Outdoor Garden: Growing Mushrooms The Easy Way

Growing mushrooms can be a little complicated. You have a lot of things to worry about: sterilizing grains, mixing substrates, managing cultures, making spawn. Don't forget to do everything possible to prevent contamination that could spell doom for the project.

Well, if you are a mushroom lover, all these so-called complications will sound like motivation. If you are new, though, this question could be ringing in your head.

"Is there no easier way to grow mushrooms?"

Well, good for you; there are mushroom kits you can use to grow your mushroom. If you want to enjoy a satisfying experience, you should trust the process and grow mushrooms yourself in your garden in a straw bed.

Interestingly, it's easy.

If you use pre-made spawn, you can grow oyster mushrooms outside with a minimum of fuss.

• You don’t need artificial environmental controls.
• You don’t need pasteurization or sterilization.
• You also don’t need expensive equipment.

In a nutshell, all you need to grow mushrooms outside is a bundle of straw (oat or wheat), water, pre-made grain spawn, and a poly-sheet. It's fun to grow mushrooms this way. This method is easy, and there is no magic to it. One thing is sure, you'll get mushroom, the result though, will not be like that of a colonized substrate groomed in a well-controlled environment. In every likelihood, you'd succeed in growing mushrooms more than you can imagine. Fun fact, you won't go through much trouble.

Let's walk through this process together.

What you need

1. Grain Spawn

Two options, make the grain spawn yourself or buy a pre-made grain spawn. It is fantastic to make your grain spawn yourself, so it's worth trying. Spoiler alert, it's not so much fun for a beginner. You can buy your pre-made grain spawn online in Canada or the USA from NootroFx.

2. Straw

Wheat or oat either straw works just fine; they are also available to buy online. But if you have any farm close to you, it's best to get straw from a local source.

3. A poly-sheet

After inoculating your mushroom bed, you will need it to remain moist while colonizing. The ploy-sheet gives you the chance to do that.

4. Garden space

You need space in your garden to grow your mushroom. Preferably position the bed in a place where the direct sunlight can hardly reach. Somewhere with shade 24/7 is just perfect, especially when the grass around it helps keep the correct humidity ratio.

Mushroom Selection

The result you will get depends highly on the type of mushroom you decide to grow.

Naturally, you will go for a species that thrives on straw and has the rigidity to last fluctuating conditions. Blue Oyster is suitable for temperate climate regions. It thrives well on straw.

Yellow oysters and other tropical species are your best option for warmer climate regions. You will want to avoid species that thrive on wood and even Shiitake.

Perfect Time For Outdoor Garden

Your geographical location will determine the ideal time of the year to grow your mushroom outdoor.

Know the climatic condition of your area and decide when it is right to grow your mushroom outdoor. One thing you should leverage is mushrooms love humid and cold environments. So, ensure it collaborates well with the weather when you want to grow mushrooms.

Step By Step Process

You should first have your mushroom grain spawn and your corner spot, then you are good to go. The primary process is simple:

Step 1: Create  space for your garden

18 sq ft of garden space will require 5 lbs of grain spawn. Ensure the space is level and clean. Weed the grass if you want to make the bed directly o the ground. If you don’t do that, the grass might dominate your mushroom.

Step 2: Lay the straw and Spawn.

Thin layers of straw should be laid to cover the bed area, preferably 1-2" thick layers. After that, you should then spray the spawn on these thin layers as even as possible.

Repeat laying straw and spawn until you don't have spawn anymore. When you are done, cover the bed with another thin layer of straw until no bed area is exposed.

Step 3: Soak and Cover

Once you've successfully laid the final layer of straw, you should wet the bed a great deal. The spawn needs enough moisture, which it gets from the soaking, to colonize the straw and grow properly.

You should use a poly-sheet to cover the bed; that way, the moist is guaranteed to stay longer. Punch some holes on the sheet so that the spawn can breathe well.

Step 4: Wait

This is as hard as it gets when it comes to growing mushrooms. You may be tempted t keep checking it daily, but that is unnecessary. Checking it once a week is enough. If the weather fluctuates, tend to it according to the weather needs.

Uncover the bed once a week and ensure the bed has moistened. You can also use that opportunity to confirm if the spawn is growing.

Usually, it takes around 3 to 4 weeks for the pins to become a little obvious. You will want to be cautious as your climate condition and the current season you are in can affect the process too.

Step 5: Harvest

As soon as the pins are visible across the bed, remove the poly and allow the mushroom to blossom. Harvest transports you from the most challenging part of growing mushrooms to the best part.

From this point onwards, the fruit will increase. Now, you can check daily. Make sure to harvest at the right time before the caps begin to curl.

Harvest the bed in one go, which should be your first flush. After that, you can re-hydrate and set up the bed in anticipation of the second flush. The possibility of having multiple flushes cannot be written off, but the climate condition will significantly impact that.

Likely Challenges

Though this has proven to be the easiest way of growing mushrooms, its result is different from that of a mushroom growing in a sterile and controlled environment. You are most likely going to face some challenges. Some of the most prevalent challenges you are likely to encounter include:

1. Bugs: They enjoy mushrooms a lot and are ready to cause damage at any given time. It is essential to harvest your mushrooms at the right time to avoid destruction caused by bugs.
2. Weather: Something we do not have control over. Harsh conditions can lead to premature death fr the mushroom. Find a good spot in your garden to lay your bed, where the weather can be navigated a little bit.
3. Contamination: When you grow mushroom outdoor, it is prone to contamination. Molds and fungi will not pass up the chance to prey on the substrate. When you see small patches at the edge of your mushroom bed, you may want to replace the straw and start a new bed.
4. Invasive Species: There is a possibility of a different species apart from the ones you are growing to take up space in your bed. When harvesting, pay rapt attention to avoid any harm to your system.

Your personal mushroom garden

Growing mushroom outdoor helps you produce food while also relaxing in the process. It also helps you experience the life cycle of mushrooms.

If you think you have the suitable space to grow mushrooms, it's worth trying; you'd have fun and produce food all at the same time.

The statements from this article are critical and valuable, but they have not been evaluated by the FDA. Don't see this information as an avenue to self-medicate and ignore proper consultation with your physician. Our products are not meant to be used for preventing, treating, or diagnosing any kind of ill-health.

Conclusion:

NootroFx is a Canadian brand based in Vancouver, Canada. At NootroFx, we believe in quality. That's why we try our best to offer our customers nothing short of the best. For all your Mushroom needs, you can shop your product from us. Our products include Mushroom supplements, Mushroom chais, mushroom water, mushroom gummy bear Vitamins, and we also sell mushroom teas. For your premium quality product, you will want to shop with us at NootroxFx.