Mushroom mycelium: what is it, forms, functions, how to use it ready for growing mushrooms, get it yourself, diseases and treatment methods

Many people have probably seen mushroom mycelium on sale more than once, but they don’t quite understand what it is and what exactly it is needed for. It's not difficult to figure it out, it just takes a little time. So what is mushroom mycelium and what to do with it? Mycelium is the vegetative body of mushrooms, in other words, fungal spores, with the help of which they reproduce. Quite often, mycelium is simply called mycelium.

Properties and purpose of mycelium

Mycelium is the vegetative body of a fungus, capable of changing its shape, adapting to specific growing conditions. The mycelium forms special organs that allow it to reliably gain a foothold in the nutrient medium - soil, root, wood, substrate.

To grow boletus, saffron milk mushrooms or porcini mushrooms, you need a mycelium, a substrate and conditions suitable for the growing season.

Attachment to the nutrient medium.
Processing cellulose with the help of enzymes - to obtain substances necessary for the growth and development of fruiting bodies.
Adaptation to environmental conditions.
Participation in the formation and preservation of spores.

The mycelium is the most important organ responsible for transporting nutrients and vegetative propagation.

Structure and life cycle of mycelium

The mycelium has the appearance of cotton wool, a fluffy coating, a light film or a mesh woven from tiny threads. The mycelium consists of thin branched threads - hyphae. Their thickness is 1.5-10 microns. Thread color – white, light shades.

A network of small lateral branches, called haustoria, is formed on the hyphae, which allows the fungi to penetrate the internal tissues of plants, receiving water and nutrition.

If we sum up the length of all the hyphae in the mycelium, it is 30-35 kilometers in some fungi.

The hyphae, collected in bundles, look like plant roots. Tenacious hyphae help fungi to gain a foothold not only on soft substrates, but also on hard substrates. Threads rich in nutrients form sclerotia - they look like black capsules and perform protective functions. Thanks to sclerotia, the mycelium does not die even in severe cold.

Fungal development cycle:

The life cycle of mushrooms begins with a spore - it gives rise to primary mycelium.
After crossing cells from two different spores, secondary mycelium appears.
The vegetative development of the secondary mycelium begins.
After the vegetative mycelium matures, its cells have an unprecedentedly high division rate - when it reaches its peak, the construction of fruiting bodies begins.

The mycelium undergoes a final functional change, transforming into tertiary mycelium.

Mycelium threads on nails, what are they?

Mycelial threads on the nails are a sign that the immune system is weakened and the functional system was unable to repel the attack of pathogens. Because a phenomenon such as mycelium has free access to its target, in most cases, the internal rapid response team does not work properly.

Read also: Inexpensive analogues of Exoderil

And so that the nail layer is not destroyed, the nail plate should be saved immediately.

Mycelium forms

Myceliums are divided into two classes:

Submerged - if they are entirely hidden in the nutrient substrate.
Airborne - if they only touch the nutrient medium.

Mushroom mycelium is also divided into:

Coenotic – “non-cellular”. There are no transverse partitions between cells. Such mycelium is one large cell with many nuclei.
Septated – “cellular”. Mycelium cells are separated by intercellular partitions. Each cell has a certain number of nuclei.

Main types

Before growing mycelium, be sure to decide what type of mushroom medium you are going to prepare. We have more or less figured out the fact that mushroom mycelium may differ in its internal structure, but this is far from the only possible difference. Another fundamentally important classification is known, which distinguishes myceliums in accordance with what is the nutrient medium for them. Here they distinguish liquid, substrate or grain-based mycelium.

You can obtain mycelium of any type yourself, but each of them has both undeniable advantages and certain disadvantages. For example, myceliums based on a substrate grow relatively slowly, but are stored for a long time, grain mycelium is capricious - it has difficulty taking root on wood and does not have a long shelf life, and not everyone can prepare liquid mycelium - it requires skills and abilities.

Where is mycelium formed?

Mycelium is bought in specialized stores or brought from the forest. Where is mycelium formed? A network of the finest weaves - hyphae - can be found:

on stumps, old roots, wood - depends on the type of mushroom;
in place of the fruiting mycelium.

Take a piece of mycelium with hyphae, create favorable conditions for it, and soon - when the cells are activated, mushrooms will sprout from the threads. This is how amateur mushroom growers obtain “seedlings” for home mushroom plantings.

