Learn how to grow mushrooms at home

Here we will tell you how you can grow mushrooms at home in an easy, simple, and fast way. Dare to start your own cultivation!

Growing mushrooms at home are easy enough. Best of all, you can eat them once and it will always grow again. However, it is worth reviewing some preliminary aspects.

First of all, let’s remember that mushrooms ( Agaricus bisporus ) are a type of mushroom widely used in cooking. In fact, both the stem and the hat are used.

The fungus is an organism that differs from plants by not having a root, stem, or leaves. It does not contain chlorophyll, so they feed on organic matter from outside. In the case of the mushroom, this is an edible mushroom.

Lacking seeds, mushrooms grow from spores. The spores, when finding the suitable conditions of humidity, germinate and produce hyphae, which branch and form a mass called mycelium.

Advantages of growing mushrooms at home

• You have the satisfaction of producing your own food at home.
• It is an excellent pedagogical opportunity since it offers the little ones the experience of seeing these mushrooms grow, something that cannot be seen in an uncontrolled environment.
• It is a very effective production since a single crop can obtain an entire crop.
• The harvest of mushrooms is very easy, so its value increases when compared to buying it in the supermarket or grocery store.
• The security of knowing that what you consume has not been processed and is genuinely natural.

How to grow mushrooms at home?

To grow mushrooms at home it is necessary to have space for it. If we have a patio with soil, we can have a section for cultivation.

On the other hand, if we live in an apartment, the most recommended is to opt for an elongated planter and place it in a dark place. At this point, remember that mushrooms, given their fungus condition, do not need sunlight.

However, growing mushrooms is easier than it seems and its production can continue until the soil finds no more substrate.

Materials

• Straw
• Water
• Compost
• Grain mycelium (you can also buy the bales of mushrooms already pre-cultivated).
• 1 box (preferably polystyrene since it does not rot or decompose, apart from helping to contain humidity and temperature). This box will need a lid so make sure you get it.

Process

Before starting, we recommend boiling the straw. This should be done to prevent it from germinating and to remove any traces of fungus that it already brings.

• Mix the compost with the straw evenly while moistening it a bit. If you like, you can add coffee since it can nourish the compost and favor the growth and development of the mushrooms.
• Put this mixture in the box. Keep in mind that the more substrate there is, the higher your mushroom production will be, so add as much as you can.
• Spread the grain mycelium evenly and cover this with a moistened mulch finger. Water with water.
• Cover the box with a lid to prevent light from entering. You should leave it covered for 5 to 8 days. It is important that you keep the box moist during this time until you see a whitish blanket on the substrate. This means that mycelia have colonized the substrate.
• Now make another lid for the box to allow room for the mushrooms to grow. Make a central hole in this lid so that a little light enters, but always indirectly. Cover this lid with a transparent film to avoid losing moisture or heat.
• It is important that you maintain the humidity at 80% but without exceeding yourself. If you like, you can water the inside of the lid instead of water directly on the mushrooms. When this water has evaporated, you will know that it is time to spray again.
• You will get your first bud in 20 days (approximately) when the hats have a diameter between 5 and 8 cm.
  Detach them from the substrate when the foils under the hat are pink. Twist the body slightly until it separates from the substrate.

If you’ve followed the steps correctly, you should have a new harvest every week. So you can enjoy your own organic mushrooms and prepare your favorite recipes.

Some recommendations for growing mushrooms

As you can see, growing mushrooms is easy but takes a little patience and dedication. Keep the following tips in mind when preparing your crop:

• Make sure that space, where you place your crop, has good ventilation. In this way, you will avoid bad smells and other annoyances.
• Use a nutritious compost since that is where the mushrooms get nutrients to grow.
• The optimum temperature should be between 22 and 27º C. A temperature above these can be a disadvantage. If the temperature goes above 35º C, you stop its growth.
• Use a diffuser to water the crop.
• Wash your tools before and after using them, this way you will avoid contaminating the medium.
• An ideal place to grow mushrooms is a dark room or the garage.

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