Growing mushrooms

[Boots]

Am thinking of allocating a stall in my shed to mushrooms, as at present I only have peacocks in there and the goats will be late this year.

Has anyone grown mushrooms at home before? I can get kits sent up and figure I will, to get the initial spores - but can anyone advise me on extending the growing beyond the life of the kit? Is it just a case of feeding the soil and they keep going?

Would love to chew this over with someone who has experience...

[Wombat]

G'Day Boots,

I made me own compost, pasturised it in the glass (plastic) house, got hold of some spawn from a grower, it cost about $20, inocculated the compost, I got a real good run of the hyphae and cased the compost. The mushrooms got to pinhead size and that was it!

I suspect that the hot weather that turned up killed 'em off although when I talked to a mushe grower he thought hat there may have been maggots in the casing material (cocopeat).

I just haven't gotten back to it yet!

To make your own spawn needs microbiological skills and some equipment. I have the info from the net but have not yet had a go.

Nev

[Boots]

hmmm.. Hot weather is not good then? I was thinking humidity would be a plus. Is that not so?

Have just been looking about and there is a crew who sends chunks and the shitake mushrooms grow on a block like this...



It seems like different types have different requirements. Ebay has some buttons and different types listed that all seem to grow in a pizza box kind of set up, but the post up here is bit ridiculous. Once you have the spores, do they continue to reproduce in the compost, or do you have to keep adding them?

[Wombat]

The nushrooms I was growing were the standard commercial type. You grow them from spawn, which is the spores grown onto wheat. To do this you need the gear (flasks and such) and some micro skills.

I suspect it would not be beyond your abilities Boots, but there would probably be some trial and error type learning as there would be with any of us who doen't have the formal training.

My garage gets to 40c and that is too hot, from memory they only can stand up to the high 20s, which is why railway tunnels work so well. lower even temperature.

I've got the info site on a CD somewhere but will have to find it, if you want the data.

Nev

[Muddypause]

When I was about 14 I bought a mushroom growing kit (taken in by the suggestion that I could make money out of it). I followed the instructions to the letter, hosing down a pile of straw in the woodshed everyday until it was rotted, then scattering the seeds forth upon it.

I got one single, manky looking mushroom. One.

I reckon this means either, uniquely, my corner of the temperate world is unsuitable for growing fungi, or you need to make sure the people you are buying the kit from aren't a cowboy outfit (with apologies to real cowboys, of course).

[Wombat]

Poor old Stew, Ripped off mate!

Nev

[Chickpea]

I've twice bought grow your own mushroom kits and both times they wer an abject failure. I got the coevring of cobwebby strands but never ever got mushrooms and ended up getting fed up of it and bunging it all on the compost heap. I wouldn't do them again. I never tried the shitake or oyster mushroom kits, but if I can't get the normal kind to grow I won't risk my money on the more expensive kind. Good luck, though. If you get yours to grow, maybe you can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

[Boots]

I just chickened out and ordered a heap more pigeon pea, amaranth and goats rue instead... LOL

Was talking to someone over here online and she insists she grew mushrooms under her kitchen sink for years... in garbage bags! I just don't feel real confident about it and really don't have much patience for things I have to fuss with. Might look into it again later, but for now I will stick with the tried and true.

[Wombat]

I have heard of garbage bags before, ut I used recycled polystyrene veggie boxes.

c'mon Boots................give it a go!

Nev

[the.fee.fairy]

I've got a GYO mushroom kit on the go at the moment, i got it from a loacal garden centre.

Not sure how its doing though...

Hang on, i'll go peek...







Nothing yet...
I put the casing in on Wednesday i think, so i'm not expecting there to be anything yet, it says up to 3 weeks before it starts growing. It all smells mushroomy.

I've got my kit in the garage, its fairly even temperatured and damp in there (the tumble dryer's in there), so i#m hoping the mushrooms will grow.

[Andy Hamilton]

One thing that I want to have a go at too, I saw a kit that you can grow oyster mushrooms on a book with. Not sure if there is anywhere in my house that stays at the right temperature or is not used all the time.

[godfreyrob]

This site has loads of info on growing at home.
http://www.mycologue.co.uk/xcart/custom ... .php?cat=3
The timescales for mushrooms to 'fruit' can range from 20 days to several months though - patience is clearly needed and it might be tricky to maintain ideal conditions (temperature/shade/humidity) over such a long period.

[the.fee.fairy]

No mushroom yet.

I'm not giving up on them!
I've got some more spores somewhere. When i find my seed box (someone's moved it) i'll prolly put them on it too, then there should be plenty of spores to grow!!

I want home-grown mushrooms, dammit!

[Sassinak]

We once put a thick layer of spent mushroom compost down in an aviary and had a wonderful crop of mushrooms for weeks afterwards. Once we had picked that initial flush (presumably caused by turning the compost and exposing different areas to the light) there was never anything alse grew.

[Daisy's Mum]

I buy mushroom spawn from Ann Millers Speciality Mushrooms from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, I bag up horse manure that is gifted from a friend, I bag it as it must be free from worms etc, and lay my spawn onto that. I don't grow anything too fancy your usual white mushrooms. And lay the spawn down into the manure, cover with dampened newspaper and then once the threads are showing put a casing over the top. And yes - I too grow them under the sink, just so that they won't be forgotten about.

Temperatures for mushrooms mustn't reach any higher than 21.c (69.f) or lower than 10.c (60.f) Ideal temp. is about 16.c (68.f)

Once you are eating your own mushrooms you will never go back. When I cut open our first ever mushroom I couldn't believe how pink the flesh was, after being used to shop bought where the gills are all brown.

Oh they grow in flushes every ten days or so, and you must fill the holes left with casing.

Hope some of this rambling is of some use.

Lorna x