Methods for growing mushrooms from mycelium

To grow mushrooms, it would be a good idea to learn how to obtain mushroom mycelium yourself - it is not always possible to find the required number of myceliums in the forest, and the purchase requires serious funds. According to the method of cultivation, mycelium is distinguished:

Uterine. It is usually bred in laboratories. Fungal strains are grown in test tubes and become seed material.
From the body of a mushroom . For sowing, slices of overripe caps are used. Harvesting mycelium from hats follows special rules.
Sowing. Material almost ready for sowing. It is collected from myceliums that have finished bearing fruit.
From a stick . It can be bought in special. store.

How to grow royal mycelium?

The simplest thing is when there is a ready-made seed mycelium - it is only placed in the substrate, but the mother mycelium and from the body of the fungus still have to be prepared. To grow uterine mycelium, you will need to purchase the necessary equipment. Sowing of the material is carried out under sterile conditions. Access to heat and water resources is required. Growing technology:

Buy:
test tubes with stoppers;
tweezers;
wort;
burner and alcohol;
agar-agar;
hydrogen peroxide;
gloves are sterile.
Everything that will participate in the process of preparing royal mycelium must be sterilized. The work area must also be sterile.
Prepare the nutrient medium. Mix agar-agar and wort and boil until it thickens.
Prepare slices of mushroom caps in advance. They must be washed in hydrogen peroxide and then transferred to a sterilized container.
Pour the wort mixed with agar into test tubes - they should be placed with a slight slope. Let them cool down. Keep clean.
Place a piece of mushroom into a warm thick substance (using tweezers or tweezers).
Sterilize each test tube with a mushroom over a burner. Immediately after sterilization, the tube must be sealed with a stopper.
Place the test tubes in a warm and dark place. The holding time is two weeks. As soon as this period has expired, the seed can be sown in the substrate.

Most often, it is not possible to grow the uterine mycelium yourself due to a violation of sterility. There are microorganisms in the test tubes, and as a result, instead of mycelium, there is a dominance of mold and other bacterial parasites.

Growing royal mycelium on your own is extremely difficult. It is recommended not to take risks or waste time, but to purchase a finished product from professionals. When buying mycelium, make sure:

that it has expired;
that storage conditions have been met.

As a rule, the shelf life of mycelium grown in vitro is limited to 3-4 months.

Growing seed mycelium from mushroom caps

This method of obtaining mycelium is simpler than the previous one. This propagation option is especially good for honey mushrooms and oyster mushrooms. How to prepare seed:

Collect ripe caps. Choose the largest ones without damage.
Fill the caps with boiled water. Let the dough stand for 24 hours.
After draining the water, knead the soaked caps to make a paste.
The mixture is not stored - it must be used immediately. Therefore, the substrate for sowing must already be ready.

If mushrooms are to be grown on stumps and cuttings, then cuts are made in the latter in advance, into which the mushroom pulp is placed. If a substrate is used, the mycelium from the hats is placed between its layers.

In order for the mushrooms to germinate successfully, the temperature must be maintained at +23-+25 degrees during the incubation period. It is also necessary to ensure high humidity in the room.

Obtaining mycelium from hats is the easiest option for home use. Other methods of growing mycelium cannot be used at home. Unless you organize a mini-laboratory equipped with autoclaves and other special equipment.

Sticks with mycelium

These are simple sticks made of hardwood. They are infected with mycelium. Shelf life is six months. Storage conditions: room temperature, humidity above 50%. In order for mushroom growth to begin, the sticks are placed in a nutrient substrate. Such mycelium can be purchased from enterprises engaged in mass production of mushrooms, or from specialized retail outlets.

Most hobbyists have gotten burned trying to grow mycelium on their own and prefer to buy a finished product. If growing mushrooms is an exciting hobby, why not try to grow mycelium yourself.

Heat treatment of the substrate

After completing the described manipulations, the substrate must be thermally treated. The fact is that the natural growth of oyster mushrooms in nature is impossible on straw. The reason is microorganisms living inside dry stems. And in order to get rid of these microorganisms in production, it is necessary to treat the straw with high temperatures, for example, through sterilization.

