A step-by-step guide to harvesting oyster mushrooms at home
Mushrooms, with their earthy flavor and diverse textures, are a delightful addition to various culinary creations. Growing mushrooms at home not only guarantees a fresh and sustainable supply but also provides a fascinating and rewarding gardening experience. However, mushroom cultivation does not require soil. The right nutrients are not present in the soil for mushroom growth. Instead, substrates are used to cultivate them.
How do mushrooms grow?
Selecting the substrates depends on the mushroom variety. Straw, hardwood, wood chips, and composted manure are a few examples of substrates. One of the easiest ways to cultivate mushrooms at home is with a plastic bag. This is suitable for oyster mushrooms. For this, you need paddy straws, mushroom spawn, a polyethylene bag (with open ends) and a water sprayer.
Preparing paddy straw
After cutting the straw into two-inch pieces, immerse it in a water tank for six to eight hours. It ought to be fully immersed in water. Empty the tank of its water. The water becomes contaminated with the straw's toxins and appears yellow as a result. The straw's moisture content should be about 50 percent after drying. Squeeze the straw firmly to ensure that.
Steps to prepare a growing bag
Take out spawn from the container it was in and place it on a tray. Now tie one end of the polythene bag tightly and fill this spawn to it alternately with the straw. Fill the bag with ¼ of the straw, and add ¼ spawn on the sides of the bag, and repeat until all of the spawn is used up.
Mushroom growth
Squeeze the air out of the bag using your palms and then tie it closed. Using a needle that is 2-3 mm thick, make 25-30 holes all over the bag. For 15 days, store it somewhere cold and dark. This is when mycelium growth will occur. Open the package, remove the bundle of paddy straws, hang it and water it to grow the mushrooms.
When to harvest mushrooms?
Two days after opening the bag, you can begin watering it with a handheld sprayer. Pinheads will show up in seven more days through the holes you made. These will develop quickly into mature mushrooms. Harvesting can go on for a month after the bag is opened. Ideally, you can harvest a mushroom three times if you grow it once.
Climatic conditions needed for mushrooms
Mushrooms prefer chilly, moist environments for growth. The spawning should be kept at a temperature of roughly 20-21°C throughout the initial period. However, the ideal temperature range for mushroom growth is 12-15°C. Therefore after a few weeks, the temperature should be lowered to that level. To ensure moistness, cover the mushrooms with a light, damp cloth, and mist it whenever it dries up.
Some precautionary measures
Growing mushrooms is ideal in any area that stays dark throughout the day. Choose a location that is usually undisturbed. Additionally, make sure all of your tools are sterilized. Wash your hands when handling spawning and other mediums. Usually, mushroom growth is affected by the use of high-quality paddy straw. Thus, always choose premium paddy straws and spawns.
