Even for every country, shiitake mushrooms have become something unique, tasty, and must-try at home or in a restaurant. The shiitake mushroom growing business is gaining momentum and can be done by anyone with the right premises and basic theoretical skills to grow them.
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Where Do Shiitake Mushrooms Grow?
The easiest way to artificially breed mushrooms is on natural stumps. It is important to note that only certain tree species are suitable for shiitake: hornbeam, oak, or chestnut. And the harvesting of stumps must be done in the spring, before the awakening of the buds and sap flow.
Outdoor Growing on Stumps
For harvesting, they choose healthy wood without lichens, cut the bars into stumps 30-40 cm long, and leave them in water for a day. After that, the wood is dried to 68-75% humidity.
Mycelium is sown on prepared stumps and wrapped in polyethylene to prevent moisture evaporation. Features of the technology of sowing mycelium:
- Drill holes in the stumps 1 cm apart. Their depth should be at least 6 cm.
- The mycelium is poured into the holes, the tree is placed in a room with sustained humidity and temperature (+20 degrees).
- As it ripens, the temperature is reduced while maintaining a high humidity.
Growing shiitake mushrooms at home is difficult due to the special requirements for humidity and temperature. A cellar or basement is suitable for this.
how to grow shiitake mushrooms in a greenhouse?
You can grow shiitake in a summer cottage in a greenhouse. This will require indoor ground, it is important to remember that the soil after mushrooms cannot be used for growing other crops. Technology features:
- Prepare the greenhouse. They put metal racks inside with shelves filled with a nutritious substrate.
- The beds are being prepared. Use a mixture of sawdust and straw, you can supplement it with grain.
Before planting mushrooms, the soil is scalded with boiling water, only after that the mycelium is populated.
how to grow shiitake mushrooms indoors?
To grow shiitake directly in a house or apartment, an intensive method is used:
- Prepare the substrate. Take straw, corn cobs, or other agricultural products. Mix them with sawdust in a bag.
- The substrate is pasteurized. Remove microorganisms by pouring hot water over the bags.
- Dry the substrate. Leave the bags in the fresh air overnight, hanging them up so that the water drains off.
- Sow mycelium. For 10 kg of substrate, take 0.5 kg of spores, place them in meshes and clog with a gauze swab.
The intensive method is the simplest and most convenient to implement at home.
Substrate preparation to Grow Shiitake Mushrooms indoors
Beginners will be able to achieve active fruiting if they learn the secrets and subtleties of shiitake cultivation, which begins with the preparation of a nutrient mixture (subtract or compost). For her you can use:
- sawdust from deciduous trees (3 mm);
- shavings from deciduous trees or chips to improve air circulation;
- legume flour, grain or tea leaves – to increase nutritional value;
- chalk or plaster – to improve the structure.
It is best to choose small blocks for seeding – up to 1.5 kg, otherwise, the mycelium is difficult to spread.
Important! Strictly observe the proportions: 50% sawdust, 25% chips or straw, 25% nutrients and 1% chalk.
The total share of sawdust and wood chips must be at least 70%. You can use other combinations: 1 to 1 bark and sawdust, 1 to 4 sawdust and rice waste, and 1 to 1 to 1 – bark, straw, sawdust.
Sterilization of the substrate and packaging in bags
The substrate is susceptible to mold infestation, which can impair the development of fungi. To prevent this process, the mixture is sterilized:
- Mix the substrate in an enamel container with boiling water and leave for 10 hours, covered with a lid.
- The remaining liquid is poured out after the mixture has cooled, laid out in clean bags. To do this, use bags with ventilation, or create holes after the formation of the block.
- A hole is made in the center of the mixture, the mycelium is populated there (for 2.5 kg of substrate, up to 150 g of mycelium).
- A gauze or cotton plug is inserted into the neck of the bag and only after that the bags are tied.
This method is suitable for handling large quantities of food.
Germination of mycelium for mushroom
Before growing shiitake mushrooms at home, you need to pick up mycelium:
- Grain. In this form, the spores are mixed with the grain, which serves as an excellent breeding ground for the rapid formation of mycelium. Requires a minimum concentration in the substrate – only 2%.
- Sawdust. Requires up to 7% of the total mass.
- Liquid. Spores are often bred in beer wort. Take up to 45 ml of the product for 2-4 kg of substrate.
Grain mycelium is the best for home growing on a farm. You can buy a large package – 18-20 kg and packaged in 200 g packages:
- The procedure is carried out on a clean table. To prevent infection, wipe the surface with a rag with a whiteness solution (use sterile gloves).
- Disinfect packages with 70% alcohol solution.
- Spread parts of the mycelium in a basin and separate them by hand into separate elements.
- Pour the product from the basin into bags with a latch; do not leave spores in the fresh air.
- Take toilet paper and fold it into a 3 by 3 cm square. Put it in a bag and close it with a latch.
The bags can be stapled together. It is necessary to store packages in an upright state – in a household refrigerator. Their shelf life is up to 6 months.
Germination procedure
Incubation is the time during which the shiitake will actively assimilate the mixture and assimilate nutrients. To do this, the disputes require not only a prepared substrate but also the appropriate environmental conditions.
Important! Blocks with mycelium are installed 20 cm from the floor, or suspended from a hook.
The temperature during this period should be kept at 25 degrees Celsius. It should not be allowed to dramatically decrease or increase. In hot conditions, the shiitake mycelium will die.
The incubation period lasts from 40 to 110 days – you can observe how the spores colonize the block and small white tubercles are formed. They turn brown over time. During the incubation period, mushrooms need lighting every day – for 7-9 hours (50-120 lux).
As soon as the bumps turn brown, the blocks are moved to a room with a lower temperature. At the same stage, the package is removed. Before installation in the growing room, the block is poured with cold water and left for 24 hours, after which the remaining liquid is drained.
Mushroom care and collection indoor at home
In order for the mushroom harvest to be good, certain conditions must be observed:
- temperature – 16 heat for a cold-loving mycelium and 21 heat for a heat-loving one (indicated on the package);
- humidity – 85%;
- lighting – up to 10 hours a day.
The dimmer the light in the room, the paler the mushroom caps. Every day, the fruits must be sprayed with a spray bottle, and the room must be ventilated.
Important! During the season, the mushroom grower collects up to 3 crops. Before harvesting, the humidity must be reduced to 60% (within 6 hours). The mushrooms are removed so that no legs remain.
Then comes the transition period necessary for the accumulation of nutrients. At this time, the temperature is increased to 20-25 degrees and the humidity is maintained at 50%. The transition period between harvests when growing shiitake at home is 2-3 weeks.
Growing mushrooms in a basement or greenhouse is an interesting and productive activity that can bring a lot of income if properly organized!
