Content
Growing mushrooms in the basement at home is a profitable business that does not require significant financial investments. The process itself is simple, preparatory work requires much more attention: to correctly compose and prepare the substrate for mushrooms, to withstand the necessary conditions in the basement, to prepare the room and disinfect it.
Basement preparation
The basement is the most suitable place for growing mushrooms at home. Since it is easiest to observe the temperature and humidity required for mushrooms.
Home basement walls can be of any material. Wood, concrete, blocks, and bricks will do. The main requirement is for the floor, it must be concreted in order to avoid the penetration of rodents and insects, groundwater. An earthen basement floor can increase humidity, and it must be kept at a certain level for mushrooms to grow.
How to prepare a basement:
- Remove all foreign things and objects from the basement;
- Disinfect the cellar using a sulfur checker, 4% formalin solution, whitewash the walls with lime by adding copper sulfate. Spray with dichlorvos in the presence of crawling and flying insects;
- The basement should be insulated in any way. One of the insulation options: the use of expanded polystyrene plates;
- Installation of lighting just for the convenience of work, 1-2 lamps are quite enough. The positive difference between champignons and other mushrooms is that they do not need light for growth;
-
Installation of ventilation in the basement from 2 types of air ducts: exhaust and supply. Carbon dioxide, which is generated in large quantities as a result of the decomposition of the substrate, will be removed through the chimney. And through the supply ventilation, streams of fresh air will flow. Both ventilation pipes should be equipped with a fine-mesh metal mesh at the entrance to block access to insects and rodents;
- If the supply and exhaust ventilation method does not fulfill its task, then forced ventilation with filters for air purification should be installed. Fans will also help improve the air quality in the basement. Make sure that there are no drafts, they have a detrimental effect on the development of mushrooms;
- Maintain the humidity in the basement, its indicators should remain at the level of 60-70%. A hygrometer will help to control the humidity, it must be purchased and installed;
- At different stages of development, champignons need different temperatures. So for the growth of the mycelium, a temperature of + 25 ° C + 26 ° C is required. And for the growth of the fruiting body of the champignon + 15 ° С + 16 ° С. The basement temperature is monitored with a thermometer;
- If the size of the basement allows, then it is better to divide it into 2 parts, then the temperature indicators can be easily maintained;
-
In order to maximize the use of all the available basement space, build racks or shelves on which the mushroom mushroom will be located. Set them up for easy maintenance and harvesting. Metal racks are convenient, but expensive, wooden ones are just as good. However, they will need to be regularly treated with an antiseptic, since the humidity in the basement is high, which contributes to the defeat of the wood by the fungus;
- Plastic boxes can be used under the substrate. They are installed on shelves or racks.
There are no trifles in the cultivation of champignons. Basement preparation is one of the main steps.
Growing champignons on a ready-made substrate
It is possible to grow mushrooms at home in the basement only when using a special substrate or mushroom compost. To shorten the time for obtaining mushrooms, you can use a ready-made substrate seeded with mycelium. Purchase it either in the production of mushroom cultivation, or from manufacturers specializing in the production of the substrate.
They bring the purchased compost to their basement, place it on the shelves and wait for the mycelium to develop and absorb all the compost. Then cover soil is poured over it. It will take some time to wait until the mycelium has mastered the soil, then it will be ready to grow the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms.
Currently, the producers of compost for mushrooms began to press and pack it into briquettes. This substrate is also already seeded with mycelium. They also offer casing layer. It requires 10 l / 1 briquette.
After you deliver the briquettes to your basement, lay it out on shelves or shelves back to back in 1 layer. Leave this way for a day so that the temperature inside and outside evens out. Then the upper part of the package is cut off, so a bed 20 cm high and 1.4 m wide is obtained for ease of maintenance.
Next, the surface of the substrate is covered with newspapers or kraft paper and moistened with a spray bottle so that the water does not leak out and get onto the compost. Liquid consumption: 200 ml / 1 sq. m beds.
In this state, the substrate in the basement can stay from 2 to 3 weeks. Then you can see that the mycelium has absorbed all the compost and came to the surface. It's time to use the casing layer. It is placed on top of the substrate, leveled and watered well using 2 l / 1 sq. m beds. The thickness of the casing layer is not more than 4 cm. The soil is sprayed every day.
After 4-5 days, the mycelium will grow into the lower soil layer. Begin regular watering 2 times / day, using 1 liter of water / 1 sq. m landings. It will take another 1.5 weeks, then the mycelium will completely master the casing layer of the soil. The stage of mushroom fruiting begins. Watering is stopped.
The temperature in the basement should be kept at + 14 ° C + 17 ° C, relative humidity 85-95%. If the technology for growing champignons is followed, then from the moment the casing layer is applied, parts of the mycelium appear on it for about 20 days, and after a while the peas - the rudiments of champignons. A day later, they begin to water again, using no more than 1 l / 1 sq. m landings.