The procedure is carried out in special machines, with a certain heat and pressure set (+115-120 degrees, 1.5 atmospheres). Treatment lasts approximately 120-180 minutes. After this, the substrate is artificially cooled to room temperature and mushroom mycelium can be populated into it. The method is relevant for large productions, since the purchase of equipment requires a round sum of money.

Home and simply small farms with oyster mushrooms resort to a non-sterile heat treatment method, namely fermentation. To do this, the substrate is simultaneously heated and ventilated:

The raw material is heated to 70 degrees, this heat level is maintained for 10-12 hours.
After the specified time, the temperature slowly decreases to 40 degrees (the process takes 2-3 days).

The main regulator of indicators is hot air and steam. Throughout the entire process, so-called fermentation occurs in the straw (destruction of harmful microorganisms and fermentation of the raw material’s own enzymes). Afterwards the substrate is cooled to 25 degrees.

It is recommended to ferment raw materials in a pre-prepared container or special, ventilated chambers. The latter must be equipped with ventilation units, a steam generator and gratings on which the substrate is laid. The next step is the colonization of the mycelium into the substrate.

For those who plan to equip chambers for cultivating oyster mushrooms:

The recommended floor and ceiling covering for the room is a vapor-tight coating, such as a primer.
The optimal room size is from 2 to 5 meters long.
Mandatory equipment is racks with metal or lattice shelves.
Air duct, fan, steam generator, several ventilation holes with air intake flaps.

Once the room is ready, the substrate can be placed on racks or grates

The raw materials do not need to be compacted, it is only important to maintain the height of the “heaps” - about 1.5 - 2 meters. Then the bottom supply of steam begins - thus the substrate not only heats up on its own, but is also “fed” with heat from below

This speeds up the fermentation process, which means that the soil for oyster mushrooms will be ready in a few days.

It should be noted that foreign farmers prefer xerothermic processing of the substrate. For this, a special stainless container called a xerothermic chamber is used. Initially, the straw is crushed into components measuring 1.5 - 2 centimeters, after which the raw material is fed into a container. The responsible specialist starts the steam generator and controls the oxygen supply, processing the substrate for an hour and a half. After completing the treatment, all that remains is to moisten the artificial soil by adding foodnazole and sodium hypochlorate to its composition. Ready. You can move the mycelium to an environment favorable to it. The method is only suitable for a homogeneous, clean substrate. If the mycelium base consists of several ingredients, the result may not recoup the costs incurred

It is also fundamentally important to maintain the sterility of the room, instruments and air. The described procedure is widespread outside our country, however, domestic manufacturers are trying to keep up, gradually adopting the experience of foreign specialists

Method 2

Another proven method of heat treatment of the substrate is the use of a feed steamer. The container is filled with raw materials, filled with hot water (about 80 degrees), after which it is filled with hot steam, which does not allow the liquid to cool. The recommended time for maintaining heat in the feed steamer is 3-4 hours.

A similar heat treatment system is used at home, only instead of special containers, agronomists use ordinary metal tanks with hot water. Boiling water softens the substrate, destroys pests and converts microelements useful for fungi.

Pasteurization of the substrate with steam

How to choose a substrate?

Choosing a substrate - the material in which mushrooms will grow - is not an easy task. Firstly, it must be ideal for growing a specific type of mushroom - oyster mushrooms, champignons, porcini mushrooms, etc. Some species require a soft substrate, others prefer to grow on hard wood.

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There are several substrate options; the mushroom grower’s task is to choose the best option for specific mushrooms and goals.

From straw

Use rye, wheat or oat straw. This is a cheap and accessible material. And most importantly, it is universal - almost any mushroom can be grown on straw. Mushrooms easily destroy and absorb the nutritional fibers of straw. The disadvantage of straw substrate is the need for sterilization (pasteurization). Any straw contains mold spores and other parasitic fungi that will compete with the cultivated fungus for food supply.

Log substrate

Mushrooms taste better on logs than on straw substrates. The mushroom takes a long time to grow into wood, but good harvests are obtained. Mushrooms are grown on deciduous wood - maple, poplar, willow, birch, chestnut, ash, and also on fruit trees. Not suitable - black walnut and white acacia. The nuances of growing on logs:

Only healthy wood is used - without traces of other fungi.
The presence of moss and lichen is allowed, but they are cleaned before sowing.
It is best to cut down in late February to mid-March. At this time, sap flows through the tree. The mushrooms will receive an extremely nutritious environment.
Log length – 50-150 cm. Diameter – 10-15 cm or more. Thin logs may break.
A freshly cut log should sit for about six months before moving in. Logs should be stored in clean and ventilated areas. The tree should not come into contact with the ground.
The ideal time to move in is spring, after frost. It is better not to sow in hot weather.

