Growing Mushrooms

[veggiemo]

Hi all,

Has anyone tried/succeeded in growing mushooms on a reasonable scale? I don't mean those little pre-prepared boxes you find in DIY stores, or the type you grow on impregnated logs, but normal button mushrooms on straw/compost etc.

We seem to get through loads and it would be nice to be able to grow them rather than have to buy them at the supermarket.

Kind regards,
Mo

[iainhawk]

Hi

you can buy packets of spore from several retailers and then make up your own kits- like the ones you see in the shop but on a larger scale- these are easy to grow and one spore pack, costing 9 pounds or so will last the year. I found that even with the cheap shop bought ones you can grow enough to use every day if you buy 2 kits and start them off 3 weeks apart and when the first is finished its third flush you can change the compost and renew it with your spore packet- and
then have a constant supply...

with just the spore bags you just need a box, some straw (optional) and some good quality compost (sterile if you can find it). With home made compost other things will grow and out compete your mushrooms- or those small flies will start breeding and destroy your crop- so choose a heat treated compost or a high quality seed compost...

so for around £15 you can grow your own easily.

[veggiemo]

Thank you for you reply, Ianhawk. It sounds simple, so I wonder why there are no forum threads about this subject on the main vegggie-growing sites.

Where do you grow yours? In a shed/garage? I was wondering if I could use a sort of tunnel but with black plastic covering rather than clear. It would be quite large so ventilation should not be a problem. And do you grow yours all year round? Do they not get too hot during the summer months? I know that in the wild we used to pick them from the fields in Autumn mainly.

Do you know of any books/websites etc where I could get more details?

Once again, many thanks for your advice.

Mo

[iainhawk]

Hi there

http://www.fungi.com/

http://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/Pr...roductID=10803



these two will give you information -- i cannot find the link to where i bought the spore pack..i will post it tomorrow. I got lions mane fungus, button mushroom and oyster mushroom.

i just grow them in my shed- i have also grown them in the cellar as well- anywhere that is cool and damp- for the normal button mushroom they dont like temperatures above 25 degrees and grow well between 18-20 degrees.
i have not grown any this summer but in previous summers and right through the winter they have been fine.

you can also get oyster mushrooms to grow on damp straw- you can wrap the straw in newspaper in tubes- about 15cm across- sprinkle with the spores and wait- in 3-4 weeks you have a load of oyster mushrooms (they even grow on toilet paper).

[blossom]

I got a packet from instore, it was only £2. It got as far as the webbing type bit, but didn't grow any more.

[veggiemo]

Hi Ianhwak and Blossom,

I did post a reply yesterday but think it got lost in the server move!

Ian, I am mainly interested in the button and chestnut types. Presumably I could sow the spores on the compost bags. I have some old plastic greenhouses which I could put down the side of the house where the sun never shines. These have four shelves so I could lay one bag on each. If I then cover the clear plastic with black plastic it should be cool and damp enough, do you think? My shed is fairly new and I would prefer it to stay dry and although we do have a cellar it is really just an earth floored space under the back of the house (built on a hill), difficult to access and full of my least favourite creature - spiders!

Anyway, I shall give it a bash and see what happens.

Cheers,
Mo

[JennieAtkinson]

Hi - I posted a response to which doesn't seem to have appeared. Never Mind. Iain - I was asking about the compost. I have just bought some spores and the instructions go into great detail about how to create the right compost (straw, heat etc.). Sounds such a palarva! So could I just use ordinary compost from the nursery centre? What is meant by it being negative? (Sorry to ask a silly question)

Jennie

[iainhawk]

hi there
i did not realise that there was an article in this months grow your own magazine about mushroom growing (the Sept issue) so have a look at that. it tells you how to grow oystermushrooms on a toilet roll etc...



Jennieatkinson: i have no idea what it means by negative- in what context is is said, regarding the soil i would assume this means clean- or not contaminated. The commercial growers have sterile soil, that has been heat treated to get rid of any other fungi that might grow.

the conditions have to be right for the mushrooms to grow- it may seem like a hassle but if you want a good crop then i would follow them. I just use a normal seed compost and layers of wet straw and this seems to work really well-


i would not grow them outside- i am sure that you can if you are very careful- but i think that they need a confined space with a damp atmosphere to do well- if you use compost bags outside this will be too dry and airy- they are fine in total darkness- so the cellar would be the best place i reckon... all they will need is a spray every few days and time.

[JennieAtkinson]

Thanks Iain - I'll just have to get on with and have a go!