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Winter mushrooms are one of those mushrooms that can be grown both at home and in open areas. One of the main difficulties lies in the reproduction of mycelium, but if you master this technology, then further cultivation of the mycelium will not be difficult. Keep in mind that for breeding winter mushrooms at home, you will need to give them a window sill on the north side, since these mushrooms do not like an abundance of sunlight.
Winter honey agaric is an edible agaric mushroom of the row family from the genus Flammulin. Most often it can be found on willows, aspens and poplars, on forest edges, along the banks of streams, in gardens and parks.
The fungus is widespread in the northern temperate zone. Grows in the countries of Western and Eastern Europe, Our Country, Japan. Appears in September – November. In the southern regions, it can also be seen in December. Sometimes it is also found after snowfall, for which it got its name.
How to distinguish winter mushrooms from other mushrooms
This mushroom is a saprotroph, it grows on damaged and weakened deciduous trees or on stumps and dead trunks, and has a high nutritional value.
There are a number of signs on how to distinguish winter mushrooms from other mushrooms. The cap of this species grows up to 2-5 cm in diameter, very rarely – up to 10 cm. It is smooth and dense, cream or yellowish in color, sticky, mucous. The center is darker than the edges. Sometimes it becomes brownish in the middle. The plates are yellow-brown or white, the spore powder is white. The leg is dense, elastic, 5-8 cm high, 0,5-0,8 cm thick. In the upper part it is light and yellowish, and below it is brown or black-brown. This mushroom differs from other types of mushrooms. The base of the stem is hairy-velvety. The taste is mild, the smell is weak.
Only hats are used for food. Stews and soups are prepared from winter mushrooms.
These photos clearly illustrate the description of winter mushrooms:
Proper reproduction of mycelium of winter mushrooms
Since winter honey agaric can parasitize living trees, it is grown only indoors. There are two methods: extensive and intensive. In the first method, mushrooms are grown on wood. With the intensive method, mushrooms are grown on a substrate that is placed in a jar and placed on a windowsill.
As a substrate, sunflower husks, cake, buckwheat husks, bran, spent grains, ground corn cobs are used.
For the correct reproduction of the mycelium of winter mushrooms, the mixture should be prepared in different proportions based on the characteristics of the fillers. If the substrate will consist of sawdust with bran, then they must be mixed in a ratio of 3: 1. Sawdust with brewer’s grains are mixed in a ratio of 5:1. In the same way, you need to mix sunflower husks and buckwheat husks with grains. Straw, sunflower husks, ground cobs, buckwheat husks can be added to sawdust as the basis of the substrate in a ratio of 1: 1. On all these mixtures, high yields are obtained. It should be noted that on some sawdust, the mycelium grows very slowly, and the yield is much lower. In addition, straw, ground corn kernels, sunflower husks can be used as the main substrate without the addition of sawdust. You also need to put 1% gypsum and 1% superphosphate. The humidity of the mixture is 60–70%. All raw materials must be free of mold and rot.
In the selection of containers, heat treatment of the substrate, there are many different ways. Each mushroom picker chooses his own, optimal for his case.
Any mixture must be wetted and left for 12–24 hours. Then the substrate is sterilized. Why is it subjected to heat treatment? The wet substrate is tightly packed in jars or bags and placed in water. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 hours. In the industrial cultivation of the fungus, the substrate is completely sterilized in pressure autoclaves. At home, this procedure resembles home canning vegetables and fruits. Sterilization must be repeated the next day.
You can also put the substrate in small boxes. But it is better to sterilize it before packing it into a container. The substrate should be well compacted when placed in a container
Sowing mycelium of winter mushrooms
Before growing winter mushrooms using the intensive method, the substrate for sowing after heat treatment must be cooled to 24–25 ° C. Then you need to bring in the grain mycelium, for which a metal or wooden stick in the center of the jar or bag makes a hole to the entire depth of the substrate. After that, the mycelium grows faster and uses the substrate throughout its thickness. Mycelium should be introduced into the hole in a ratio of 5-7% of the weight of the substrate. Then put the jars in a warm place.
The optimum temperature for mycelium is 24–25 °C. The mushroom picker grows within 15–20 days. It depends on the substrate, capacity and variety of mushrooms. At this time, jars with the substrate can be kept in a warm and dark place, they do not need light. But the substrate should not dry out. For this purpose, it is covered with a water-retaining and breathable material – burlap or thick paper. After the entire substrate is overgrown with mycelium, the jars with it are transferred to the light in a cooler place with a temperature of 10-15 ° C. What is the best window sill on the north side. But at the same time, direct sunlight should not fall on them. Remove paper or burlap. The necks of the cans are wrapped with cardboard, and from time to time they are moistened with water to protect the substrate from drying out.
The rudiments of fruiting bodies appear 10–15 days after the containers are exposed to light and 25–35 days after sowing the mycelium. They look like bunches of thin legs with small hats. Harvest can be harvested 10 days after that. Bunches of mushrooms are cut off, and their remains are carefully removed from the mycelium. Then the substrate is moistened by sprinkling it with water. After 2 weeks, you can harvest the next crop. For the entire growing period, up to 1,5 kg of mushrooms can be obtained from one three-liter jar.