How to grow oyster mushrooms at home
 Growing oyster mushrooms at home

The technology of growing and breeding oyster mushrooms at home with their own hands is quite simple, even an amateur can cope. However, before you get down to business and grow mushrooms, you should familiarize yourself with the existing methods and requirements for the environment in which the mushrooms will develop normally. Where to start and how to make the process from scratch, we will tell you step by step, and even a beginner will be easy to dissolve and plant mushrooms.

Conditions for growing oyster mushrooms at home

Organize a place for the cultivation of mushrooms can be in basements, cellars or specially designed premises at the dacha. For the cultivation of oyster mushrooms you need to create the following conditions:

  • ability to set and maintain temperature conditions within 10-20 degrees;
  • equip the room ventilation system for removal of carbon dioxide and lamps with fluorescent lamps;
  • set the humidity mode 70-90%.

Mushrooms due to their properties absorb the elements of the environment, including toxins. Therefore, it is important that all surfaces in the basement be decontaminated. no signs of mold and pests. Maintain cleanliness until the end of the harvest.

 When growing oyster mushrooms, it is important to maintain cleanliness until harvest.
When growing oyster mushrooms, it is important to maintain cleanliness until harvest.
The temperature regime in which the oyster mushroom grows well is limited to marks from 20 to 28 degrees.

Ways to grow mushrooms at home

There are several ways to grow oyster mushrooms at home.Each method has advantages and disadvantages, therefore it is recommended to read with all the subtleties of technologyto choose the most suitable option.

How to dilute in bags with their own hands

The substrate can be purchased ready or procure it with his own hands. The best raw material for oyster mushrooms is considered barley straw or wheat. Also fit:

  • hardwood shavings;
  • buckwheat husks;
  • sunflower husk;
  • corn cobs and stalks.

Used components need grind to 5-10 cm.

 Ready substrate for growing oyster mushrooms
Ready substrate for growing oyster mushrooms

Those who are just beginning to master the technology of growing mushrooms at home are advised to refrain from using sawdust. This method is characterized by complexity and special requirements.

Before using the substrate should be held disinfection material. To do this, it is subjected to heat treatment.

Step by step procedure for disinfecting the substrate:

  • selected crushed raw materials are poured into a metal tank or a capacious pan;
  • fill the tank with water (ratio 1: 2);
  • bring the contents of the pan to the boil and boil for about 2-2.5 hours.

Ready base must be wet and soft, but you should not overdo it with water. The correct composition during the spinning allocates a minimum amount of moisture.

In addition to the substrate, the seed (mycelium) is laid in the bag. It’s not worth buying at once, it quickly deteriorates. If you provide proper care, then with 1 kg of raw material you can get up to 3 kg of oyster mushrooms.

The basis of the bags lay in layers, alternating the ball of the substrate with seed. Bags are filled tightly, but without tamping. After a strong tie, the edges of the container on the surface of polyethylene cut through the blade with cross-shaped holes. They must be placed with an interval of 10 cm in a checkerboard pattern.

 Oyster mushroom mycelium in pack
Oyster mushroom mycelium in pack

For 2 weeks the bag is lowered into the basement for the incubation period at a temperature of 19-23 degrees. Lighting at this stage is not required.

The main advantage of the method lies in the simplicity of the technology. However, poor fruiting or its complete absence is often observed. In such cases, you need to sort out the substrate, and check for the presence of mold in it.

Mushroom picking occurs 1.5 months after planting. From one bag remove two crops.

Step-by-Step Breeding Technology

There are two main ways of growing oyster mushrooms: intensive and extensive. In the first case, special premises with favorable conditions. The second method is the cultivation of fungi technology. open air. Harvest time is completely dependent on weather conditions.

If in the country there is neither a feast, nor a cellar, you should not be upset. You can grow oyster mushrooms directly on the stumps or scraps of hardwood (chestnut, ash, poplar, beech, etc.).

Sowing dates begin in the spring when establishing plus temperatures. Trimmed before use soaked for 1-2 days. With a fresh tree, this procedure is not performed.

 In the country for the cultivation of oyster mushrooms, you can use the stumps
In the country for the cultivation of oyster mushrooms, you can use the stumps

On the stumps pre-make holes with a diameter 10 mm with deepening on 5-6 cm. In the holes lay the seed and cover with moss or adhesive tape. Mycelium having the form of sticks is enough to insert into the hole and close it with clay.

The place for growing mushrooms is chosen. in the shadow under the dense crowns of trees.This is necessary to prevent the drying of oyster mushrooms in the warm season.

When using logs, digging of holes and laying of wet sawdust on the bottom is provided. Next, soaked wood pieces are inserted into the prepared indentations and buried with soil a third of the length (at least 15 cm). The interval between the stumps should be 35-50 cm.

Further care of the mushroom beds is to water the soil around the blanks. Terms of collecting oyster mushrooms often fall on Aug. Sept. Such a plantation will bring good growth up to 5 years with the most generous fruiting for 2-3 years after planting.

On substrate briquettes

Substrate briquettes are polyethylene sleevestuffed with filler. On the surface of the film pre-applied perforation round or other shape. Holes can be evenly distributed over the entire block or cover only two sides.

In the first case, when fixing briquettes, they should not be allowed to come into contact, unlike double-sided perforation, where the junction has no holes.

The most popular are the capacities of such parameters:

  • weight - 15 kg;
  • length - 70 cm;
  • diameter - 25 cm.
The density of the substrate in the sleeve, the level of humidity and the environment depends on the raw materials used and the method of its heat treatment.

There are many options for placing substrate briquettes. They can be hung 2-3 pieces per rope or hang each individually on the armature. The weight of the bags is quite heavy, which ensures stability when storing blocks Each other. The result is a solid wall.

