Mushrooms can also be grown at home

Mushrooms, like vegetables and spices, can be grown at home: it's not difficult, although you do need to follow some instructions, and it's definitely fun. You can also find online Kits with all the materials needed to grow mushrooms at home, ranging from 10 to 80-100 euros.

• Champignon (Agaricus bisporus): ideal for beginners, they grow well indoors.
• Pleurotus (oyster mushroom)They grow quickly and easily even on coffee grounds.
• Shiitake: they require more work and patience, but they are excellent for those looking for strong flavors.

How are they grown?

Each type of mushroom chosen requires a different substrate. Specifically:

• Champignon: compost of manure and straw.
• Pleurotus: pasteurized straw, wet cardboard, coffee grounds.
• Shiitake: hardwood logs (oak, beech), or sterilized sawdust.

The chosen substrate must still be sterilized and pasteurized to avoid contamination. But it's very simple: enough immerse the material in very hot water (60–70°C) for 1–2 hours. Then let it cool before adding the mycelium, which is the vegetative apparatus of the mushroom made up of a network of thin filaments called hyphae, and put everything in perforated bags or perforated containers to ensure oxygenation.

Growing mushrooms at home requires some attention that should not be underestimated. 

• First of all it is essential to create the ideal habitat For cultivation, it is necessary to start in a place that is not sunny, with little light, not exposed to drafts and with a good level of humidity, where the temperature remains around 20 degrees. For example, the garage could be a suitable place for growing mushrooms.
• Get yourself a container, You can buy it in gardening shops or online. Alternatively, use a wooden box.
• Fill the tray with the substrate suitable for the chosen variety and a good soil that is not excessively acidic.
• Fill the box to within 5 centimetres of the edge, water, and then let it rest for about 10 days.
• Then, bury the mushroom mycelium in the substrate at a depth of about 5 centimeters: try to space each dry mycelium at least 10 centimeters apart. Water regularly.
• After a couple of weeks the first mushrooms should appearProceed with regular watering until harvest.
• To encourage the growth of mushrooms it is essential to ensure that the environment in which they grow is develop and always keep moist and fresh.
• Remember that the Harvesting must be done delicately by cutting the mushrooms at the base with a small knife.
• Harvest mushrooms before they release spores (when the cap is still closed, or just opened).
• If watered periodically, The box will be able to ensure mushroom production for at least 5-6 months.

When to plant mushrooms at home

The best time to start growing mushrooms isautunno, after you have done a thorough cleaning of the space where you intend to grow them.

The best time to plant mushrooms, like the substrate, also changes based on the type of mushrooms chosen: