You Can Grow Your Own Mushrooms

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From Growing Your Own Mushrooms: Cultivating. Cooking & Preserving by Jo Mueller, copyright 1976 by Garden Way Publishing, Charlotte, Vt . and reprinted with the permission of the publisher. Available in paperback for $4.95 from any good bookstore or from Mother's Bookshelf.

Though most everyone loves to eat 'em, hardly anyone knows how to cultivate those delectable treats of nature known as ... mushrooms. Yet it's really not that difficult ... and with the expert guidance of Jo Mueller (plus a little dedicated work), you can soon be enjoying the rewards of raising this fascinating, nourishing, and highly prized food!

EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

Cultivating mushrooms is considerably different from other gardening techniques and requires a different set of tools. Before beginning a venture with mushrooms you will need the following items:

[1] Pitchfork for handling compost. The type best suited has five or six prongs.

[2] Trays in which the mushrooms will be grown. Wooden trays or boxes made from old lumber are quite adequate. Use long nails or-better yetscrews when constructing these trays because the moisture from the compost tends to cause the wood to warp and the containers will not last through many growing seasons if poorly constructed. The trays should be from ten to twelve inches deep.

[3] Spawn. Spawn is a pure culture of mycelia (slender root-like filaments) that has been grown in specially prepared media and will continue to grow when placed in a suitable environment.

Moist spawn is actively growing mycelia that must be used immediately after it is received from the laboratory. This type allows growth to get under way quickly when introduced into the compost because it is already in the process of growing. While this type of spawn is used by commercial growers, it is fragile and must have a continuous supply of nutrients.

A home gardener cannot be certain that the compost will be at the proper stage for use when the spawn arrives. For this reason, it is more reliable and easier to use dry flake spawn or dry brick spawn. As the names imply, these are dry and dormant, so either may be kept until conditions are conducive to good growth in the mushroom house.

[4] Gypsum. The chemical name for gypsum is calcium sulfate. It can be purchased at building supply companies at very little cost.

[5] Watering can. A pump-type sprayer that gives off a fine spray or mist is needed to maintain the proper moisture content in the trays without adding large water droplets.

[6] Straw. Bales of straw can be bought from farmers or lawn and garden shops. The straw will be mixed with manure to form the compost.

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