Walking in the forest, you probably saw whole bundles of mushrooms growing from under the leaves. They seem to grow out of nowhere. Interestingly, from one such mycelium, the source of mushroom growth, not one, but 4-5 harvests can grow in a season. Approximately the same result can be obtained when growing mushrooms at home, the secrets of which we will talk about today.

To grow mushrooms at home, as the mushroom pickers themselves joke, you need to have two things – experience and incredible patience. Indeed, mushroom cultivation can be a long and time-consuming process, but those who have mastered it can easily cope with the tasks set, receiving 5 or even 6 «waves», or in other words harvests, of mushrooms per season.

At home, as a rule, two types of mushrooms are grown – oyster mushrooms and champignons. As for the second mushrooms, their cultivation is really only possible for experienced mushroom pickers. It is best to start with oyster mushrooms. The basis of the entire growing process includes the conditions of maintenance and some other important points. At the very beginning, you need to find and purchase the mycelium of the oyster mushroom, and crops are made from it. It's like seeds for plants, only for mushrooms. Remember that mushroom cultivation is very different from what we are used to in other crops, because mushrooms represent a completely different biological kingdom. They do not belong to plants, as many people believe.

You will not confuse oyster mushroom mycelium with anything, it is germinated on wheat and sold in packages of several kilograms. After that, you will need to get the husk, this is the base, the substrate in which the mycelium will develop. Next, we need a package that we will fill with husks. A high and dense plastic bag or bag is perfect. And husk is waste obtained from sunflower seeds when preparing them for the production of sunflower oil, most often it can be collected at the appropriate processing plant. The acquired husk must be prepared before sowing mycelium in it.

Preparation for cultivation and the first fruits of work

The husk should be treated with boiling water and tightly covered for several hours. After that, we put about 250 grams of mycelium in a bag or bag. We put the husk in the bag, and make several more layers of mycelium. There can be no more than six of them. After that, we tightly tighten the bag, which is already quite well stuffed inside. We tie it so that it is practically airtight. After that, all that remains is to make incisions on the side of the bag. Oxygen will flow in through these holes, and the fungus will actually grow through them.

There can be many cuts, 10 or even 20, the main thing is that the bag retains its shape and does not fall apart. After that, place the bag in a warm but poorly lit place, the temperature in which is about 20 degrees. Soon, in such an environment, the first reaction we need will take place. The package will become overgrown with a white mushroom layer. But this is just the beginning, after that, when the whole bag is already white, it usually takes a little more than two weeks, it needs to be moved to a bright but cool place. For example, in the basement, where there are windows. The only thing that is important is not to put the bag in direct sunlight.

The basement is also good because it often has high humidity. This is what is needed for the development of mushrooms. If the humidity is low, then you will have to take care of increasing it. After about 5-10 days, oyster mushrooms themselves will begin to appear from the holes. This will be the first wave of the harvest. And there will be about 5 waves in total. Oyster mushrooms will stick out of the bag and actively develop, as if by leaps and bounds. You just have to cut them in time, harvesting them from time to time. The main thing is to provide the mushrooms with proper conditions for germination, and it is quite possible that your first harvest will turn out to be solid.