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Beginners can grow oyster mushrooms in two ways: extensive (on stumps or scraps of wood) and intensive (in bags or other containers located indoors). Both technologies for growing oyster mushrooms in the process of many years of experience have been worked out to the smallest detail, so the cultivation of these fruits is available even to inexperienced amateur mushroom growers.

Oyster mushroom, or oyster, is a rather large mushroom with a dark cap, usually gray or brown with intermediate shades, which grows up to 200 mm in diameter. Over time, the hat becomes lighter. Oyster mushrooms are white or cream-colored, gradually turning into a rather dense and tough stem, which for this reason is not eaten.

You will learn about growing oyster mushrooms in bags and on stumps by reading this material.

Extensive and intensive ways of growing oyster mushrooms

This fungus is found exclusively on dead deciduous wood, and therefore is not dangerous for living trees in the garden. As a rule, large oyster mushrooms form on wood, each of which contains up to 30 individual mushrooms, while the mass of the splices can be 2-3 kg.

Oyster mushroom grows in large quantities in natural conditions and in central Russia, mushrooms can be harvested all summer and autumn, and the peak of fruiting intensity occurs in August - October (specific dates are determined by the air temperature).

The cultivation of oyster mushrooms is much different than the cultivation of champignons, while their taste is by no means worse. In addition, they are not lost by drying or pickling.

Most often, the planting material - sterile oyster mushroom mycelium - is purchased on the side for growing mushrooms. This should be done in spring or early autumn, since it needs positive temperatures during transportation. Before grafting mycelium, it must be stored at a temperature of 0 to 2 ° C, then it will retain all its properties for 3-4 months, while at 18-20 ° C - only a week.

How to properly grow oyster mushrooms indoors or in the country? The cultivation methods for these mushrooms can be divided into extensive and intensive.

Due to the fact that this mushroom is easily amenable to artificial cultivation on waste wood without any significant material costs, an extensive method of cultivation is very popular. That being said, it's also pretty well designed. We can say that the extensive method, due to its simplicity, reliability and low cost, is most suitable for a summer cottage. Before growing things, beginners are advised to watch the video and familiarize themselves with the literature, and the process technology is described in detail.

The specificity of the intensive method of growing oyster mushrooms lies in the composition of the substrate used and the possibility of growing mushrooms in a closed room, for example, a greenhouse or a lighted basement with controlled conditions. A short ripening period (2-2.5 months) makes this method very attractive for growing oyster mushrooms in a subsidiary farm, in a backyard and garden plot.

This method was developed in Hungary, but in Russia it was significantly improved. It was found that oyster mushroom, like Florida (adapted for intensive cultivation), grows well on plant materials such as straw, sunflower husk, corn cobs, reeds, etc.

Under natural conditions, it is impossible to find oyster mushrooms growing on straw, sunflower husks, corn cobs, etc., since mold fungi, which have a higher development rate and are able to suppress oyster mushrooms, have a serious competition.

First, learn how to grow mycelium oyster mushrooms extensively.

Extensive technology of growing oyster mushrooms on stumps in a summer cottage

Before growing oyster mushrooms using extensive technology, you need to find the necessary pieces of wood from aspen, birch, poplar, etc. length within 300 mm and diameter from 150 mm and above. If they are thinner, the yield will decrease. In order for the wood to be sufficiently moist, which is necessary for the normal growth of mycelium, the logs are kept in water for 1-2 days before use.

To grow oyster mushrooms in the country, stumps at the end of winter or early spring are moved to a cellar, basement or some similar closed room, put one on top of the other, forming columns up to 2 m high.First, the upper ends of the logs are covered with a layer of grain mycelium, the thickness of which is from 10-20 mm and more. Then another piece of wood is installed on this piece of wood, the end of which is also treated with mycelium. Next, place the next segment, etc. The planting material is taken at the rate of 70-100 g per end.

From above, the columns are covered with straw to preserve moisture and create conditions for better development of mycelium, which eventually penetrates into the wood. Instead of straw, some kind of fabric is often used, since plastic and other films are not suitable, since they do not allow air to pass through, which is necessary for the growing mycelium.

