Mushroom Growth and Innoculation

[benjysirois]

So as spring approaches and I am evidently not going to be on the road this season, I've decided that I'd do some gardening. I've begun assembling my boxes and doing some preliminary planning. I have also been very interested in growing mushrooms; the edible kind I mean. Though some trippy gardening could be a fun endeavour in the future, I am significantly more interested in having some good veggies.

I have been researching into growing Oyster mushrooms. Most likely Pleurotus Djamor which has a higher temp and humidity tolerance. As I don't live in an air conditioned house I feel these ones would be more forgiving to Southern Ontario's high summer temps and humidity. Not to mention they're beautifully bright and tasty as hell! Just checked out the easy laundry basket method but I'm curious if any of you have had any experience with growing mushies indoors, log methods or even innoculating soil to create a sustainable and annual crop.

For your viewing pleasure and to share the knowledge here is the laundry basket method.

 

[Matt Derrick]

ages ago i used to grow magic mushrooms in my house using perlite as a method of bringing the humidity up to the proper range. i would imagine that would work for almost any other type of mushroom as well?

 

[benjysirois]

ages ago i used to grow magic mushrooms in my house using perlite as a method of bringing the humidity up to the proper range. i would imagine that would work for almost any other type of mushroom as well?

That's an idea! What were you using as substrate? Rice or rye? Different substrates may have different humidity release and retention points.

As I've read so far, Oyster mushrooms are very versatile though they prefer straw or grain, wood or coffee grounds. I think I'll end up using coffee grounds as a substrate as I work at a restaurant that goes through tonnes and tonnes of organic coffee.

The other advantage of using grounds is that it's naturally pasteurized in the coffee-making process. Therefore I get to skip that step!

 

[Matt Derrick]

everything i know i learned from http://www.shroomery.org, although the website has changed quite a bit in the past few years, i believe there is a general guide available there that hasn't changed much in the past 10 or so years.

 

[Tude]

That sounds pretty cool. I have my own basement in the townhouse like building (wraps around a city corner) and has two small furnaces and two water heaters in it (from apt over me) so my basement tends to be consistently warmish (hehe warmer than my apartment - think Zim would attest to that). Never thought of shrooms and I do eat a lot of them. Will look into that cause I think I have a good spot for them.

 

[ottawafm]

I can help you grow the fun kind! lol!
One tip: don't use tap water! Period! Use distilled water, and sterilize EVERYTHING!
Get the book "The Mushroom Cultivator". It explains how to grow both kinds. Well worth the money!