Porcini mushrooms are part of the Boletaceae family and have a tubular structure on the inside of the cap. They are valued for their large size, exquisite taste and richness in beneficial microelements.
Picking a basket of noble boletus is a great success. But what if you don’t count on fortune, but set up a mushroom kingdom in your backyard or even in your apartment. If you follow the technological process, growing porcini mushrooms at home is quite possible even for beginners.
Growing methods
Growing porcini mushrooms at home is possible in the following ways:
- extensive - in a natural environment, in courtyard areas under the sky;
- intensive - in enclosed spaces using special equipment to create the necessary conditions for a person.
According to the method of propagation of mushrooms, there are two methods for breeding:
- breeding porcini mushrooms with spores at home;
- using parts of the mycelium (mycelium).
Preparing planting material
There are different options for growing mycelium. Let's take a closer look at them.
First option
Having cut off the boletus cap with ripe spores, we need to grow mycelium:
- Dissolve potassium permanganate (1 gram) in a bucket of rainwater.
- Add refined sugar (15 pieces). We will have a nutrient medium for growing mycelium.
- The fruiting bodies, namely the caps, must be thoroughly kneaded to obtain a homogeneous mass.
- Dip the pulp into the nutrient solution and leave to infuse.
- After 6-7 hours, when the mass in the bucket resembles a suspension, the solution must be filtered through gauze.
- Using a watering can, spray the spores in the designated areas between the growing trees. After this, water the area with clean water so that the spores that settle on the blades of grass fall to the ground. From time to time, if there is no rain, the “plantings” need to be moistened so that the mycelium and the resulting mycelium do not dry out.
Comment! You will only be able to collect porcini mushrooms from the plot next year.
Second option
If you decide to use store-bought mycelium to breed boletus mushrooms, then you should start planting in May. At this time, we do the first “sowings” and, under proper conditions, we get a harvest in the fall. You can plant mycelium until September.
Operating procedure:
- Choose a good place under the trees, where there is enough light and moisture. Remove soil to a depth of 30 cm over three square meters. One package of dry mycelium intended for growing fruiting bodies is enough for this area.
- To the bottom we add bark, leaves and pine needles taken from the forest. The layer must be at least ten centimeters.
- Humus or fertile soil is poured on top.
- The mycelium powder must be mixed with one liter of sand and sown on the prepared area. To prevent the mycelium from being blown away by the wind or washed away during watering or rain, sprinkle a 4 cm layer of compost on top.
- For watering, use a watering can with a fine nozzle. But it is best to carry out drip irrigation.
Further steps for growing mycelium include timely watering so that the soil does not dry out. Over time, a mycelium will form and the first mushrooms will appear. This method of growing mycelium allows you to collect mushrooms in one place for at least 5 years.
The necessary conditions
Basic requirements for growing outdoors:
- A tree (birch, oak, pine or spruce) should be located nearby, since during symbiosis with it the fungus receives organic substances.
- It is advisable to have other mushrooms nearby.
- The soil should be sandy loam, loamy and at the same time drained.
- Litter in the form of moss and lichens is desirable.
- Good humidity (at least 70 percent).
- Temperatures range from 8 to 18 degrees.
When the site is ready, you can start planting the mushroom. This is best done from late summer to early autumn.
Basic requirements for growing indoors:
- Heating system to maintain the temperature around 18 degrees.
- Hoods for ventilation.
- Shelving for efficient space filling.
- Lamps with diffused light for good lighting.
- Containers for growing. These can be plastic pots or 6-liter bottles and other similar utensils.
- Treat the room with a sulfate solution and cover the walls and ceiling with a mixture of lime and copper sulfate before planting the mycelium. You can additionally use a smoke bomb.
Selecting a room
Mushrooms appear after rain - everyone knows this. This means that high humidity is the main condition. White ones grow under trees, i.e. they love thinned out light. Fog is ideal for the appearance of the fruiting body. It's difficult to recreate it on a windowsill.
