How to Grow Mushrooms
Instruction & Advice for Growing Mushrooms
| Nutrition | Watering Instructions | Harvesting |
| Climate | Fertilizing Instructions | Storage |
| Planting | Challenges | Tips |
Mushrooms are a fungus, with the edible part being a spore producing head and the stem. Unlike plants, they have no leaves or chlorophyll and absorb no carbon dioxide from the air. Remember, there are many poisonous varieties, so be careful in your identification process.
Nutrition Information: (back to top)
Under optimal growing conditions, mushroom offers: Dietary Fiber, Copper, Chromium, Potassium, Manganese, Vitamin C, D, B6, Riboflavin, Selenium, Niacin, Zinc, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Phosphorus
Climate & Growing Conditions: (back to top)
Since one can grow mushrooms indoors, any climate will work. Mushrooms like dark conditions the best, but will tolerate a little light. Customary locations for growing mushrooms are: dark cupboards, basements, or cellars.
Pick a spot for your mushroom garden that has good ventilation. Mushroom beds produce carbon dioxide, so you want good air circulation. For optimal growing conditions, keep the temperature of the air around the mushroom bed between 55 to 65 degrees (F) and the humidity at around 80 percent.
Some have had succes in growing mushrooms outside in the summer months, but it’s considerably more difficult to control the crop and conditions.
Another alternative is building a “mushroom house” or cellar/shed specifically for gardening mushroom crops. It needs to be dark, well ventilated, clean, and insulated to offer an environment with constant temperatures. If you're planning to use the building year round, you may need to offer some artificial heat to keep the temperatures at +/- 60 degrees. If you have a spot that's shielded from cold winds, that's even better. The building needs to be rain, draft, and critter proof.
How to Plant Mushrooms: (back to top)
Use sterilized mushroom farm compost (already mixed with mushroom spores). Cover with a 1” layer of sterilized topsoil or peat. Water lightly to dampen the soil. In about 1 or 2 weeks, you’ll see gray matter appear that spread all over the compost. Your mushroom crop then will grow out of this.
How to Water: (back to top)
Water 2 or 3 times per week (with a spray bottle), keeping compost moist but never too wet or soggy.
How to Fertilize: (back to top)
Do not fertilize.
Gardening Challenges: (back to top)
If you don't use sterilized compost, or if you keep the soil too wet, you may experience insect problems. Sticking to sterilized compost, watching the water content of the soil, and washing the bed container between new crops will keep these problems at bay.
How to Harvest Mushroooms: (back to top)
The first crop of mushrooms will likely mature in about 1 month (there will be several waves/flushes of crops from one batch). Cut stalks at soil level and pick regularly to encourage additional flushes. When new mushrooms stop appearing, the cycle has finished. Then sanitize the bed and you can start all over for a new crop.
The used mushroom compost makes good fertilizer for your garden.
How to freeze Mushrooms (back to top)
Wash and trim mushrooms. Let air dry. Pack clean, dry mushrooms in freezer bags. Remove excess air, seal and label. Freeze mushrooms for up to 6 months.
How to Dehydrate / Dry Mushrooms (back to top)
Rinse quickly, tirm and cut into ¼” slices. Dry at 100 degrees (F) for 18 hours or until crisp. To rehydrate, soak in cold water for 30 minutes and drain. No need to rehydrate if using in soups or stews.
Gardening Advice Tips (back to top)
Have a helpful gardening tip (or even a fun story) to share about your mushroom growing experience? Share it with us at: gardeningtips@howtogardenadvice.com
----------
Note: This page's content, unless specified otherwise on this page, belongs specifically to www.howtogardenadvice.com. Reciprocal links are certainly welcome. However, if you wish to use this content, as written, on your website - please be courteous, respectful and lawful... and ask permission first. Provided you 1) make it clear that the content came from this site, and 2) you leave the links back to my site within the page and 3) your site doesn't contain any profane or derogatory content, I'll likely approve your posting the content. Please email me first for approval at info@howtogardenadvice.com. Thank you.