A Simple Way To Grow Mushrooms Indoors

Conventionally, mushrooms are grown outside regardless of the species its will still survive. However, growers are now interested in growing their mushrooms indoors because of the comfort.

Growing Oyster mushrooms at home have revealed some do-it-yourself procedures that I will be sharing with you. As you read through this article, it will reveal applicable and straightforward procedures that will help you grow your mushrooms in the comfort of your own home with less stress.

GROWING INDOORS

Growing mushrooms indoors has almost similar procedures as compared to outdoor cultivation. The functionality of indoor cultivation is always around the year, and the growth process in indoor cultivation isn't affected by the climate condition. If growing fresh mushrooms the whole year is what you desire, you have to look for a suitable way to grow them inside.

It is a fact that you won't have to worry about the weed while growing inside. Tho, preparing a growing environmental maybe be a challenge as there may not be enough fresh air and the absence of natural humidity for the mushrooms.

Creating a growing environment for your mushrooms is essential and easy with the introduction of a simple fruiting shotgun chamber (SGFC). You will find that draping some plastic over it or building a full-blown automated indoor greenhouse are handy and easily applicable solutions to the problems.

The successful growth of mushrooms requires that you watch them very closely and that you’re able to detect what they need in any condition.

STERILIZATION VS PASTEURIZATION

Every substrate undergoes a particular preparation requirement before it can be used to grow mushrooms. To avoid contamination and failure, the substrate with many nutrients like supplemented sawdust fruiting blocks and rye grain should undergo complete sterilization.

Straw or non-supplemented hardwood sawdust, which are of lower nutrition, undergo pasteurization. In other words, there is less or zero need for expensive sterilization equipment involving polypropylene grow bags.

Mainly for this growth, you can use hardwood fuel pellets for a substrate, boiling water from a tea kettle, and a small plastic tube; pasteurization will be possible. Oysters love hardwood sawdust and don't mind fruiting prolifically from it, even as a substrate with a meager amount of nutrition.

STEP BY STEP INDOOR GROW

Growing mushrooms indoors is simple, productive, and effective, but you need some materials to achieve this. You need a pre-made grain spawn, hardwood sawdust pellets; a small plastic container or tray; plastic wrap (saran wrap); and vermiculite.

After getting the above-listed material, you need to adhere to the below step-by-step procedures:

• Pasteurize and Hydrate The Pellets

This process requires adding boiled water to the measured pellets. That is, you will be adding 1.25 liters of water to every 5cups of pellets. Also, pouring the boiled water on the pellet will help dissolve it into loose sawdust. Hence, stirring them up a bit will also help the process.

More so, to retain the heat from the evenly wet and broken up pellets, you can either of these two - cover then wrap it in a blanket or pack It in an air-tight sack.

• Add Spawn

Immediately the sawdust gets completely cool, add spawn. Yes, you have to be swift in adding spawn to the substrate to keep it away from contaminants.

However, you will need to add about 20% of spawn concerning the weight of the substrate available for use. Hence, increasing the spawn rate gets your substrate fully colonized before it gets contaminated.

After adding the spawn, permit it to distribute evenly through the substrate by mixing. Well distributed spawn means more “inoculation” points, as well as swift colonization of the substrate.

Also, you can manually mix it with your hands. You should thoroughly wash your hands after this exercise or, better still, wear nitrile gloves before spawning.

• Cover and Colonize

Here, you use a layer of plastic wrap to cover the substrates' top surface. Use a knife to poke holes in the covering, preferably let the wrap be saran-wrap or use other breathable lids instead. It is needed for colonizing the mycelium and giving it space to breathe. And the advantage you have when using a saran wrap is that it allows you to watch colonization unfold.

Also, there is a need to leave the covered substrate out of sunlight, watch it and make sure that contamination is absent while colonization is making progress, and avoid getting the substrate dried out. If you live where the climate tends to get dry, mist it with a spray bottle.

More so, complete colonization should be about 7-21days of inoculation, depending on the spawn rate. 

• Fruiting

This is done by applying a layer casing of pure vermiculite that helps retain the substrate moisture. It is essential for fruiting, and the formation of the pin is not a bad idea, but it's not necessary. Therefore, keeping a humid environment and exposing the entire top of the fruiting should be enough.

Although the environmental conditions play many roles when you see the first pins, it should be a few days after complete colonization.

However, some species of mushrooms need constant observation, some species need more air than others. Hence, a closer look will reveal exogenous colonization from contaminants like molds and bacteria.

• Harvesting and Flushing

Harvesting fruits that have gotten to your desired size can be done by twisting the mushroom's stem and pulling up. Use a sharp knife or saw for woody mushrooms like Reishi. 

After harvesting, a new flush should come up in 2-3 weeks if you place the tray back in the fruiting chamber or preferably cover it again with saran wrap to keep the substrate moist. Always watch out for contamination signs. Seeing anything different from fluffy white mycelium and mushroom pins means you should discard the spawn.

Conclusion,

You can simply grow mushrooms at the comfort of your home with the steps above. All you need is to follow these steps discreetly. Using those simple materials and a few tools you have at home, you can grow mushrooms.

Also, the pasteurization process carried out isn't complete pasteurization. These substrates required little heat to become sterile. It is also essential that growers should be able to make their spawn, but you can also save yourself the stress of preparing the spawn by just ordering for the pre-made spawn.

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