To grow on logs you will need:

logs;
5/16 drill bit and drill;
rubber hammer;
work surface - for example, a workbench;
natural wax;
brush - apply wax;
mushroom sticks.

Sawdust

The best sawdust for growing mushrooms is from deciduous trees. The choice is made like logs. You cannot use sawdust that is too small - it can become compressed and the mycelium will suffocate.

Pure sawdust has few nutrients. To increase nutritional value, bran is added to sawdust - they receive nitrogen. On empty sawdust, fungi grow thin, flimsy, with poorly developed caps. The sawdust is pasteurized before use.

Alternative substrates

In addition to logs, straw and sawdust substrates, you can use:

sleepy coffee grounds;
sleeping tea leaf;
cardboard (without dyes);
compost, garden waste;
paper (if newspapers are used, you need to make sure the ink is non-toxic);
sunflower husks, corn cobs, other organics.

The substrate is selected taking into account the type of fungus and the type of mycelium. If you bought mushroom sticks, then wood will serve as the substrate. You can also use straw, but in wood the mycelium, which is already familiar with the wood fibers, will germinate faster.

Mushrooms are decentralized intelligence networks

Mushroom networks do not have . Instead, they are a single-celled "root system" called a mycelium. This underground stomach and distributed intelligent network is capable of transmitting information in both directions over long distances and even across interspecies lines. These fungal networks constantly evolve based on feedback from their environment.

At any given moment, a fungal network contains millions of endpoints, each searching for food, defending its territory, or inventing new molecules to undermine competition (other fungi, bacteria, etc.). These networks form a decentralized consensus on how to use resources, when to reproduce, and what strategy best protects the entire organism.

This is similar to the decentralized consensus (social contract) formed in Bitcoin. Nodes determine what software they want to run and enforce consensus rules, which they maintain accordingly. Miners determine which transactions are included in blocks. Exchanges, wallets, and merchants serve large groups of users. Each Bitcoin participant voluntarily chooses how to participate, and this aggregate consensus represents the entire network.

From left to right: human heart, lightning bolts, human brain, mycelium, tree roots, view of the Grand Canyon, tree branches, cosmic web of the Universe.

How to grow mushrooms?

First you need to decide what kind of mushrooms you will grow. Based on this, you will select the optimal substrate. The first thing you need to do is find out where it’s best to get mycelium. You can grow it yourself. Growing mushrooms allows you not only to provide your family with a tasty, nutritious product, but also to create your own business. To start your own business you will need:

A room with special conditions - humid, warm, illuminated, ventilated.
Investments in the room will depend on the type of mushroom. For example, oyster mushrooms are not particularly picky about environmental conditions, but champignons, on the contrary, require attention and careful care.
Decide on a growing method. There is an intensive method - mushrooms are grown all year round on different substrates, and an extensive method - which involves limited yield.
Substrate is the basis for growing. You can prepare it yourself, for example, from straw or sawdust, or you can purchase it from companies specializing in the sale of equipment for mushroom growing. If you organize things correctly, then from 10 kg of substrate you can get more than 2 kg of mushrooms. It is important that the substrate is environmentally friendly - without synthetic fertilizers and chemical additives. The presence of “chemicals” worsens the taste and yield of mushrooms. It happens that mushrooms do not grow at all on substrates oversaturated with chemical additives.
Mycelium. Mycelium is sown into the prepared substrate. For 100 kg of substrate you need 3-5 kg. The mycelium is purchased or prepared independently - by growing it from the body of a mushroom. Obtaining mushroom mycelium at home is a difficult, but quite feasible task.

Today it is difficult to find a company that would guarantee 100% quality of the mycelium sold. To successfully grow mycelium, you will need a room with a constant temperature (+20-+30°C) and humidity, lighted and ventilated.

If you follow the technology and provide favorable growing conditions, then after a couple of weeks the embryos of fruiting bodies will appear, from which clusters of mushrooms will grow. Fruiting is wavy in nature. As a rule, when grown on a substrate in bags, three crops are harvested, after which the bags are changed.

