Contents
Oyster mushrooms in bags at home are grown under the necessary conditions. The necessary indicators of temperature and humidity are maintained in the room. With proper preparation, you can get a good harvest in a few months.
Features of oyster mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms are mushrooms that grow in the temperate and tropical climates of Europe and Asia. They can be found on dead wood as clusters of gray or white. The size of the cap is 5-25 cm. The main advantage of these mushrooms is their unpretentiousness to external conditions: they germinate on any cellulose material.
Oyster mushrooms contain various useful substances. One of them is lovastin, which helps lower blood cholesterol. With their regular use, the immune properties of the body increase and the risk of developing atherosclerosis decreases.
Oyster mushrooms are rich in vitamin C and group B. In terms of the content of phosphorus, iron and calcium, these mushrooms are superior to beef and pork. Their calorie content is 33 kcal, which allows them to be used to combat excess weight.
When consumed in excess, mushrooms are harmful to the body. Therefore, it is recommended to include them in the diet in small portions. At the same time, mushrooms must be subjected to heat treatment in order to eliminate toxic substances.
You can grow oyster mushrooms for your own use or for sale. Unpretentiousness and high nutritional qualities make these mushrooms a popular source of income.
Growing preparation
Before you start growing, you need to prepare the room and, if necessary, purchase additional equipment. Be sure to prepare the substrate and mycelium.
Selecting a room
For growing oyster mushrooms in bags, a cellar, basement or pit in the garage is suitable. The room needs to be disinfected first. For this, a 4% solution of lime is prepared, with which all surfaces are treated. The room is then closed for the day. After the specified time, it is aired until the smell disappears completely.
In its natural environment, oyster mushroom grows in high humidity. Such places should be well ventilated. At home, the mycelium germinates with the following indicators:
- humidity at the level of 70-90%;
- the presence of lighting (natural or artificial);
- temperature from +20 to +30 degrees;
- constant supply of fresh air.
Choice of bags
One of the main points when deciding how to grow oyster mushrooms is choosing the right method. At home, bags are used for these purposes.
For these purposes, any plastic bags are used. Their size is selected depending on the size of the crop to be grown, and the dimensions of the room.
Bags must be durable, especially if they are hung indoors. How many bags are needed depends on the amount of planting. The minimum capacity of the bags must be 5 kg.
seed
Mycelium for oyster mushrooms can be purchased at specialized enterprises that grow these mushrooms. In industrial conditions, the period of use of seed is no more than a year.
Therefore, the mycelium is sold at retail at low prices, although it still retains the ability to bear fruit. For beginners, this is a great opportunity to try your hand at growing oyster mushrooms.
At the initial stage, it is not recommended to acquire too much oyster mushroom mycelium. Before disembarking, it must be stored in the refrigerator so that it does not deteriorate. Purchased mycelium has a yellow or orange color.
Immediately before planting, the mycelium is left for a day at room temperature. Then the planting material is carefully crushed by opening the package and transferred for a short time to the room where it is planned to grow mushrooms. This will allow the mycelium to adapt to changing conditions.
The package is opened in a clean room using gloves. It is recommended to plant and germinate oyster mushrooms in different rooms in order to avoid infection of the mycelium.
High-quality oyster mushroom mycelium is obtained in the laboratory, but it can be grown independently. For this, the upper part of the fruiting body of the fungus is taken, which is treated with hydrogen peroxide. Then part of the fungus is placed in a test tube located above the flame. It is pre-filled with a nutrient mixture.
Containers with oyster mushrooms are closed and placed in a dark room where a temperature of 24 degrees is maintained. After two weeks, the mycelium is ready for planting.
Substrate Preparation
For growing oyster mushrooms, a substrate is required, the functions of which are performed by sunflower husks, sawdust, corn cobs, cereal straw. These mushrooms germinate well on sawdust of hardwood.
The mixture is pretreated as follows:
- The material is poured with warm water (temperature 25 degrees) for 20 minutes and stirred occasionally.
- The water is drained, the mixture is squeezed out, and the container is filled with hot water (temperature 70 degrees). Oppression is placed on top of the material.
- After 5 hours, the water is drained, and the substrate is squeezed out.
- To improve the nutritional properties of the material, mineral components must be added: 0,5% each of urea and superphosphate and 2% of crushed limestone and gypsum.
- The humidity of the substrate should remain at 75%.
Another way to process the substrate for oyster mushrooms is to boil it. To do this, it is placed in a metal container, water is added and boiled for 2 hours.
It is allowed to use a mixture of these components. When growing mushrooms on sawdust, the content of other substances is not more than 3% of the total mass of the substrate.
If self-preparation of the substrate causes difficulties, then you can purchase it ready-made. The main requirement for materials is the absence of mold. When buying, you need to pay attention to its composition. Usually the packaging indicates which mushrooms it can be used for. Ready-made substrates for oyster mushrooms, champignons, honey mushrooms and other mushrooms can vary significantly.
Equipment purchase
To obtain stable yields, you need to equip a room for growing oyster mushrooms. If the mushrooms are for sale, then the purchase of equipment will be an important investment in the future business.