To grow oyster mushrooms, certain conditions must be created: at a temperature of 10-15 ° C, the oyster mushroom mycelium overgrows the wood within 2-2.5 months. The air in this room must be humidified, but this should be done carefully so that water does not get onto the wood.

If the champignon does not need light for normal growth, then the oyster mushroom needs it for fruiting. The second stage of cultivation of this fungus in central Russia falls on May. Pieces of wood with sprouted mycelium are taken out into the open air and deepened into the ground by 100-150 mm. Pieces of wood are formed into rows under the canopy of trees or in some other shaded places. To grow oyster mushrooms on stumps, you can create a shade with a light artificial canopy.

The distance between the installed pieces of wood and between the rows should be 350-500 mm.

When grown on stumps, oyster mushrooms need proper care, which mainly consists in gentle watering of the soil in dry weather. Fruiting most often begins in August - September and continues throughout October. Collect the oyster mushroom by cutting it off carefully. The first harvest from one piece of wood yields over 600 g of first-class mushrooms, which form into large intergrowths.

Additional information on growing oyster mushrooms on stumps is presented in this video:

Plantations hibernate where they were established in the summer. If conditions are favorable, then in the second year from each piece of wood you can get 2-2.5 kg of mushrooms. The technology of growing oyster mushrooms on stumps allows you to get up to 20 kg of mushrooms per year from 1 m2 of wood, the most productive of which are the second and third years.

The following describes how to properly grow oyster mushrooms in a greenhouse.

How can you grow oyster mushrooms in a greenhouse

As practice shows, oyster mushrooms can also be grown in greenhouses, where pieces of wood are installed in the ground in October - November, since they cannot be arranged in columns.

At the same time, pieces of wood should be planted with grain mycelium. After applying to the ends of the logs, it is covered with wooden discs 20-30 mm thick of the same diameter as that of the log.

The advantage of growing oyster mushrooms in greenhouses is the ability to regulate key environmental parameters: humidity, air and soil temperature, which has a positive effect on fruiting. The spread of mycelium over pieces of wood lasts 1-1.5 months (if the air temperature was 13-15 ° C, the soil was 20-22 ° C, and the relative air humidity was 95-100%).

After the growth of the mycelium for two days, the temperature is sharply reduced to 0-2 ° C, which "spurs" fruiting. Then the temperature is increased to 10-14 ° C.After 2-2.5 months after planting the mycelium on wood, fruiting can be expected.

Breeding oyster mushrooms allows you to load greenhouses with work in October - January, when they are usually empty. In the spring, if it becomes necessary to use greenhouses for vegetables, pieces of wood with mycelium are transferred to open ground.

You can also cultivate mushrooms on stumps, for example, in the forest or in gardens where they are. A mushroom planted on them will biologically destroy them, which will allow for three years to harvest mushrooms and get rid of unwanted stumps, without resorting to uprooting.

Watch the video "Growing oyster mushrooms in a greenhouse", which tells about all the nuances of cultivation:

This is only an approximate general scheme for the cultivation of the fungus. It is possible and necessary to make changes in the timing of planting (depending on the characteristics of the microclimate in the open air or indoors) and methods of planting mycelium on pieces of wood.

In particular, a slightly more laborious, but giving good results, method can be applied, which consists in the fact that first, holes 40-50 mm deep and about 30 mm in diameter are made at the end of the log segment, where the grain mycelium is laid. Then they are covered with wet sawdust or pieces of bark, otherwise the mycelium will quickly dry out and be defenseless against mold fungi. If you act in this way, then the planting material will grow faster along the piece of wood.

The following describes how to properly grow oyster mushrooms in bags in an intensive way.

How to properly grow oyster mushrooms in bags

There are sterile and non-sterile methods of intensive cultivation of oyster mushrooms. The sterile method in the industrial cultivation of the fungus was tested first. Its essence is as follows: the substrate is moistened and placed in an autoclave, where it is sterilized, after which it is inoculated with mycelium. Harmful microorganisms die, and the oyster mushroom seed develops unhindered.

