Help and advice needed - mushrooms.

[Pumpy]

I've had a couple of those kits in the polystyrene box, Unwins, I think, first one grew really well, second one not so good.

Am currently using spawn and rotted manure, it is a bit cold for them but someting is happening, temp needs to be above 10C. Ideally 15C.

Would like to try the dowels, from what I have read, fresh hardwood, felled within the last 6 weeks and it takes a year at least.

Straw kits look interesting.

Thing is with mushys, they grow the opposite way to other plants, not much light and in damp conditions. Using the spawn the idea is that you start getting the threads and then dump manure on top which shocks them in to fruiting and thats where the mushroom comes from.

Once I've got my giant pumpkin obsession out of the way, I will be looking into edible mushroom growing in a big way.

Pumpy

[Brengirl]

I bought an Unwin growing box last December. I followed the meagre instructions and eventually reached the pinhead stage. It was at that time that we went on holiday and I just had to hope for the best. When I got back on Friday I checked them and got the shock of my life. There was just one mushroom:-






Do you think I can eat it

[sarraceniac]

I bought an Unwin growing box last December. I followed the meagre instructions and eventually reached the pinhead stage. It was at that time that we went on holiday and I just had to hope for the best. When I got back on Friday I checked them and got the shock of my life. There was just one mushroom:-

[ATTACH]12998[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]12999[/ATTACH]


Do you think I can eat it

Looks a bit dodgy to me. I reckon it's a Herzegovenian Death Cap and has poisoned its competition.

[snakeshack]

yes get it in then pan with some bacon fat.

[Brengirl]

Looks a bit dodgy to me. I reckon it's a Herzegovenian Death Cap and has poisoned its competition.

OMG.!!...Really?

[Brengirl]

Just an update...I emailed Unwins and asked for their comments. I have a reply which states this is most unusual and request images. This I have now done. Watch this space.

[sarraceniac]

OMG.!!...Really?

Um. No. I'd love to find a Herzegovenian deathcap though.

[sarraceniac]

Here it is. my first white oyster mushroom. Meter cupboard for about 7 weeks, and tonight we are having chicken and wild (dried) mushroom teriyaki purely by coincidence. So this can go in and we can see if we can spot the fresh. No sign of the Wood Blewitts yet but the mycelium is thick, so any day, and no real movement on the yellow and pink oysters, but one week ago there was no action on the white one either.

[teakdesk]

Mushroom fungus grows underground (or under bark etc.) and not above the soil. You will see strands of fungus running under the soil. This is a health, happy colony of fungus.

The mushrooms we eat only appear once a year when the growth in the soil/tree feels threatened and thinks it will die.

The sole purpose of the growth above ground is to spread spores to form new colonies.

Commercial mushroom growers use "tricks" to first of all make the fungus grow healthily and extensively under the ground and then they fool the fungus into thinking it is dieing and produce mushrooms - this involves all sorts of different temperatures for different length of times, different watering regimes, etc.

So basically most of the "growing" of fungus is never seen; you want to get fronds creeping everywhere under the ground or under the bark by giving it really nice growing conditions (for fungus).

Then, once you have a really large "invisible" network of fungus you need to be nasty to it so it will "fruit" and produce the mushroom cap.

It is not easy for a amateur to replicate these "tricks" and grow the underground fungus and then get it to produce mushrooms and so most people fail to get any crop and are disappointed when they only get one crop each year.

[sarraceniac]

There is the odd one, Teakdesk, that actually creates the mycelium along the surface. One of those is the Blewitt, both Field and Wood varieties. Since asking on here for advice I have done it the hard way and have done quite a bit of research. The photo is of my Wood Blewitt's mycelium which forms a hard crust on the surface of the soil or compost. Most mushrooms have their own peculiarities. The Oyster is quite easy. You simply let it start fruiting in the dark and then to encourage more fruiting, move into the light, but not strong, direct sunlight. The Blewitt likes to be 'shocked' by cold stratification. Mine is (are?) at the point now where it (they) will have to be moved into the cold greenhouse for a couple of weeks. About 4-10°C should do it. So it's HFW's Blewitt vol-au-vents for the Mayday feast. I didn't like the 'log' way of growing Shiitake so I am experimenting with oak sawdust. Will keep interested parties (both of you) informed.

[BarleySugar]

I'm trying the logs, a boy at school mentioned they had cut down an oak tree, and OH collected some on Saturday. I have the dowels, now just waiting for the holes to be drilled. My back garden is very shady and wet, so I think they might have a chance. It does say 2 or more years though, so I'm looking at them just being a 'wood' feature.