 Substrate briquettes
Substrate briquettes

Briquettes may also be placed on the shelves. in vertical or horizontal position Stretched from the back of the shelves, the rope acts as a hedge against falling or falling of the substrate. When growing mushrooms at home, the decision on placing the bags is made based on the characteristics of the room.

Advantages of the method:

  • convenient use;
  • easy care;
  • getting a quick harvest (after 1.5-2 months).

The disadvantage is the additional costs for the purchase of substrate briquettes.

On the racks

Briquettes or bags with the substrate and seeds in the basement or cellar can be placed on the shelves, if space permits. The shelves themselves must be wooden or rolled steel.Blocks are placed vertically or horizontally.

Shelves are made of various designs. Craftsmen independently develop drawings, providing for safety elements that prevent the falling of bags. One of the options is equipped with special pins on the shelves, over which the blocks are placed. This increases their stability.

Fungal sleeves are permissible to be installed in several tiers, but no more than three. At the same time the distance between the racks should be 70 cm, and between mushroom bags - 15-40 cm.

 Racks for growing oyster mushrooms
Racks for growing oyster mushrooms
When installing mushroom containers in 2 or 3 tiers, you need to leave free space under the lower blocks of at least 30 cm to ensure normal air circulation.

This method of cultivation of oyster mushroom is characterized by convenient implementation of care and harvest. However, not all cottages and cellars have enough space for the installation of racks.

How to make a mycelium for oyster mushrooms

It is easy to purchase ready-made mycelium, but it is possible to evaluate the quality of the purchase only after a few weeks.If a poor-quality product is detected, it will not be possible to compensate the costs of raw materials and energy, so many mushroom growers master the technology of the production of a mycelium on their own.

Mycelium is planting material, which is introduced into the substrate for harvesting mushrooms.

At home, mycelium is grown mainly on wood or grain. The method with wood is appropriate to use in the subsequent replanting of mycelium on hemp. Such a seed has a long shelf life and disease resistance. Grain type is obtained by applying the uterine culture on a substrate of cereal grains.

Mycelium of high quality receive in laboratory conditions. At home, this process can be repeated by preparing special equipment in advance:

  • agar;
  • thermometer;
  • tweezers;
  • test tubes;
  • pipette

Also, work will require water, electricity, gas.

Devices and the surface on which you plan to do the work, you need to pre-process alcohol solution for disinfection.

Stages of growing mycelium

  1. To obtain uterine mycelium you need pinch off oyster mushrooms (from the area closer to the cap) a few small pieces.To clean the separated fragments from bacteria and parasites, it is recommended to dip them into hydrogen peroxide. Put the processed pieces into test tubes with crushed grains. Instead of a grain substrate, you can use carrot, oatmeal, or potato agar.

    The tubes are tightly closed and placed for storage in a room with an average humidity level and a temperature of about 20 degrees. After 2 weeks, a white edge will appear in the properly prepared tubes. This is the uterine mycelium.

  2. To obtain an intermediate mycelium should to boil cereal grains for 15 minutes. After cooling and drying, they are mixed with chalk and plaster (for 1-1.5 kg of grains take 30 grams of gypsum and 10 grams of chalk). The resulting mixture is poured into jars, filling it at 2/3. Next, uterine mycelium from a test tube is placed in a container. The neck of the jar is covered with foil, which is fixed with adhesive tape. The stock is stored under the same conditions as the tubes for 2-3 weeks. The result is a bank filled with grains and the edge - an intermediate mycelium.
  3. Sowing material is obtained in a similar way, sitting in a clean container with a substrate intermediate mycelium.After the growth of the mycelium is carried out its transfer into bags or briquettes with a substrate in which mushrooms will be grown.
 Growing mycelium in a can
Growing mycelium in a can

Mushroom care during growth

After replanting into the holes of polyethylene mycelium, the bags are sent to incubationwhich takes up to 3 weeks. The temperature regime should not reach the level of 30 degrees, otherwise the planting material will be subjected to heat shock.

At this stage no airing. The accumulation of carbon dioxide creates favorable conditions for the development of mycelium. Only daily cleaning of surfaces with the use of chlorine-containing products will be required. This will help prevent the formation of mold.

Next, the bags are placed in a specially equipped room with a temperature 10-20 degrees. The cooler the air, the hat becomes less saturated color. Lighting should be 12 hour with an intensity of 5 kW per 1 m2. Every day, 1-2 times the watering of mushrooms is carried out with a special irrigator.

In the room where mushrooms are cultivated, there is a high level of spores in the air, so work should be done in a mask and glasses. This will help prevent an attack of allergies.

The profitability of growing at home

You can grow mushrooms in several briquettes, satisfying the needs of your family. But this type of activity with a reasonable approach sometimes becomes a means of additional income. Moreover, the care of mushroom beds is not considered difficult.

 About 100 kg of oyster mushrooms get 100 bags
About 100 kg of oyster mushrooms get 100 bags

If you create optimal conditions for the content of mushroom briquettes (bags) and adhere to the established temperature regime, then from one unit really remove 3-3.5 kg of mushrooms. Respectively with 100 bags receive 350 kg of oyster mushrooms.

Given the market value (about 130 rubles per kg), the income will be 45,500 rubles. Approximately half of the funds go to the associated costs associated with the creation of conditions for the cultivation of fungi. Net profit will be 20 485 rubles. The profitability in this case is equal to 75%The payback is 5.2 cycles, which in terms of months means 13-15 months.

If the dimensions of the premises allow you to place 200 bags, the profitability increases to 82%, and the net income will be in the range of 40 000-41 000 rubles. Investments will pay off in just 3.4 cycles or 9 months.

The process of growing oyster mushrooms at home is quite fascinating and informative.Accumulating experience, you can gradually increase the volume, which will turn your hobby into a small business.