Growing Shrooms

Hi all

just bought a packet of Mushroom (agaricus) dry spawn

It says on the packet 40g of spawn (2 sachets) is sufficient for a bed 0.25 - 0.30 sq.m

Q is this a bed 250mm x 250mm to a bed 300mm x 300 mm

it says best at a  temp of 15C in a garage cellar or greenhouse,  temps below 10C and above 20C should be avoided.

Q my garage i would think is below 10C i dont have a cellar or green house and i would pressume without heating,  a green house is going to be  below 10C

Q My garage is in darkness most of the time will they grow in there

It says make compost up into beds 20 -25 cm (8 - 10") deep and well compressed.  For boxes 15 - 20 cm (6 - 8")

Q  Can shrooms be grown in a cardboard box or what do you use  :?

Q  I have a bag of 6x concentrated natural fertiliser will this be any good for growing them

I would like some hints from successful growers please :shock:  

cheers

jr

Okay, sorry for such a brief reply earlier but I was headed out & didn't want to see you wasting the spawn.

Composting for mushrooms is totally different from composting for gardening.  They are a fungus and require the decaying cellulose of wheat straw rather than the nutrients needed by other veggies.  You really need to make the stuff a LOT at a time, i.e. a tonne or two.

The easiest way to grow mushrooms is to buy bags after a commercial grower has finished with them.  They may be uneconomic for him to house and pick but you can still get masses of mushrooms off of them.

The best use for the spawn you've bought would be to keep in the fridge for a month or two & then spread it in a field frequented by horses.  Hopefully then you'll get some mushrooms to pick in Aug-07 or Aug-08

Yes I've grown them on several occasions but never more succesfully than when I bought (actually bartered) 5 tonnes of pre-spawned blocks like the commercial growers used.   I was picking upwards of 50kg a DAY for quite a while.   Inevitably disease sets in and ends production.

Mushroom composting is an art and a science ... buy some in to give yourself the best chance of growing a decent crop since mushroom growing is also an art and a science to get anything like commercial yields.  These guys regard half a degree of temperature change as being very serious.

THEN try making your own compost if you so desire.   I think you want fresh horse muck.  Have you ever tried wetting a tonne of wheat straw ... it is not easy.

If you want to buy a dozen black polytunnels along with all of the aircon, thermostat and hypochlorite treatment plant needed, then I can give you the number of a mushroom farm which closed down recently.    

The home kits you can get which include compost and spawn are a nice easy way to start.   You'll get a few great tasting mushrooms.

mushrooms dont like to grow around trees they arusually found in open ghrass etc if they are around trees they may be mushies but i would say be careful they are more likely to be fungi and may be toxic

I agree.  The only wild mushrooms I eat are horse mushrooms, ceps and chanterelles.   I have a great book with beautiful pictures of everything that is edible but, to me, they look like the beautiful pictures on the next page of things that are poisonous.

i havhorse mushies her mate on the farm  the grass is about 1000 yrds widfe and 800 yards long . and we have sheep on it over winter but come summer they go onto fresh grass and the mushies come up then dinner plate sized . i love collecting them and other fungi but have to admit im dodo at species id i have books but when i picked em and take em to richard ( the boss) i always made mistakes .,some could have been fatal if he hadnt helped .i refuse to collect em unless i know he is gonna be able to sort em out .mind it costs me half my boooty