Mushroom Cultivation: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home by Barton Press

Author:Barton Press [Press, Barton]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2021-02-15T16:00:00+00:00

Once the mycelium has weakened and its food and moisture have run low, it will be vulnerable to contamination. So after the first couple of flushes, keep an eye out for any discoloration or other signs of mold growth. If you see mold, discard the cake and sterilize the monotub immediately to prevent contaminating the grow space.

Mushroom Grow Bag

Mushroom grow bags are a cheap and easy method for growing a wide variety of species. Not only can they be used as a self-contained fruiting environment, but they’re also great for making a large quantity of spawn for use in other growing techniques.

A mushroom grow bag is a polypropylene bag that has a filter patch attached to it to assist with fresh air exchange while keeping contaminants out. The bags are gusseted, allowing them to expand and hold a good amount of substrate or spawn.

They’re autoclavable as well, meaning they can withstand the high temperatures necessary for sterilization in a pressure cooker. This means the bag won’t melt unless it is kept at a temperature of 266° to 340° Fahrenheit for an extended period of time. This makes them the ideal candidates for sterilizing a large quantity of grain or wood substrate at the standard 15 PSI.

These bags can be found for rather cheap online, or you can build one yourself (although since they are inexpensive, buying is preferrable). The bags have several uses for the home mushroom cultivator. You can use a mushroom grow bag as a spawn bag, to make fruiting blocks, to pasteurize a large amount of bulk substrate, or as a self-contained fruiting chamber.

When using the bag as a fruiting chamber, the top of the bag creates a humidity dome, while the mushrooms will spawn from the colonized block of substrate that’s at the base. The main issue with this is lack of fresh air exposure, so when fruiting in a bag, it’ll need to be opened and fanned regularly.

The main drawback to using a mushroom grow bag is the lack of reusability. While it is possible to reuse them for other purposes (as long as you don’t have to cut the bag), you’ll eventually need to discard it. When using mason jars and a fruiting chamber like a monotube, everything can be used repeatedly. Buying new bags for each grow isn’t too costly though, but it’s definitely not environmentally friendly.

While there are several different ways to use a mushroom grow bag, below we’ll cover how to create a fruiting block that can grow a large quantity of fruits:

Necessary Materials:

● Mushroom grow bag with 0.2 to 0.5 micron filter patch

● Substrate (to make a ~5-pound block) will include:

○ 5 cups of hardwood pellets

○ 1.4 liters of water

○ 1.25 cups of wheat bran

● Mushroom spawn, liquid culture, or a colonized agar plate

● Gloves

● Zip ties

● Tyvek material (either Tyvek envelopes from the post office or a piece of a Tyvek painter’s suit)

● 70% isopropyl alcohol

● Bleach solution (10% bleach, 90% water)

● Perlite

Necessary Tools:

● Pressure cooker

● Glove box

● Large

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