Learn How To Grow Button Mushrooms At Home
Growing mushrooms at home, easily, simply and quickly, is possible. Prepare for your next harvest!
Growing your own button mushrooms at home is quite simple. And once cultivation begins, it will require very little maintenance. But before we get started, let’s start with some theoretical information.
It may be necessary to remember that button mushrooms ( Agaricus bisporus ) are a type of mushroom used mainly for culinary reasons, which can be eaten raw or cooked.
Mushrooms are not plants: they have no roots, stems, or leaves. They do not contain chlorophyll and therefore feed on external organic products. As for the button mushroom, it is an edible mushroom.
Since fungi do not produce seeds, they grow from spores. When found in ideal humidity conditions, the spores germinate and produce filaments which branch out and then form a mass called the mycelium.
The benefits of growing button mushrooms at home
- You have the satisfaction of producing your own food.
- It is a very educational experience for the youngest, who see these mushrooms grow little by little.
- This is a real production, because a single culture tank allows to obtain a complete culture.
- Harvesting mushrooms is very easy, and you will save more as you go
- The security of knowing that what you eat is not processed or genetically modified
How to grow button mushrooms at home?
To cultivate these mushrooms, it is necessary to have a specific space. If you have a patio with a little soil, it is possible to reserve part of it for cultivation.
Otherwise, if you live in an apartment, the ideal is to take a large bin and place it in a dark place. Remember, mushrooms are not plants. They don’t need to have access to sunlight.
Growing mushrooms is much easier than you might imagine and production can continue until the soil is free of substrate.
Necessary material
- Straw
- Water
- Compost
- Seed mycelium (you can also buy baskets of pre-grown mushrooms)
- a box (preferably in polystyrene, which does not rot or decompose, especially as this material keeps humidity and heat). This crate must have a cover
Setting up
Before starting, we recommend that you heat the straw. This will kill the dormant seeds and remove any leftover fungus it may contain.
- Mix the compost with the straw evenly and moisten it a little. If you wish, you can add coffee grounds to nourish the compost and promote the growth and development of fungi.
- Put this mixture in the crate. Take into account that the more substrate you have, the better the mushroom harvest will be. So you can put whatever you have in stock.
- Sprinkle the mycelium evenly, and cover with a little damp compost. Water.
- Close the crate with the lid to prevent light from entering. Leave closed for 5 to 8 days. It is important to keep the crate moist throughout this time, until you see a white coat appear above the substrate. This means that the mycelium has colonized the substrate well.
- Now prepare another cover for your crate, to make room for your mushroom to grow. Make a small hole in the middle of the lid so that a little light enters the crate, but always indirectly. Add a transparent film on the lid to keep humidity and heat.
- It is important to keep the humidity around 80%, but not to excess. If you wish, you can water the inside of the crate lid instead of directly watering the mushrooms. When the water has completely evaporated, it will be time to start the operation again.
- You will be able to make your first harvest after 20 days (approximately), when the buds will be between 5 and 8 centimeters in diameter. You can harvest them when the filaments under the head start to turn pink.
- To harvest them, rotate them slightly until they separate from the substrate on their own.
If you’ve carefully followed all of the previously outlined steps, you should get a new crop every week. You will be able to enjoy your own organic mushrooms and use them in your favorite recipes.
Some recommendations for growing mushrooms
As you may have noticed, growing mushrooms is pretty straightforward. It does, however, require a little patience and care. If you can, follow these tips to prepare your grow box:
- Install your culture box in a sufficiently ventilated place. You will thus avoid bad smells and other inconveniences
- Use a nutritious compost that contains the nutrients needed by button mushrooms
- Make sure that the growing temperature is ideal, namely between 22 and 27 ° C. A higher temperature can be bothersome and if the temperature rises above 35 ° C it will stop the growth of the fungi.
- Use a spray bottle to water the mushrooms
- Wash your tools before and after using them to avoid contamination of the rest of the house
- Ideally, grow your mushrooms in a bedroom or garage
