Growing mushrooms indoors is a job that any garden enthusiast interested in self-producing food should attempt. Mushrooms make a healthy addition to any diet, as they are low in fat and calories, but high in fiber and high in potassium. Plus, they're really easy to grow indoors. Mushrooms are best grown indoors where temperature and lighting conditions can be easily controlled. Learning how to grow mushrooms indoors is a matter of carefully managing their growing conditions.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Basic Cultivation
Step 1. Decide what type of mushroom you want to grow
The 3 types of mushrooms that grow at home most easily are pleurotus, white button mushrooms and shiitake. The cultivation methods for each type of mushroom are similar, but the ideal growing medium differs.
- Pleurotus grow best in straw; shiitake grow best in solid wood sawdust; champignon mushrooms grow best in manure compost. These 3 types of medium reflect the different nutritional needs of each type. However, any mushroom can easily be grown in straw or sawdust.
- The choice of the mushroom to grow depends on your personal tastes. You need to grow the variety you prefer to eat.
Step 2. Purchase the mushroom spawn
The spawn consists of sawdust permeated by the mycelium of the fungus, which basically forms the root structure of the fungus. It is used similarly to seedlings to facilitate growth.
- You can purchase quality spawns at several online retailers, some gardening stores, or organic specialty stores.
- Make sure you buy the spawn rather than the spores. Some retailers also sell the spores, which are more akin to plant seeds (rather than seedlings). Growing mushrooms from spores takes more time and experience and is more suitable for experienced mushroom growers.
Step 3. Sterilize the substrate
If you are growing mushrooms in sawdust or straw, the substrate will need to be sterilized before inoculating the spawn. This will eliminate all microorganisms that could compete with the mycelium.
- To sterilize the substrate, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and pour in enough water to make the sawdust or straw moist. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on high for 2 minutes, or until boiling.
- This will kill all microorganisms, making the substrate ready to receive the mycelia. You may need to work in portions before sterilizing all the sawdust or straw.
Step 4. Heat the substrate to spread the mycelia within it
The mycelia need to spread completely inside the substrate before starting to produce fungi. A high temperature helps proliferation.
- After choosing the right substrate for the type of mushroom you are growing, pour some into a baking sheet. A low but wide baking sheet will provide maximum space for the mushrooms to grow.
- Stir the spwan into the substrate with your fingers. Place the baking sheet on top of a warmer set at 21 ° C, the ideal temperature for growing.
- Leave the unit in a dark space, such as inside a cabinet, for 3 weeks. In this way the mycelia will be able to permeate the growth substrate.
Step 5. Place the growth medium in a suitable environment
After 3 weeks, you will need to place the pan in a cool, dark place (approximately 13 ° C). A cellar is usually fine, but a cabinet or drawer inside an unheated room will also be fine during the winter.
- Cover the substrate with a handful of potting soil and spray the mixture with enough water to moisten it completely. You can put a damp cloth on top to prevent moisture loss.
- The mixture must be kept cool and moist while the mushrooms grow. Check periodically and spray water when needed.
Step 6. Collect the mushrooms when they are fully developed
In about 3 weeks you should see some small mushrooms appear, continue to keep the environment moist, cold and dark to encourage their growth.
- When the mushroom caps completely separate from the stems, then the mushrooms are ready to be harvested. You can pick them directly with your fingers, but you risk damaging the new fungi that are growing under the surface. Instead, use a sharp knife to cut the mushrooms at the base of the stem.
- It is best to rinse the mushrooms before cooking or eating them. You can store freshly picked mushrooms in the fridge in a paper bag for a week.
Part 2 of 2: Alternative Methods
Step 1. Grow mushrooms using a kit
As a first experience, growing mushrooms using a ready-made kit can be an easy and fun option. Kits usually consist of a plastic bag filled with inoculated sterile straw or soil. All you have to do is keep the bag in suitable condition and, after 7-10 days, you will have your home grown mushrooms.