The results of using this method are quite good, however, it is practically not used in the subsidiary farm, since it requires sterile conditions throughout the entire cultivation period or mixing a special microbiological additive into the sterilized substrate, which includes a complex of bacteria that prevent the growth of mold fungi, and getting it is not so easy.

In the first half of the XX century. a non-sterile method of oyster mushroom cultivation was invented, the essence of which is pasteurization (steaming) of the nutrient medium, while other processes take place in non-sterile conditions. In this case, there is no need for any additives, however, the use of this method must take place with the indispensable observance of sanitary conditions, which will prevent the spread of mold and mold fungi on the substrate.

This method is often used by solo mushroom growers and in small mushroom farms. However, it should be borne in mind that the industrial cultivation of the fungus in a non-sterile way consists of some complex technological methods, which requires special equipment and qualified specialists.

Although the non-sterile method is quite effective, it cannot fully guarantee a high-quality stable yield, since there is always a danger of mold growth of the nutrient medium. Single mushroom growers can be advised to breed this mushroom in small volumes, because in this case it is easier to perform

A nutrient medium for the cultivation of oyster mushrooms can be agricultural waste, for example, cereal straw, sunflower seed husk, corn, sawdust, shavings, etc. Just before use, you need to make sure that they are free of mold, otherwise they will become a source of infection.

Agricultural waste can be mixed in different proportions with different results.All this allows mushroom growers not only to experiment, but also to wisely use the waste of subsidiary farming.

The nutrient medium is crushed, 2% of ground limestone, 2% of gypsum, 0.5% of carbomide, 0.5% of superphosphate (based on total weight) and water are added so that the final moisture content reaches 75%. To accelerate the appearance of fruits and their increase, beer grains or bran are added to the mixture. Moreover, all additives should not exceed 10% of the total weight of the compost.

Then the culture medium is placed in a container for drying and kept there for 2-3 hours at a temperature of 80-90 ° C, stirring occasionally. Thus, the substrate is pasteurized. Alternatively, the compost can be treated with hot steam at 55-60 ° C for 12 hours.

If the oyster mushroom is grown in sufficiently small volumes, the nutrient medium can be treated with boiling water in appropriate containers, after which they are covered and left for 2-4 hours. Then the water is drained, the substrate is dried to the required (70-75%) humidity and minerals are added.

Pasteurization of the nutrient medium can be performed as follows: fill bags and install them in containers where steam or hot water is supplied, subjecting the substrate to processing for 6-10 hours.

In any case, heat treatment of the substrate is important to get rid of mold. It can be prepared in completely different ways, regardless of the way the mushroom is cultivated.

Upon completion of the heat treatment, the pasteurized nutrient medium must be gradually cooled and then transferred to the planting site. The substrate can be placed in plastic bags, boxes, etc., the sizes of which may vary. The best dimensions are 400x400x200 mm. The volume of the substrate should be large enough (5-15 kg) so that it does not dry out quickly. It should also be compressed a little, while it is extremely important to ensure its cleanliness when placed in a container for growing mushrooms.

The mycelium is planted when the substrate temperature drops to 25-28 ° C. It is introduced to a depth of 100-150 mm, stirring evenly with the nutrient medium. The volume of mycelium should be 5-7% of the compost mass. If there is less planting material, then the substrate will grow longer, which only increases the risk of developing competing molds.

Mixing of grain mycelium and pasteurized cooled substrate can be done before filling the containers with it. In this case, due to the uniform mixing of the substrate with the mycelium, the same uniform overgrowth of the nutrient medium occurs. This method of applying mycelium requires the utmost care to maintain cleanliness in the work area.

To grow oyster mushrooms in bags the way the correct technology suggests, you need to ensure a temperature of 20-25 ° C and a relative humidity of 90% in the room. At this stage, the mushrooms do not need light. 3-5 days after planting, the surface of the nutrient medium is covered with a whitish layer of mycelium. It will take another 8-10 days and, if the technology was followed strictly enough, the nutrient medium will turn light brown, and then interweaving of white hyphae will appear, which indicates the beginning of the maturation of the mycelium.

