Mushrooms in the garden

How to grow mushrooms in the garden

There are several ways to grow mushrooms in the garden. Let’s take a look at each.

From “wormy”

Old worm mushrooms are ideal for breeding! So collect a few in the woods and bring home. And then there are several options.

Scattered. It is enough to break the mushrooms into small pieces and scatter them under the trees. Spores will gradually fall out of the hats, they will fall into the soil and germinate. At first, a mycelium will develop underground – you can even see it if, for example, you decide to plant something in this place. White threads in the soil, somewhat similar to mold, are the mycelium. It will develop when there is a rainy year, or you begin to actively water this area, fruiting bodies will appear – the very mushrooms that we were waiting for.

But this option is risky, because dry weather can set in, and then the disputes will not germinate. And often not everyone has the opportunity to water.

On tap. This method is more reliable, but more troublesome. Caps of old mushrooms (8 – 10 pieces, but the more the better) should be put in a bucket, poured with water and left for a day. Then, directly in the water, knead them with your hands until a homogeneous mass.

For sowing around young trees, it is necessary to remove a layer of earth 1–15 cm deep in diameter at a distance of 20 m from the trunk. Do not dig a recess, but carefully remove the earth in a layer. Pour the mushroom mass with water evenly onto the bottom of the trench. One bucket should be enough for 3 trees. After that, the layer of earth must be returned to its place, slightly compacted and watered.

Such crops will need to be watered all summer, once a week, 1 to 4 buckets per tree. And for the winter cover with fallen leaves.

This type of mushroom propagation usually gives a 70 – 75% chance of a crop.

From the forest mushroom

This method gives more guarantee, but it will require physical strength. The bottom line is this: around the mushroom found, you need to remove a layer of sod 20 cm thick and about 30 cm in diameter (but more is better). And move this layer to your garden.

In the garden, you need to dig a hole under it, but with a larger diameter and a little deeper – about 22 cm. Put wet sawdust with a layer of 1 cm at the bottom of the hole. The sawdust should be from hardwoods if the mushroom grew under deciduous trees, or from conifers, if found him under the conifers. On the prepared bed, install a forest turf with a mycelium. And the gaps that have formed along the diameter should be tightly filled with a mixture of sawdust and forest land (1: 1). Of course, plantings need to be watered.

With this method, the mycelium will begin to gradually grow in the garden and, most likely, will provide you with a harvest already in the current season.

From mycelium

Now in garden centers and online stores the mycelium of various mushrooms is sold – the package is similar to seeds, but a little larger in size. Mycelium happens on a different substrate (it depends on the type of fungus), so the sowing methods also differ.

On a grain substrate. In this form, chanterelles, white and Polish mushrooms, boletus, oaks, goats, birch boletus and aspen mushrooms are sold. Seeding scheme is indicated on the package.

First of all, around the selected tree, you need to remove the top layer of soil with a depth of 10 – 20 cm and a diameter of 1 – 1,5 m. Soil with a high peat content is poured into the prepared area with a layer of 1 – 2 cm (soil is suitable for houseplants from the store). Pieces of mycelium from the package are laid out on it (1 package for 1 tree). The removed soil is returned back. The sown area is carefully watered so as not to erode the ground.

For the winter, crops need to be insulated – mulched with moss, leaves, branches, coniferous spruce branches.

In subsequent years, the site must be watered if there is no rain. It is also useful to feed the mycelium with a solution of sugar: 1 tbsp. spoon for 10 liters of water.

On wood sticks. This sowing option is for mushrooms that grow on stumps and trees: oyster mushrooms, honey mushrooms, nameko, shiitake, blackberries (lion’s mane) and tremella (ice mushroom). Growing them is not an easy task, but the activity is very interesting!

First, prepare the basis for growing – a log. Its diameter and length are not of fundamental importance, but it is more convenient to use the same logs as sawn for firewood. It is desirable that the log was fresh – 1 month after felling. If it is old and dry, then it must be soaked in water for 2 to 3 days to be saturated with moisture, and then it must be allowed to drain.

Then the log saturated with moisture is removed to a warm room, where it should rest for several days.

After that, the log is populated with mycelium. First of all, you need to drill holes in it with a diameter of 0,8 cm and a depth of 4 cm. It is better to make them in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 10 cm from each other. Usually there are 12 sticks in a package with mycelium, so there should be the same number of holes (1 package for 1 log).

Next, the sticks infected with mycelium are inserted into the holes until they stop. Important! This should be done with sterile gloves, and if they are not, carefully wipe your hands with alcohol.

The sown log is wrapped in plastic wrap, in which small holes must be made to allow air to enter. After that, it is cleaned in a dark, damp room with a temperature of about 20 ° C. Under such conditions, in about 2 – 3 months, the log will become overgrown with mycelium – white threads similar to mold will appear on its surface.

It is important to monitor the temperature. It can be lower, about 10 ° C, but then the log will be overgrown with mycelium for longer – 3 – 4 months. But at temperatures above 34 ° C, the mycelium will die.

As soon as the log is overgrown with mycelium, it is taken out into the garden and set in the shade, in a calm place, buried vertically to a depth of 1/3 of the length.

But remember, many mushrooms grow in symbiosis with certain breeds:

• white fungus pine – under pines, less often spruces and oaks (1);
• oak porcini mushroom – under oaks and lindens;
• oak forest – under oaks and birches (2);
• boletus – under pines, larches (3);
• boletus and real breast (white) – under birch trees;
• boletus – under aspens and poplars (4);
• chanterelles – under spruces, pines, oaks;
• black mushroom – under birch, poplar, hazel, willow (5).

If these trees are not nearby, it is pointless to wait for the harvest.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about growing mushrooms on the site with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Vasilkov B.P. Systematic description of species and forms of white fungus // L .: “Nauka”, 1966
2. Garibova L.V., Sidorova I.I. Mushrooms. Encyclopedia of the nature of Our Country // M .: “ABF”, 1997
3. Dermek A. Mushrooms / Bratislava, Slovart, 1989
4. Ed.-stat. Lebedeva N.G. All about mushrooms / Kharkov, “Relic”, 1997
5. Serzhanina G.I. Cap mushrooms of Belarus / Minsk, Science and Technology, 1984.