Discover how to make your own edible mushroom garden at home. This way you will have provisions to prepare delicious dishes or start a new business.
If you want to have an edible mushroom garden at home, we leave you this complete guide that will help you with the purpose. This type of self-cultivation is easy to carry out and offer a great benefit: savings for those who enjoy different dishes with mushrooms. They can even be a business alternative for many people.
In any case, in this note we are going to tell you how to create your own cultivation of edible mushrooms at home. We include details on the items you need, how to get started with this task, and how long the first harvest takes. Here we go!
Mushroom characteristics
Before starting your own edible mushroom garden at home, you need to know the characteristics of the product you are going to grow. Well, the first thing to say is that mushrooms grow naturally and attached to decaying logs.
They appear there because they feed on organic matterwhich gives us a first clue about the conditions that the substrate in which we are going to grow must have.
On the other hand, it must be said that mushrooms need an environment with a good amount of light and oxygen. This will ensure that the crop is healthy and suitable for subsequent ingestion.
It should also be emphasized that mushrooms are considered a food supplement with high nutritional value:
- Presence of vitamins: niacin, thiamin (vitamin B1), B12 and C.
- 57% to 61% carbohydrates based on its dry weight.
- Minerals: potassium, phosphorus and calcium.
- 26% protein.
- 11.9% fiber.
Some research suggests beneficial effects of mushrooms for human health. For example, there is talk of its antioxidant action, its ability to reduce blood cholesterol and a promising biological action in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.
What do you need to start your edible mushroom garden?
Now that you know a little more about the product, it is time to know the elements that you are going to have to gather to start your edible mushroom garden at home. Take note!
1. Arrows or spurs
It seems obvious, but it is not. The first thing you are going to need are the mushrooms that you are going to grow or the spores.
You can buy poplar mushrooms, mushrooms, shiitake or thistle, among others. They can be bought in specialized stores where they can offer you mycelia or mycorrhizae. It is now your decision to choose which of these options you are going to start your home mushroom garden with.
2. Suitable substrate
The second thing you must have is the substrate in which you will grow your mushrooms. You can also buy this in specialized stores or you can prepare it yourself. Ideally, you should have straw, sawdust, coir, vermiculite, compost, mulch, or manure.
Now, there are even more homemade options, which include the use of coffee grounds and logs, so that fungi reproduce as if they were in nature. The former are added to the substrate or become the base by mixing them with pieces of wet cardboard.
3. Support for cultivation
The substrate in which you are going to start your crop requires a support or container. Among the options that we offer you are the plastic containers that can be recycled, dark in coloran old basin and even a jug of water.
Now, if you continue in the specialized store, you can ask for an alpaca or bala, that is, bags already ready with the substrate and spores. Speaking of those options that make everything easier for us, some kits of growing edible mushrooms or micokitswhich bring everything you require.
Guide for beginners: step by step to grow mushrooms
With everything ready, we are going to start with the work that, in a period of between 3 to 6 weeks, will allow us to harvest some tasty homemade mushrooms. Here we go!
- Wash your hands: It is important to have your hands and the elements that you are going to use in total neatness. Use soap and water, alcohol or disinfectant gel.
- Prepare the culture container: wash it. If you are going to recycle a plastic bottle, cut off the top; then make six holes (three on the bottom and three on the sides). In the case of a container made of another material, make sure it has holes through which to drain.
- Start sowing: Take a quantity of the substrate that you have chosen and put it in the base of the culture container. Then, lay down a layer of spores and add a new layer of substrate. Do it this way until you have filled three quarters of your container.
- Put a stopper: If you used the plastic bottle, then use the part you removed to cover the container. Before, make holes for the crop to breathe. If you have another type of container, you will also have to find something to cover it with.
- Put your crop inside a bag: This should not remain attached to the crop because it will damage the mushrooms.
- Look for the optimal temperature: The ideal is to put the mushrooms in a place protected from the sun, whose temperature is between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius. Likewise, you have to keep the environment humid, for which you can spray the crop frequently.
- Wait for the spores to germinate: between the second and fourth week you will be able to see the incipient shoots. Three to six weeks later you will be able to pick your mushrooms.
Start with your edible mushroom garden at home!
Starting your own edible mushroom garden at home is very simple. You have the option to buy everything you need or use different recyclable products, such as plastic bottles and coffee grounds.
Now everything is ready for self-cultivation. You can use the mushrooms for personal or family consumption. And if you are an entrepreneur, to sell them. Let’s do it!
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