Introduction to mushrooms

Here's my favorite TED Talk video: 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World (Paul Stamets)

Mushrooms are in their own separate kingdom, like plants and animals. There are more species of fungi than there are species of plants and animals combined.

Animals are more closely related to fungi than we are to plants. Both fungi and animals inhale oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Plants make their own food through photosynthesis (autotrophic nutrition), while animals and fungi must find their own food (heterotrophic nutrition). Animals evolved to have internal stomachs/brains, while fungi evolved to have external stomachs/brains.

Mushroom Fact #1: Humans and mushrooms share more than 50% of their DNA. Scientists have proposed combining fungi and animals into a new super-kingdom called Opisthokonts.

Mushrooms can take many different forms. Most of them organize an underground "root structure" called mycelium, which is found almost everywhere on this planet.

Under favorable conditions, the mycelium produces mushrooms, which then release huge numbers of spores (seeds), whose job is to found a new colony in a nearby location. Mushrooms are simply a reproductive organ. Mushrooms are to mycelium what apples are to an apple tree.

Fungi are extremely important for life on earth:

The largest organism on our planet is the fungal web;
Fungi are the best chemists on our planet, most of our medicine comes from fungi;
Trees cannot survive without underground fungal allies;
Fungi have been around for 1.1 billion years, surviving all 5 global mass extinctions;
Mushrooms can save bees.

What mushrooms are grown from mycelium?

If you have a summer house or a personal plot, then, in addition to vegetables and fruits, you can also grow mushrooms on it - a delicious product that will diversify your diet. And if you get the hang of it, you can go big and grow mushrooms for sale. And not only traditional oyster mushrooms and champignons, but also honey mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, and other mushrooms with good taste and yield. Let's find out which mushrooms are best grown from mycelium.

Champignon

Champignon is a mushroom, the most popular in mass production. There are three types of champignons - white, cream and brown. The easiest way to grow white champignons from mycelium is that they are less capricious and produce seven harvests per year. For successful cultivation you need:

1. Create favorable temperature and humidity in the greenhouse.

2. Prepare a special substrate. To prepare it you will need:

chopped straw of winter grains;
horse, cow, rabbit or pig manure;
urea;
lime, chalk or gypsum.

The substrate is prepared following the following proportions:

straw – 100 kg;
manure – 50 kg;
urea – 300 g;
water – 300 l.

It is advisable to add superphosphate - 300 g. The compost is laid out on the film, stirring and moistening for 10 days. It is necessary to ensure that there is no excess of ammonia and carbon dioxide in the substrate.

3. The finished substrate is laid out in boxes - a layer of 20 cm.

4. Prepare mycelium:

Grain. Place the grain mixture in a metal bowl and pour in water - it should cover by 2-3 cm. Cook for 1 hour. After straining the grain, it is dried. Pour into jars, filling them 50%. Sterilized. Place some mycelium in the cooled jars. When white fluff appears, it will become clear that the mycelium is developing successfully. After a week, the finished mycelium can be planted.
From mushroom legs . Soak the corrugated cardboard for 1 hour. Cuts are made on the stem of the mushroom and divided into fibers. Drainage holes are made in the container for the “farm”. Mushroom fiber is placed on the soaked cardboard, covered with wet cardboard - it is removed from above, and a press is placed. When the leaf turns white, the mycelium is ready and can be placed in the nutrient mixture.

5. Place the mycelium in the substrate. Cover the boxes with paper. The mycelium will begin to germinate in 2-3 weeks.

Oyster mushrooms

This productive and unpretentious mushroom is grown on:

hardwood;
in bags with substrate - it is prepared from sunflower husks, sawdust and straw.

For planting you need high-quality mycelium. Healthy oyster mushroom mycelium is white or cream in color. To the touch - dry. It is purchased in late autumn or early spring - before the temperature rises above +3°C. Procedure for growing oyster mushrooms:

Preparing the premises - for example, a greenhouse.
Planting can begin in November, then the first mushrooms will be obtained by the end of winter.
Preparation of logs. Take cuttings - up to 0.5 m long, 40 cm in diameter. Dry wood is soaked for 2 days. Fresh wood is not soaked.
The finished trimmings are infected with mycelium. For this purpose, each cut is generously sprinkled with mycelium - a layer of about 1 cm. Four logs are stacked on top of each other. Cover with burlap or sprinkle with sawdust. The distance between the bars is at least 40 cm.
The room temperature is maintained at +13-+15°C. Humidity – 90%. Oyster mushrooms do not like light - if there is too much of it, the mycelium may die. After the start of fruiting, you need to increase the temperature to +25°C. From one stump you get 0.5-2.5 kg of mushrooms.

