![]() But if they don’t germinate in exactly the right place they will die. Because they are tiny and because mushrooms produce huge quantities of them the spores can be very widely distributed. Spores are far tinier than seeds and don’t contain stored food to give the germinating fungus a head start. Most people let the nurseries do that and buy the tree when it is several feet tall. Many people grow annual flowers from seed, but fewer attempt oak trees. Seeds can produce a lot of plants, but you have to wait for them to germinate and give them the time, nutrients and sunlight they need to grow. Much like growing plants, the complexity of the process of growing mushrooms depends on where in the life cycle you choose to jump in. Knife or razor blade - To cut x-marks in the plastic for the mushrooms to grow through. Paper towels - For wiping down surfaces and equipment with rubbing alcohol to kill potential contaminants.ĭisposable gloves – Protect your hands from irritants. Rubbing alcohol – Either 70% or 91% is fine. Long ones are nice but you can daisy chain shorter ones to do the job. Zip ties – For holding the rolls of plastic/mycelium/straw/burlap together. I prefer clear so I can see what is going on with the culture. Plastic sheeting – Polyethylene, as used for drop cloths for painting, etc. You will use less than half of it so it’s good to have a use for the rest, such as mulch. Straw – A clean fresh bale or portion of one. It can also be ordered from Fungi Perfecti. It works for oyster mushrooms but may raise the pH too high for some other species.īurlap – My local hardware store had plain brown burlap. It works by raising the pH beyond what most mushroom competitors tolerate. ![]() This is another way to pasteurize the straw without heat, as described by Peter McCoy in Radical Mycology. Here it is used to pasteurize the straw.Īgricultural lime – Powdered, not granular. One-Step – This is a no rinse hydrogen peroxide sanitizing agent used for cleaning beer brewing equipment. I think it is quite likely that these techniques will work across the genus. I would suggest choosing yours based on the temperature of the space where you will grow them. The species could possibly have unique traits that are particularly well suited to the methods used here. I used pearl oysters, ( Pleurotus ostreatus) an aggressive wood decomposer that is relatively easy to culture. I have also obtained mycelium and other supplies from Fungi Perfecti based in Oregon, another excellent source. They are a friendly, helpful and reliable source based out of Rochester, New York. I obtained mine from Smugtown Mushrooms at a workshop in Brooklyn. I prefer to work outside because of the water involved in the process.Īn oyster mushroom “grow kit” - consisting of a bag of oyster mushroom mycelium, usually on straw. Cover it with plastic sheeting if it shouldn’t get wet.
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