Growing winter mushrooms by intensive method

Winter mushrooms are one of those mushrooms, the cultivation of which is possible both at home and in open areas. One of the main difficulties lies in the reproduction of mycelium, but if you master this technology, then further cultivation of mycelium will not be difficult. Keep in mind that to breed winter mushrooms at home, you will need to allocate a window sill on the north side, since these mushrooms do not like the abundance of sunlight.

Winter honey agaric is an edible agaric of the family of ordinary from the family of flammulin. Most often it can be found on willows, aspens and poplars, on forest edges, along the banks of streams, in gardens and parks.

A common fungus is in the northern temperate zone. It grows in countries of Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, Japan. Appears in September - November. In the southern regions it can be seen in December. Sometimes it occurs after snowfall, for which it got its name.

How to distinguish winter mushrooms from other mushrooms

This mushroom is a saprotroph, it grows on damaged and weakened deciduous trees or on stumps and dead trunks, has a high nutritional value.

There are a number of signs on how to distinguish winter mushrooms from other mushrooms. The hat of this species grows up to 2–5 cm in diameter, very rarely up to 10 cm. It is smooth and dense, cream or yellowish, sticky, mucous. The center is darker than the edges. Sometimes in the middle it becomes brownish. Lamellae tan or white, spore powder white. The leg is dense, elastic, 5–8 cm high, 0.5–0.8 cm thick. The upper part is light and yellowish, and the bottom is brown or black-brown. This is a mushroom and differs from other species of honey mushrooms. The base of the leg is hairy and velvety. The taste is soft, the smell is weak.

Only hats are used for food. Stews and soups are prepared from winter mushrooms.

These photos clearly illustrate the description of winter mushrooms:

Proper reproduction of winter mushroom mycelium

Since winter mushroom can parasitize on living trees, it is grown only indoors. There are two methods: extensive and intensive. In the first method, mushrooms are grown on wood. With the intensive method, mushrooms are grown on a substrate, which is placed in a jar and placed on a windowsill.

As a substrate, use sunflower husk, oilcake, buckwheat husks, bran, beer pellets, ground corn cobs.

For proper propagation of winter mushroom mycelium, the mixture should be prepared in different proportions based on the characteristics of the fillers. If the substrate will consist of sawdust with bran, then they must be mixed in a ratio of 3: 1. Sawdust with beer pellet is mixed in a ratio of 5: 1. In the same way, it is required to mix sunflower husk and buckwheat husk with grains. In the sawdust as the basis of the substrate, you can add straw, sunflower husk, chopped cobs, buckwheat husks in a ratio of 1: 1. All these mixtures get high yields. It should be noted that on some sawdust the mycelium grows very slowly, and the yield is much lower. In addition, straw, ground corn kernels, sunflower husk can be used as the main substrate without the addition of sawdust.You also need to put 1% gypsum and 1% superphosphate. The moisture content of the mixture is 60–70%. All raw materials should be free from mold and rot.

In the selection of containers, heat treatment of the substrate, there are many different ways. Each mushroom picker chooses its own, optimal for his case.

Any mixture should be wetted and left for 12-24 hours. Then the substrate is sterilized. What is it subjected to heat treatment. The wet substrate is tightly packed in jars or bags and placed in water. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 hours. In industrial cultivation of the fungus, the substrate is completely sterilized in pressure autoclaves. At home, this procedure is reminiscent of home canning of fruits and vegetables. Sterilization should be repeated the next day.

You can also put the substrate in small boxes. But its sterilization is best done before packing in containers. The substrate should be well sealed when laying in the container

Sowing mushrooms of winter mushrooms

Before growing winter mushrooms intensively, the substrate for sowing after heat treatment needs to be cooled to 24–25 ° C. Then you need to make grain mycelium, for which a metal or wooden stick in the center of the can or package to make a hole to the entire depth of the substrate. The mycelium then grows faster and uses the substrate over its entire thickness. Mycelium should be introduced into the hole in a ratio of 5–7% of the substrate weight. Then put the cans in a warm place.

Optimal for mycelium is a temperature of 24–25 ° C. The mycelium grows within 15–20 days. It depends on the substrate, capacity and variety of mushrooms. At this time, the cans with the substrate can be kept in a warm and dark place, they do not need light. But the substrate should not dry out. For this purpose, it is covered with a water-retaining and breathable material - burlap or thick paper. After the entire substrate is overgrown with mycelium, banks with it are transferred to the light in a cooler place with a temperature of 10–15 ° C. What is the best window sill on the north side for? But at the same time, direct sunlight should not fall on them. Paper or burlap is removed. The necks of the cans are wrapped in cardboard, and from time to time they are wetted with water to protect the substrate from drying out.

The embryos of fruiting bodies appear 10–15 days after the containers are exposed and 25–35 days after sowing the mycelium. They look like bundles of thin legs with small hats. Harvest can be harvested 10 days after this. Bunches of mushrooms are cut, and their remains are carefully removed from the mycelium. Then the substrate is moistened by sprinkling it with water. After 2 weeks, you can harvest the next crop. For the entire growing period, with one three-liter can, you can get up to 1.5 kg of mushrooms.