types of mycelium - grain and compost. It is better to give preference to the first option, since this is the mycelium that takes root well at home. It will not require special care.
Check the quality of the purchased mycelium.High-quality grain mycelium should be stored in special plastic bags; the release date and storage conditions should be indicated on the bag.
Lightly press the mycelium; if it springs back, then it is high-quality mycelium, which, if planted correctly, will give a good harvest.
Stages of planting mycelium:
- Lightly loosen soil using a rake
- Scatter grain mycelium over the surface
- Cover with soil
- Moisten the area with water
Now comes the most difficult stage of growing champignons. It is necessary to observe thermal, water and humidity conditions. The ideal temperature for mushrooms is 26 degrees Celsius.
Do not forget that air humidity should not exceed 70%. To maintain the required humidity, experts recommend placing one layer of newspaper on top of the substrate.
After 8 days, the substrate with mycelium should be sprinkled with soil. The covering soil may consist of peat, chalk and part of the garden soil.
It is also necessary to lower the air temperature to +17 degrees. Don't forget about room ventilation. However, ventilate the premises with caution; there should be no drafts.
As you can see, planting mycelium does not require special skills and knowledge. However, you must remember that during the incubation period, the mycelium requires special care.
The time has come to reap the long-awaited harvest
The procedure for growing champignons, from the period of composting to the appearance of the first white caps, takes about 4 months.
Naturally, the growth and development of mushrooms depends on the conditions that you create for the “mushroom plantation”.
Harvesting should begin when the mushroom stem has reached the 1 centimeter mark.The champignon is carefully twisted out of the soil, and the substrate is watered with water.
Fruiting lasts from 7 to 14 weeks, during which time 8 waves of harvest can be collected. One square meter yields about 9 kilograms of mushrooms, and you will agree that this is not a bad figure.
Which mushrooms are best to avoid:
- If the leg or cap of a champignon turns brown, discard the mushroom immediately
- Wormy mushrooms are also not recommended for consumption
- avoid blackening mushrooms
The process of growing mushrooms at home is not only interesting, but also profitable. Very often, mushrooms grown independently are sold in markets, and by the way, they are more appreciated by buyers.
Champignons are grown at home and will delight you with wonderful taste and aroma! Landing these mushrooms may now be a useful step.
Video about proper cultivation and care of mushrooms:
Interesting information about the vegetable garden
Comments
LI want to grow champignons at home, but the mycelium is not for sale on the shelves of our stores!!! I wanted to order via the Internet, but I was afraid. It’s not clear what they would send to the place of good mycelium....
I saw how this was done by friends. For the sake of a couple of kilograms a month, the idea is pointless. And there are many different nuances, primarily with mycelium, and with fertilizers too. But from the point of view of physical labor, everything is not very stressful.
We grow champignons in the basement. It’s convenient that you can now buy phase 2 compost already seeded with mycelium. You cut the plastic film and put it on the shelf. They require little care, but we get an increase in our pension)))