You can only carefully maintain humidity by spraying drops of water in a fine dispersion. To prevent the room in which you dared to conduct the experiment from being ventilated, it should be carefully closed, avoiding drafts.
You will need large pots, since mulching the soil helps a lot to recreate the environment of porcini mushrooms. The mulch layer should be high; straw is suitable for it. But it is best to use containers in which indoor plants are already growing. You can try to organize a symbiosis of mushrooms with different types of decorative flowers.
Did you know? The mushroom is called porcini due to the color of its pulp, which does not change not only when cut, but also after drying.
However, all this does not guarantee success in growing porcini mushrooms, since they require the following conditions:
- Availability of a heating system, temperature control (up to +18°C).
- Air conditioning. Ventilation can dramatically change the temperature and relative humidity, and air conditioning allows you to ensure that the air is constantly fresh.
- Special lighting. The light should be daylight and diffused.
If such conditions can be created, then it is most convenient to use a system of shelving on which flowerpots, pots or containers can be placed.
Substrate
The substrate can be purchased at a specialized store, or you can make it yourself. To do this you will need the following ingredients:
- sawdust from trees such as oak, aspen, birch, aspen and maple;
- pine bark and needles;
- dried moss;
- buckwheat pulp;
- cereal straw;
- sunflower seed husks;
- corn cobs and stalks;
- purified sand and clay (in a ratio of four to one).
All of the above ingredients are mixed, crushed in a special garden harvester and filled with hot water (but not boiling water) for 4 hours.
After that, all that remains is to strain and cool until the mixture springs slightly when squeezed in a fist and does not release liquid. Before planting, you must leave the substrate in a dry and warm room for two weeks.
Champignon
These mushrooms require virtually no sunlight to germinate. They are also undemanding, like oyster mushrooms, and can even grow near fruit trees. An important condition for growing champignons is the use of soil rich in organic components.
To prepare the soil mixture, you need to prepare 12 kg of gypsum and lime, 50 kg of cow or horse manure, 20 kg of straw. The ingredients are thoroughly mixed to form a pile. It is watered with water and compacted tightly. The mixture is covered with plastic wrap, leaving it for 2-3 weeks. The ammonia smell should completely disappear.
Now you need to dig a trench 30 cm deep. It is filled with the prepared substrate. The soil is watered with plenty of water. The mycelium is placed in a trench. It is covered with straw. The ambient temperature should be around 20°C.
The soil on which the mycelium grows is moistened, but not compacted. The harvest can be harvested in just 2 months.
Selection of mycelium
The quality of the mycelium greatly influences the production of a rich harvest of porcini mushrooms. A good one is characterized by a rich orange color and the absence of a pungent smell of ammonia. You can buy it in a store, or make it yourself.
To prepare porcini mushroom mycelium at home, you will need ripe mushrooms with a whole cap, which is carefully cut off from the stem and passed through a meat grinder.
The resulting mixture is placed for 4 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate with sugar. The result is a nutrient mixture with fungal spores.
Option number 1: buy a ready-made block
In our country, the industrial production of mushrooms is well developed: in equipped insulated hangars, a rich harvest of champignons, oyster mushrooms and shiitakes is obtained. Champignons are grown on compost (straw and chicken droppings), and oyster mushrooms and shiitake are grown in bags (blocks) filled with straw, sunflower husks or other substrate. The mycelium (mycelium) is placed in compost or straw, and mushrooms emerge from it. Automated production maintains the microclimate: temperature and humidity. Some enterprises take only the first harvest from the bags and then sell them to summer residents. Small wholesale starts from 1 kg of mycelium. Article on the topic For mushrooms. Are there any benefits from the gifts of the forest?
Landing
At the first stage of planting, drainage and soil are placed in the planting containers so that the mushrooms can breathe. Then a substrate of approximately 28-32 centimeters is distributed on top. The top is slightly pressed down.