To maintain the temperature, you need to purchase a heater. Cold rooms will require additional thermal insulation. Walls and floors are to be insulated. The temperature must be controlled with a thermometer.
Oyster mushrooms do not like direct sunlight, however, to arrange lighting, you need to purchase fluorescent lights. Spraying of plantings is carried out with a conventional spray gun. To maintain the necessary microclimate, installations for generating fog are used.
Supply and exhaust ventilation will help to ensure the flow of fresh air. In a small room, a household fan can handle this task.
Getting mushroom blocks
Oyster mushrooms at home are grown in the form of mushroom blocks resembling beds. Their composition includes a prepared substrate, which is placed in bags in layers.
For every 5 cm of material, 50 mm of mycelium should be planted. In this case, the substrate should remain the lower and upper layers. Materials fit tightly, but without tamping. The bag should be filled to 2/3 of the total volume.
The bags are tightly tied, after which small holes are made in them through which the mycelium will grow. The size of the holes is no more than 2 cm, and they are placed every 10 cm in a checkerboard pattern or randomly.
Then the prepared containers are placed for two weeks in a dark place where a constant temperature is maintained (from +19 to +23 degrees). Bags of oyster mushrooms can be hung or placed on top of each other in several rows.
During the incubation period, ventilation of the room is not required. The content of carbon dioxide contributes to an increase in humidity, which allows the mycelium to develop faster. Within 10 days, oyster mushrooms actively grow, the mycelium becomes white, and a pronounced smell of mushrooms appears.
After 20-25 days, the room with oyster mushrooms is ventilated or transferred to another room. In the future, plantings require lighting lasting 8 hours a day.
Oyster mushroom care
After germination, the necessary care is provided for the mushrooms. The list of actions on how to care for oyster mushrooms includes maintaining temperature and humidity.
Maintenance of conditions
It is necessary to grow oyster mushrooms at a certain temperature. During the entire period, its indicators should remain constant.
The allowable temperature change is no more than 2 degrees. With significant fluctuations, seedlings may die.
Ambient temperature affects the color of mushroom caps. If its value was about 20 degrees, then oyster mushrooms are distinguished by a light shade. When the temperature rises to 30 degrees, the caps become darker.
When caring for oyster mushrooms, you need to maintain the required level of illumination. In the absence of natural light in the room, lighting fixtures are installed. For 1 sq. m need to provide lighting with a power of 5 watts.
Every day, the room where oyster mushrooms are grown is cleaned using substances containing chlorine. This will prevent the spread of mold and disease.
Watering
For the active growth of mushrooms, it is necessary to maintain optimal humidity indicators. This is provided by the irrigation system. During the incubation period, oyster mushrooms in bags do not need to be watered.
When shoots appear, the mycelium will need regular watering. It is watered once or twice a day with warm water.
To maintain humidity at a level of 80-100%, you can put water containers in the room. Walls and ceilings are also sprayed.
Harvesting
Oyster mushrooms appear next to the holes made in the bag. So that the mushrooms can accurately fall into the holes, they need to be expanded. When oyster mushrooms begin to appear in the holes, they can be removed after about a week.
The first harvest is taken 1,5 months after planting. How to properly cut oyster mushrooms? They are removed at the base with a sharp knife. It is important not to damage the caps and mycelium.
After the first harvest, the second wave of mushrooms will appear in 2 weeks. The third time mushrooms can be cut after another 2 weeks.
In total, oyster mushrooms are harvested three times. The first wave accounts for 70% of the total harvest, then you can get another 20% and 10%. How much the crop will be depends on the volume of the substrate. For the entire growing period, you can collect 3 kg of mushrooms from one bag with a capacity of 10 kg.
Oyster mushroom storage
If oyster mushrooms are not used immediately, then you need to prepare a storage container. Proper storage extends the shelf life of mushrooms and preserves the necessary nutrients.
Further storage largely depends on the method of processing mushrooms. Soaking oyster mushrooms is not recommended as they become watery and lose their beneficial properties. After collection, it is enough to rinse them with running water.
The best way to store oyster mushrooms is to use the refrigerator. Mushrooms are pre-wrapped in paper or placed in plastic food containers. Up to 1 kg of mushrooms can be stored in one container. At a temperature of -2 degrees, the shelf life of mushrooms is 3 weeks. If the temperature rises to +2 degrees, then this period will be reduced to 4 days.
Oyster mushrooms can be frozen. Pure mushrooms without deformations and damages are stored within 5 months.
When the temperature drops to -18 degrees, the storage period increases to 12 months. Before freezing, it is not recommended to wash them, just wipe them with a cloth and cut off the legs. Re-freezing is not allowed.
Conclusion
Oyster mushroom is a useful mushroom that can be obtained at home. For this, bags are purchased, a substrate and a mycelium are prepared. To simplify the process, you can purchase ready-made components, but then additional costs will be required. Growing includes two stages: the incubation period and the active growth of the mycelium. The harvested crop is sold for sale or used for their own purposes.