If the substrate with mycelium is in bags, then cuts are made on it to clear the way for growing mushrooms

In the process of mycelium development, it is necessary to determine the temperature in the depth of the nutrient medium 1-2 times a day. If it reaches 28 ° C or exceeds this figure, then the room must be thoroughly ventilated.

The development of the mycelium lasts about 20-30 days, and at the end the substrate, penetrated by it, becomes a monolithic block. Then these blocks in bags or other containers are moved to a special room called a growing room, where a stable temperature regime of 12-15 ° C is maintained and light is provided. Of course, if it is possible to reduce the temperature and illuminate the room, you can leave the oyster mushroom where the substrate is overgrown with mycelium.

Oyster mushroom bears fruit better if the blocks are placed vertically, after removing them from the bags. Between rows of supplied blocks, a free space of 900-1000 mm should be left to facilitate crop maintenance and harvesting. The location of the blocks depends on the characteristics of a particular room.

In principle, it is not necessary to remove the blocks from the bags, but in order for the mushrooms to grow from all sides, holes must be cut in the shell vertically and horizontally at a distance of 30-40 mm (or 100-150 mm) with a diameter of 10-20 mm. You can also make longitudinal or cruciform incisions. Sometimes the blocks are strengthened, and some mushroom growers hang elongated blocks in bags.

If the substrate with mycelium is in boxes or something similar, then the mushrooms will grow on the upper open surface of the nutrient medium. Sometimes the boxes are installed on the end and the mushrooms appear on a vertical plane.

To stimulate fruiting, at this stage, you can hold the substrate with overgrown mycelium for 2-3 days at a temperature of 3-5 ° C. This procedure is recommended to be performed before placing the substrate in the growing room. However, this procedure is optional.

During fruiting, the humidity in the room should be in the range of 80-100%, for which, at a temperature of 12-16 ° C, it is enough to moisten the floor and walls 1-2 times a day. The block removed from the bag may dry out; in this case, it is slightly moistened with a watering can or a hose with a spray.

For some time, the technology of oyster mushroom cultivation has become popular, in which the blocks are left in bags and the room is hardly humidified, since there is enough moisture in the nutrient medium for the appearance of mushrooms. Indeed, it is preserved very well in a plastic bag, therefore, in this case, the room is humidified only when the air temperature exceeds 18-20 ° C in order to lower it.

When the fruiting process begins, a lot of excess carbon dioxide accumulates in the premises, which must be removed by ventilation. In general, the presence of high-quality ventilation during this period is rather difficult to overestimate, since with poor air exchange, fruit bodies are not formed, instead of them bushy growths of mycelium appear.

Thus, if you want to get tasty large mushrooms, you need to carefully ventilate the room. As a rule, one change of air every hour is enough.

However, intensive ventilation gives rise to the problem of ensuring the required level of air humidity, which, according to the recommendations, is 90-95%, but in practice this indicator is difficult to achieve. A way out of the situation is found in periodic watering of bags.

When the blocks are transferred to a cold room and the packaging is opened, the ingress of water can harm the mycelium during the first 5-6 days. Therefore, it is not worth watering them right away, it is enough to regularly moisten the walls and floor of the room. Blocks of the substrate covered with germinated mycelium will not absorb moisture, which allows them to be moistened by spraying water 1-2 times a day at a relative humidity of 95-100% and 4-5 times at a humidity of 85-95%.

It is best to keep the air humidity at a sufficient level, because even if it is slightly below normal, this will lead to dryness of the caps and the formation of cracks, although the mushrooms themselves will grow. When the moisture level reaches 70% and below, the yield can be noticeably reduced.

The first 5-6 days of the stay of the blocks with mycelium in the nursery room, you do not need to worry about lighting, since the main processes are carried out in the mass of the nutrient medium, where it is in any case dark. However, as soon as the rudiments of fruiting bodies are formed, it is necessary to create an optimal illumination of 7-10 hours a day with an intensity of 70-100 lux.

