How to Grow Gourmet Mushrooms

Love to garden? Love to cook? Why not combine the two activities in a new and flavorful way. Growing your own gourmet mushrooms is easier than you think, and there are many varieties available for home growers.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• mushroom growing kit or mushroom spores
• electric fan
• spray mist bottle
• cooking oil spray

1. Purchase a gourmet mushroom growing kit or make your own blocks of growing medium. (See "How to Prepare Growing Medium for Mushrooms".) Mushrooms can be grown from spawn (the spores found naturally under the cap), plugs (dense medium which has been infused with spawn) or mushroom-seeded compost.

2. Set up the mushroom kit where the room temperature is stable. Portabella mushrooms do best at 63 degrees F. while button mushrooms thrive at a warmer 68-72 F.

3. Provide indirect light, but never direct sunlight. More light causes portabellas to develop dark brown caps.

4. Mist the mushroom block daily with a spray bottle. Constant humidity is necessary for the mushrooms to develop and grow.

5. Provide maximum air circulation. Mushrooms need a constant flow of air to prevent the build up of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide will bring your mushroom production to a screeching halt.

6. Harvest mushrooms when the veil that attaches the cap to the stem begins to tear - after about 2 weeks in the light. This can happen when the mushrooms are the size of a pea or the size of a baseball. Turn the block daily to inspect for harvestable mushrooms. Do not cut mushrooms from the block, instead, twist and gently pull them. Partial stems left on the block will rot.

7. Protect mushroom kits from insects by coating the flaps of the growing box with cooking oil spray. The oil will trap the insects before they can land on the valuable crop.

Tips & Warnings

• There are many sources for mushroom kits available over the Internet. Shopping for price is not always the best approach. Look for the size of the growing block, shipping costs, instructions and support from the vendor, and the variety of mushrooms available.
• Mushroom spores may discolor furniture or cloth. The distribution of spores is what mushrooms do. Keep your eyes peeled for open mushroom caps, a sure sign that spore is ready to fall.
• Never harvest mushroom spores from the wild. Some varieties are extremely poisonous. Use a reputable vendor only.

[Willi]

on 2/25/2008 Growing edible mushrooms is so cool. Thanks for the article. You can also create outdoor mushroom logs (kits are available) by drilling holes in a freshly cut log and inoculating the log with mushroom spores. These mushroom logs are a really cool addition to a woodland garden.

[gamora]

on 1/21/2008 just go to www.grimmbrosethno.com