After ripening, the mushrooms are harvested by twisting, but not cutting, like all other mushrooms. They are examined for damage, placed in boxes or boxes for further sale or personal consumption.
Watch a video on how to grow mushrooms in the basement:
Self-preparation of the substrate
To significantly reduce the cost of growing mushrooms in the basement, you can prepare the compost yourself. In winter, compost is prepared in a room where the temperature is at least + 15 ° C and there is good ventilation, and in summer it is advisable to carry out the process outdoors under a canopy that will protect the mushroom substrate from precipitation and direct sunlight.
What you need:
- 100 kg of straw (wheat, rye);
- 100 kg of manure (poultry, horse, from cattle);
- 50 kg of tops (potato, tomato);
- 50 kg of wheat grain;
- 2 kg superphosphate;
- 4 kg of urea;
- 300 liters of water;
- 9 kg of gypsum or alabaster;
- 5 kg of chalk.
Part of the straw (30 kg) can be replaced with chopped corn stalks, hay, dry fallen leaves. Best of all, the substrate for mushrooms is obtained using wheat or rye straw, in the absence of such, you can use oat or barley. Make sure the quality of the straw, it should have a pleasant smell and golden color, with no signs of rotting.
The straw is placed in containers, poured with water, left for 2 days, the water is drained. Then add manure, mix well, leave for a week, periodically stirring the mass.It is more convenient to alternate layers of straw with manure, pouring each layer with warm water.
On the 4-5th day of the fermentation process, superphosphate and urea are poured into the container. The smell of ammonia appears. The mass should stand still until the smell disappears, stirring another 4-5 times. After that, it is sprinkled with chalk and plaster, covered with foil and kept for 2-3 weeks. The temperature of the substrate being prepared must reach 80 ° C.
From the above volume of ingredients, a substrate is formed, weighing about 300 kg. It is enough to make mushroom beds with an area of 3 sq. m. A properly prepared substrate, when pressed with the palm, slightly bounces.
Growing champignons in the basement
The ready-made mushroom compost is transferred to the basement, laid out in planting containers. The next step is to place the mycelium of the mushrooms in the substrate, i.e. go directly to the question of how to grow mushrooms in the basement? The mycelium is produced in two types: grain (grown on wheat grain) and mycelium on compost. Both are grown industrially under sterile conditions.
To sow champignons per 1 square meter of substrate, you need 0.4 kg of grain mycelium or 0.5 compost mycelium. For planting, small 5 cm depressions are made in the interval of 20x20 cm. Compost mycelium is laid. Grain spores of champignons are placed on the surface and barely covered with compost.
The substrate is covered with a cloth, newspapers or kraft paper, sprayed with water from a spray bottle, preventing it from drying out. In 2-3 weeks, the mycelium will grow and absorb the entire volume of the compost. You can see whitish threads on its surface.
Next, you need to pour a casing layer: 4 volumes of soil, 1 volume of limestone, 5 volumes of peat. At the final stage of incubation, the mycelium grows into the casing layer and is ready to form the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms.
As soon as you see that white peas have formed on the surface of the soil, you should lower the temperature or move the planting containers to another part of the basement. There, the temperature should be kept at + 12 ° C + 17 ° C, which is comfortable for forcing fruiting bodies or growing mushrooms. Humidity will be 75-95%.
After 3-4 months, you can get the first mushrooms. Don't let them overripe. The mushroom ready for collection has a white film under the cap, brown plates should not be visible. The fruiting body of the champignon is carefully twisted, in no case is it cut off, otherwise the remnants of the leg can rot and lead to the death of the mycelium.
After removing the champignon from the place of growth, sprinkle the depression with soil. In the next 2 weeks, the crop will actively ripen. If the substrate was prepared correctly, the conditions for temperature and humidity are met, then it is quite possible to remove at least 8 waves of the crop. Then the yield of champignons will decline sharply.
The crop should be stored in the refrigerator in boxes or boxes, without stacking many layers. Be sure to visually inspect the mushrooms for rot, the presence of dark spots, otherwise you can lose a whole batch of mushrooms.
Conclusion
Growing mushrooms at home in the basement is quite realistic and not as difficult as it seems. Pay close attention to the preparation of the basement, disinfect, insulate, if necessary, set up a ventilation system, observe humidity and temperature, properly prepare the substrate for champignons and buy high-quality planting material from trusted suppliers. These are the ingredients for a successful harvest when growing champignons in a cellar.
Cultivation of champignons does not require special knowledge and significant material investments. But it can become a favorite profitable business.
Good afternoon, dear Zhanibek!
In the process of preparing compost for mushrooms, wheat grains are not used. Hulls can be used, but not grains. Wheat tops are soaked and layered with manure. The herds are left for overheating, and then you need to prepare the substrate according to the above scheme (abundant watering, adding gypsum and activators, interrupting).
We wish you high yields!
Hello! wanted to ask. When making a campost when to add tops and wheat grain?