In addition to logs, you can use bags for growing oyster mushrooms:

The material is used of one type or in the form of a mixture.
The crushed raw materials are placed in an enamel container and poured with boiling water for 12 hours.
Drain the water and squeeze out the raw material.
After mixing the substrate with mycelium, fill bags with the mixture.
Make holes in the bags so mushrooms will grow through them.

Porcini

Porcini mushrooms are not grown indoors. They need a site where birch, pine or oak trees grow. Procedure for growing boletus mushrooms:

Planting can be done between late spring and early autumn. It should be warm outside.
To prepare the mycelium, take the hats of healthy, ripe boletus mushrooms. The hats are soaked for 2 hours - fill them with clean cold water. Then add sugar - 200 g and break into pieces. After this, the hats lie in sweetened water for another 2 hours.
Remove 20 cm of the top layer under the trees (under which the mushrooms will grow), pour out the finished mycelium. The first mushrooms will appear in a year. It is important to maintain optimal humidity. If the soil is waterlogged, the mycelium will begin to rot.

Honey mushrooms

It is not possible for everyone to grow honey mushrooms on a plot right away. The procedure for growing honey mushrooms from mycelium:

Wood harvesting - it is transferred to the planting site. The site is selected so that there is no wind and sun.
Mycelium is prepared from the fruiting bodies of mushrooms in the usual way, or you can buy it ready-made. You can put mycelium sticks into wood.
In order for the mycelium to penetrate the soil, chocks are dug to 2/3 of the height. The interval between the chocks is 10-15 cm.
From the moment the substrate is infected with mycelium until fruiting, 45 days pass.

It is recommended to plant honey mushrooms in open ground in the spring - in trunks saturated with moisture and nutrients.

Growing mycelium at home complicates the already difficult process of growing mushrooms. Buy a mycelium or grow it yourself - each mushroom grower decides for himself.

I dealt with oyster mushrooms, from planting the mushroom mycelium into the substrate until the first harvest for about six weeks, and then after each appearance of the primordium of the mushrooms in the hole on the bags until the mushroom breaks down, three to five days pass, that is, very quickly. The mycelium lived on my one hundred and forty bags for about a year and bore fruit beautifully. Much depends on the temperature conditions and humidity of the premises.

If we take into account oyster mushrooms, then their growth, subject to temperature in the first five days after planting, is 25 degrees, then within three days there will be a gradual decrease to 18 degrees, then the first druse sprouts will appear on days 28-30. In 5-7 days these will be the best drusen, sometimes weighing up to two kilograms. You can’t let them outgrow - the presentation is not ice. Carefully remove the ripe drusen and clean it from the substrate. Be sure to clean the place where it grew well with a fork until the substrate is in your hands, otherwise it will become clogged and you won’t get a second wave at all. After 15-20 days, another mature drusen smaller than the first will be ready in this place. We cut off and throw away the bag with the substrate to that mother, i.e. outside. From all the meager amount received, you can make yourself some pickled mushrooms.

Holding a bag of oyster mushroom mycelium substrate longer can result in infection with fungus fly and mutation of other fungal growths.

You cannot keep oyster mushroom substratum bags for more than the second harvest, this is fraught with harmful consequences. The room where oyster mushrooms are grown does not last more than six months. The rest after infection treatment will also be half a year, and during this time the second room is working. Then the income will be really noticeable, and what the author of the LO advises you is only to make you disappointed in this business.

My crop rotation during this time was up to 990 bags (six months on an area of 36 square meters, with a ceiling height of 2.40 m) 14 kilogram bags for daily planting and removal of waste (two collections, no more, everything else is contamination of the entire plantations so that even a couple of months after the first harvest you will not collect anything except a mushroom fly and a bunch of moldy toadstools). I already know what I'm talking about. The oyster mushroom mycelium does not live for about a year - its maximum life is two months.

