In recent years, an increasing number of people begin to master technologies that allow collecting oyster mushrooms on stumps. Growing these mushrooms at home does not require any special knowledge and skills. After reading this article, you will learn about the main stages of this process.
Mycelium selection
To collect oyster mushrooms on stumps, cultivation must begin with the acquisition of high-quality planting material. Some sellers offer to buy mycelium on sticks. However, long-term practice has shown that when they are used, the first crop can be obtained only after two years, and sometimes later. Therefore, experts recommend purchasing fresh mycelium on oats or wheat. When choosing this planting material, you need to make sure that there is no gray-green mold on it, an excess of which indicates the poor quality of the goods offered.
When is it better to plant oyster mushrooms on stumps?
It is advisable to start growing these mushrooms in the autumn months. It is during this period that they do not require frequent watering, and the crop ripens much faster. If during spring sowing mushrooms can be enjoyed after a year and a half, then in autumn - only after a year. In the first six months, oyster mushrooms require special care, which consists in frequent watering.
All of the above does not mean that you need to abandon the spring sowing of mycelium. Just in such cases, the logs with the future harvest are not dug into the ground, but placed in the basement and covered with wet burlap, so that they gradually overgrown with mycelium. In the fall, they are removed from the cellar and buried in the ground.
Sowing technology
It should be understood that growing oyster mushrooms at home on stumps is a long and laborious process. In this case, you can only get a seasonal crop, depending on climatic and weather conditions. The preparation of hemp must begin at the end of January. It is advisable to choose those on the surface of which there are no signs of mold. Before making planting material, logs should be soaked in water for three days. This will create the increased humidity necessary for laying the mycelium. Stumps with mycelium can be taken out into the garden not earlier than May, when the threat of frost onset completely disappears.
To get a good harvest of oyster mushrooms on stumps, cultivation and sowing can be carried out in several different ways:
- Holes are made in the logs, the depth of which is about six centimeters, and the diameter is about ten millimeters. Then they are filled with mycelium in the grains and covered with moss or tape.
- At the end of the stump, planting material is laid out and covered with a disk pre-sawn from the log, the thickness of which is about three centimeters, and then fixed with nails.
- A pyramid is built from the chocks, and the end of each log is covered with a two-centimeter layer of mycelium.
After sowing, the stumps are placed in the cellar and covered with burlap or film.
Growing oyster mushrooms on stumps in the basement
In order for your venture to succeed, you must not only choose the mycelium correctly, but also create optimal conditions in the room selected for these purposes. It is important that the air temperature in the basement is at least fifteen and no more than twenty degrees, and humidity is in the range of 80-95%.
Particular attention is recommended to provide quality ventilation and lighting. It should also be understood that the cultivation of oyster mushrooms on stumps in the basement implies warming and re-equipment of the room. To avoid the accumulation of carbon dioxide, it is imperative to install fans. As lighting devices, it is desirable to use fluorescent lamps. To place blocks with mushrooms in the basement, special racks should be equipped in advance. Preferably, they are made of durable plastic that is resistant to moisture.
Open transplant
In May, hemp with oyster mushrooms can be moved to the garden. The readiness for landing on open ground can be judged by the presence of a dense white coating. For the most successful fruiting of mycelium, it is desirable to put logs in the shade, for example, under densely leafy trees.
Wet leaves are lined at the bottom of the previously dug holes, and then stumps are planted. It is important that the logging depth does not exceed fifteen centimeters. The distance between adjacent chocks should be about half a meter. Further planting care consists in periodically moistening the soil around the logs. The first crop can be harvested already in early autumn.
With the onset of winter, hemp is recommended to be wrapped with spruce branches, leaves or straw. Such a mycelium will fruit abundantly for several years in a row. The maximum yield of mushrooms can be harvested in the second and third year.