- The kits usually have a variable price between 5 and 10 euros and make it possible to grow all the most common species, from champignons to portobello, shiitake, pleurotus and lion's mane mushroom.
- To begin the growing process, you just need to open the bag and place it in a bright place, but not exposed to direct sunlight, such as a window sill in the shade. You can keep the kit at room temperature, but you will need to spray it with water every day to keep the humidity level high. Some kits come with plastic films to cover the bag and maintain the humidity level.
- The mushrooms will start to appear after about 7-10 days, but wait until you see 2 or 3 full growths over a 3 month period.
- The advantage of these kits is that they can be planted outside, in the compost pile or bark mulch, after they have finished producing mushrooms. If conditions are right, the mushrooms can start popping up again in that spot.
Step 2. Grow mushrooms from coffee grounds
Growing mushrooms in coffee grounds is a fun project aimed at reusing coffee grounds, which would otherwise be thrown in the trash. Coffee grounds are perfect substrates for growing mushrooms (especially pleurotus), as they have already been sterilized during the preparation of the coffee and are rich in nutrients.
- For 500g of spawn, you will need 2.5kg of fresh coffee grounds. The best way to get this amount of coffee grounds (meaning produced the same day) is to go to a coffee shop and ask politely. They will usually be more than happy to give them to you.
- You will need a container to grow the mushrooms, the best choice falls on a growth bag which can be purchased together with the spawn. If not, you can use a frozen bag that is sealable, or a well-cleaned milk carton or ice cream jar, which has 4 holes on the sides.
- Wash your hands meticulously using an antibacterial soap, then mix the spawn into the coffee grounds, separating them with your hands to make sure it spreads evenly. Place the inoculated funds in the plastic bag or container and seal tightly.
- Place the bag, or container, in a warm, dark environment, at a temperature between 18-25 ° C, such as a ventilated cabinet or inside the sink. Leave it for about 3 weeks, until it turns completely white, as the bottoms have been colonized by the mycelia.
- Once the contents of the bag or container have turned completely white, move it to a bright but shaded area and cut a hole of about 3x3 cm on the top. Moisten with water twice a day to prevent it from drying out, as mushrooms do not grow in too dry conditions.
- Over the next 5-7 days, small mushrooms will start growing. Keep spraying them with water, you will see that their size will double day by day. When the mushroom caps begin to open upwards, they will be ready to be harvested.
- When the mushrooms stop sprouting, plant the coffee grounds outside in sawdust mulch or compost pile, depending on the weather conditions new fungi can develop.
Step 3. Grow mushrooms on a log
Some types of mushrooms, such as reishi, maitake, grifola frondosa, shiitake and pleurotus, can be grown on a log. This interesting method consists in inoculating the solid wood trunks with birch wood dowels that have been colonized by the mycelia of the fungi. These plugs can be found online and at specialist mushroom spore dealers.
- The first thing you need is a trunk suitable for mushroom cultivation. The trunk must be made from a solid non-aromatic wood, such as maple, poplar, oak and elm. It must be about 90-120 cm long and no more than 30 cm in diameter. The trunk must have been cut at least two weeks before the dowels are inoculated, so that the natural defenses that the tree develops against fungi have subsided.
- You will need at least 50 dowels to colonize a 90-120 cm trunk. To insert the dowels, use an 8 cm drill to make holes 5 cm deep, following a diamond-shaped outline along the entire trunk. The holes should be 10 cm apart. Place the dowels on the trunk and tap with a hammer to insert them completely.
- If you plan to leave the log outside, you will need to seal the dowels with beeswax or food grade, to protect them from any insects or adverse weather conditions. If you plan to keep the log indoors, in the garage or basement, this is not necessary.
- Over time the mycelia of the mushrooms will spread in the trunk, until its total colonization. Once completed, the fungi will start growing along the fractures in the trunk. It usually takes between 9 and 12 months, but depending on the temperature and humidity conditions, the mushrooms can grow back year after year.
