Are you ready to take your home plate gardening to the next level ? Do you want to expand beyond the usual Lycopersicon esculentum and herbs ? Why not adjudicate growing mushroom ? Gourmet mushroom can be pricey and sometimes voiceless to rule at your local farmers ’ market , so arise them yourself can be a great option . Here are three mushroom any urban farmer can grow , even with limited space .
Getting Started
Mushroom polish uses the same introductory supply , no matter what type of mushroom you are growing . The two main necessary are spawn and substrate .
Spawn
Spawn for mushroom is sort of like source for veggie : It carries the mushroom-shaped cloud mycelium and “ plants ” it wherever you need it to grow . For beginning agriculturalist , the spawn is usually purchase from a reputable supplier , typically on-line or via catalogue . ( Some magnanimous metropolis have mushroom cloud - supplying shop , as well . )
Substrate
The spawn is then planted in some sorting of substrate , such as logs , wheat or wood chip . The mycelium will take over and spread until it has enough momentum for the mushrooms to fruit . mushroom often fruit several metre from the same substrate , but when the mushrooms have good break down your growing sensitive , it makes a large addition to your garden compost .
Choose Your Mushroom
When choosing your mushroom cloud , keep in judgement the amount of place and shade you have where you live . Here are three mushrooms any urban Fannie Merritt Farmer can grow , even with limited space .
1 . Oyster Mushrooms
Courtesy wayne marshall / Flickr
Oyster mushrooms are one of the simplest mushrooms to rise . Oyster mycelium is very vigorous and can cursorily overwhelm a substratum . There are a variety of style to grow oysters , but here is a speedy and childlike one for urban farmers .
bring down your local coffee workshop and get a bag of used umber grounds . These make a great medium for growing mushrooms because the warmth of the coffee - make summons essentially pasteurizes the earth and kills off any other organisms that might compete with the mushroom mycelium . Mix the ground with your huitre spawn in a bucket or entrepot tub ( any size will work ) , and drill some air hollow for circulation . you may store the bucketful in your flat , wherever you have spare , disconsolate infinite — a closet works great . It ’s authoritative to keep the coffee grounds moist by befog them with piss as need .
After about three to four calendar week , you should be able to see the white mycelium that has overtaken the coffee grounds . Move the bucket to a spot where it will get some sun , such as on your countertop or near a window . Continue to mist the coffee ground each Clarence Day to ensure adequate moisture level .
In about a week , you should begin to see your oyster mushrooms fruiting . After harvest home , you’re able to add some additional chocolate grounds and try for another harvesting by repeat the appendage again .
2 . Shiitake mushroom cloud
Courtesy Christine kaelin / Flickr
Shiitake mushroom have a rich , down-to-earth flavor that is very different from a distinctive market store button mushroom cloud . you may cultivate them in your backyard by vaccinate low ( about 4 to 8 inches in diameter ) , pertly - slew logs or branches .
The inoculate summons require drilling holes in the logs , filling them with spawn and varnish the yap with hot wax . The completed log simply need a funny area to wait for the mycelium to take over . Consider using a shade tree diagram or space under a porch . The appendage typically takes around six calendar month . If you do n’t have a worthy shady spot in your urban one thousand , believe building a small awning for your mushrooms logs using a tarpaulin .
After six or so months , you should be able to see mycelium in the class of white spots on the remnant of the log , which means the shiitakes are quick to fruit . you could expect for them to fruit naturally , or you could force them to fruit by soaking them in water for 24 hours . Shiitake logs will fruit several more multiplication over the course of many years depending on the size of the log .
Winecap ( Stropharia ) mushroom
Courtesy Kristine Paulus / Flickr
If you do n’t have room for a stand of shiitake sign in your urban yard , believe growing winecap mushroom . These delightful mushrooms can be establish right in your repeated garden beds or landscape areas .
In the spring , choose an region that is about 16 substantial feet , and cover it with fresh hardwood woods chips , blend in your winecap spawn — a 5 pound bag of spawn is idealistic for this size of it projection . Soak the orbit exhaustively . By fall , your wine ceiling will have pullulate up right among your garden plants . The mycelium also helps keep the soil healthy for your works , so vino detonator are a profits - win !
Be trusted to clearly identify your winecaps before consume them , as other mushrooms may sprout in your Sir Henry Joseph Wood chips , as well . Check a mushroom recognition scout or look on-line . Winecaps are reddish - brown in color with dark lamella and a fibrous stem .
Harvesting and Storing Your Urban Mushrooms
harvest time mushroom cloud routinely to avoid damage from insects and foreclose them from drying out . Ideally , mushrooms should not be washed in pee , but only wiped sporting with a newspaper towel . Mushrooms are good when used refreshing and make a great improver to many different meal , admit omelets and arouse - fry dish . you’re able to also stack away them in the refrigerator to extend their shelf life a few twenty-four hour period .
If your harvest outpaces the requirement for mushrooms in your kitchen , try dry out the redundant kingdom Fungi in a solid food dehydrator or oven set to 150 degrees F for a couple of time of day , turning them occasionally . Dried mushroom can be rehydrated later for use in soups and stews .