If the room for growing oyster mushrooms from mycelium is small and dark enough, fluorescent lamps or slightly dim sunlight are used.Light has a serious effect on these mushrooms: the legs are shortened, and the initially whitish caps darken, after which, during the ripening process, they brighten again, increasing in size.

To prevent the blocks from rotting, the mushrooms are harvested by cutting off their legs at the very base. 2-3 weeks after the first wave of the harvest, the second wave will go. At this stage, standard care of the blocks is carried out, and the lighting is turned on when the rudiments of the fruiting bodies are formed.

As practice shows, the first wave can bring up to 75% of the total harvest. If the conditions are optimal, and the substrate is of high quality, then in two waves a yield is obtained equal by weight to 25-30% of the substrate mass. As you can see, it is quite profitable to grow oyster mushroom, it is well stored, it can be transported and it is not afraid of low temperatures.

When the second wave passes, it is best to replace the blocks with new ones with fresh mycelium. The blocks from which the crop was obtained are used in the household - they can be fed to livestock and added to the food of poultry.

This video explains in detail how to grow oyster mushrooms in bags:

Oyster mushroom pest control when growing indoor mushrooms

Among the few pests that infest this fungus are mushroom flies, ticks and mosquitoes. Diseases are usually bacterial in nature after being damaged by pests.

The standard way to disinfect a room for growing oyster mushrooms is to spray the walls with a 2-4% solution of bleach or formalin. Then the room is locked for 2 days, after which it is opened and ventilated for 1-2 days. Such processing should be carried out before each next use of the room.

The required amount of bleach for pest control when growing oyster mushrooms in bags is dissolved in a small volume of water in advance, and then diluted with water to the required concentration and left to infuse for 2 hours.The resulting mixture is stirred up and used to disinfect the room, which, after spraying, is closed for two days ... Preventive measures with bleach should be carried out 15-20 days before the introduction of the substrate, since during this time the chlorine will have time to erode.

Although there are few pathogens and pests of this fungus, it is quite difficult to fight them, since most of them live inside the substrate, which, moreover, is under the film most of the time. Therefore, the main protective measures are carried out as a prophylaxis even before the introduction of the mycelium into the substrate.

For example, rooms for oyster mushrooms are fumigated with sulfur dioxide. For this, baking sheets are placed on the bricks. Sulfur is placed on top (40-60 g per 1 m2 of the room). Then they light it up and close the doors tightly. The room is left for 2 days, after which it is opened and ventilated for 10 days.

Fumigation is carried out only if the room is dry enough. If it is damp, it is recommended to use a different disinfection method.

When growing oyster mushrooms indoors, the closest attention should be paid to the cleanliness of the equipment used. Before work, all tools are treated with a 40% formalin solution, and then with clean water. Containers for the substrate are disinfected and kept in a clean room.

The most dangerous pests of oyster mushrooms are mushroom flies, which eat mycelium and fruiting bodies, and bacteria penetrate into the wounds. Flies usually appear in the warm season at temperatures above 15 ° C. Most of them become when the mycelium begins to grow in a nutrient medium and ripen. It is during this period, lasting 5-6 weeks, that the temperature in the room with the substrate is most suitable for the development of pests.

The likelihood of harm by flies and mosquitoes increases when old and new substrates are in the same room. Insects move from old blocks to new ones, where they lay eggs.

Preventive measures in the form of disinfection of the room and sterilization of the substrate are also needed against the spread of fungal mites, because there are no effective means of combating them. Their size is very small, and they feed on mycelium, penetrating into the fruiting bodies. Secondary infection with bacteria is also not long in coming. At the same time, the damaged areas become wet and darken.

Oyster mushroom is a fairly serious allergen. Rather, not she herself, but her spores, which appear soon after the caps of the mushrooms begin to form. Therefore, when working with the fungus, it is recommended to use respirators. Particular care must be taken when planting new strains of oyster mushrooms with unknown allergenic properties.