After which the planting material is evenly distributed and sprinkled with the substrate again, but without pressing down. During planting, the temperature in the room should be kept at 25-27 degrees and remain so until the first shoots.
Transfer
If you decide to grow mushrooms by transplanting, you need to dig up the mycelium and then plant it in the ground where deciduous or coniferous trees or shrubs grow. You need to dig up planting material from the same tree where you plan to plant the porcini mushroom.
In front of the selected tree, at a distance of 50 cm from the trunk, you need to dig a hole 30 cm deep. Fallen leaves and sawdust are laid down. A layer of soil is poured onto them, on which the dug mycelium is planted. The soil is watered abundantly. The top of the spores should be covered with leaves. Watering is carried out in the first 2-3 weeks.
Care
The first shoots of boletus mushrooms can be noticed after just one week, and it is then that it is advisable to reduce the air temperature to 16 degrees. The soil needs to be watered daily with a spray bottle.
All necessary conditions and requirements for mushroom growth are maintained throughout the entire period. In order for the harvest to delight with ever larger shoots, you can additionally use ammonium nitrate in a ratio of one to five.
Collection
A month later, the first harvest appears. It is recommended to carefully twist it instead of cutting it with a knife. This way the mycelium will remain intact.
And the resulting hole needs to be sprinkled, then a new mushroom will grow in this place.
Uses of porcini mushrooms in cooking
After a basket of personally grown mushrooms has been collected, the task arises of preserving the harvest so that it does not spoil. This brings up two popular questions:
- How to dry porcini mushrooms at home.
- How to pickle porcini mushrooms at home.
Small and medium-sized mushrooms are suitable for drying. They are strung on a strong rope and hung in a well-ventilated and airy room, but without bright sunlight.
For pickling, it is better to take strong, unspoiled mushrooms. According to the classic recipe, the mushrooms are first boiled, then placed in a jar along with a clove of garlic, a bay leaf and poured with a pre-cooked marinade.
To prepare it, you need to wait until the water boils, add salt, sugar, citric acid, vinegar, and boil for 5 minutes. All that remains is to screw the lid on the jar and take it to the cellar. This appetizer goes perfectly with boiled potatoes.
Equipment
To obtain boletus mushrooms from industrial farms, it is necessary to purchase equipment . Heaters for greenhouses will help you maintain the required temperature conditions. After the boletus mushrooms appear, you can turn them off or reduce the temperature. If the growing process is planned for a whole year, then heating should be carried out. Split systems can be used for this purpose.
There must be a fairly high level of humidity in the farm premises . To constantly maintain it, spray guns are installed. They are placed at intervals of 2 m. To maintain moisture, it would be good to use sawdust as mulch. Porcini mushrooms will require a certain amount of lighting.
Important! If there are windows in the room, they should be painted over with lime mortar or white paint to avoid direct sunlight. The light should be diffused
.
When growing boletus mushrooms indoors without openings, lighting devices are used to provide daylight. Fluorescent lamps with a power of 100–180 lux/hour are suitable. They should be marked RDL or DRLF, informing about the presence of a red-blue spectrum of rays, which are closest to natural lighting in nature.
It is also necessary to install a ventilation system , since natural ventilation is not enough when the mycelium matures. During this period, it is necessary to ensure the supply of fresh air flows in a more intensive mode.
When installing ventilation, you should also install a hood at the bottom of the wall or in the floor. This is necessary to remove spores, which in large quantities have a negative impact on human health. For the same reason, you need to wear gauze bandages to work indoors to protect your respiratory system .
During the growth period, boletus mushrooms must be watered abundantly. Therefore, you should purchase and install a drip irrigation system. The water temperature for humidification should be +18°C.
Important! Watering with cool water can destroy the mycelium.
To make maximum use of the entire area of the room, you need to install shelving. You can purchase them, or you can make them yourself. Boxes or bags of substrate will be placed on the shelves.