Every novice mushroom picker is interested in several questions. The main ones:

What types of mushrooms can be grown, what are the pros and cons of choosing one or another type, and the peculiarities of cultivation?
What is mushroom mycelium and where can I get it? What conditions are necessary for its successful cultivation?
What conditions are necessary for growing mushrooms at home, and is it possible to increase the amount of mushroom harvest to industrial volumes?
What mistakes should you never make when growing mushroom mycelium yourself?

Let's look at each question in detail.

Fungal growth and the influence of external factors on growth processes

Mushroom growth. The process of increasing cell size, and therefore the total mass, is characterized by the concept of “growth”. It is carried out in filamentous fungi by stretching the inner membrane of the apical cell. A necessary condition for growth is the presence of nutrients and the supply of cytoplasm to the growing cell from neighboring pre-apical cells. Equally important are active synthesis processes, during which the nucleus, cellular organelles and cell wall elements are formed. In yeast fungi, the growth of new daughter cells occurs inextricably through budding or division. This ability is also characteristic of some filamentous fungi.

The growing part of the hypha contains an increased amount of cytoplasm, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes, i.e. it is the most active physiologically. Behind the growing cells are vacuolated cells, the cytoplasm of which is pushed through the pores of the transverse partitions under the influence of osmotic pressure forces to the apical cell. Vacuolated pre-apical cells contain reserve nutrients, including glycogen, used for the formation of the membrane.

The growth rate of fungi growing on solid nutrient media is most often determined by measuring the diameter or radius and total area of the mycelium colony, and the growth rate of spores is determined by the increase in the volume of their biomass during swelling.

Growth processes strongly depend on genetic characteristics, cultivation conditions and the action of external factors. The growth rate of different mushrooms is far from the same. In this regard, they are divided into fast-growing (Neurospora, Trichoderma, Mucorales, Aspergillus), individual representatives of which can grow at a high speed - up to 3-6 mm/h, and slow-growing (Phellinus ріні, Polystictus circinatus). The growth of fast-growing wood-decaying fungi Fomes fomentarius and Pleurotus ostrealus is 9-14 mm per day, and the slow-growing Piptoporus betulinus is only 1.5-3.0. E.V. Vetrova proved that the growth rate of heterokaryons is higher than that of homokaryons.

The growth of the mycelium stops when the nutrient medium is completely used up or when the fungus transitions to the next stages of development associated with reproduction. Thus, vegetative growth is a preparatory stage that creates favorable conditions for reproduction. Microscopic studies of the mycelium have made it possible to identify a number of age stages in fungi, characterized by certain characteristics.

Stage I - germination of conidia (spores). It includes two stages: the first is the swelling of conidia (lasts 4-10 hours), the second is the formation of growth tubes and primary mycelium from several cells. The cytoplasm is not differentiated; the cell contains small vacuolar spots.

Stage II - growth of the mycelium and its branching (lagphase). The kernel takes on a characteristic mushroom appearance. Small lipid granules are formed.

Stage III - uniform intensive growth, accompanied by active metabolic processes and accumulation of nucleic acids.

Stage IV - slow growth, aging of the mycelium, sporulation, accumulation of secondary metabolic products.

Stage V - adopted to symbolize complete autolysis of the mycelium.

In relation to individual fungi, in particular to penicillin producers, all age-related changes are described in detail. Thus, 7 age stages are described in Penicillium chryzogenum.

The duration of fungal growth at one stage or another depends on environmental factors, genetic characteristics, cultivation conditions, etc.

The influence of external factors on growth processes. Environmental conditions - temperature, pH, light, aeration, humidity - throughout the entire life cycle of mushrooms constantly have an impact. First of all, they affect the nature and characteristics of growth processes, i.e., growth rate is one of the leading indicators of the response of fungi to the influence of external factors.

Temperature factors. A sufficient amount of heat is one of the main conditions for the life of a fungus. Moreover, the active life of each species is possible within certain temperature limits. The most harmonious course of metabolic processes is observed at an optimum temperature. Exposure to too low or too high temperatures leads to profound disturbances in the coordination of vital processes and irreversible damage to the cytoplasm. If the temperature decreases and becomes critical, the movement of the cytoplasm stops, the semi-permeability of the membranes is lost and the cell dies. High temperature also leads to cell death due to “membrane damage resulting from inactivation and denaturation of proteins and metabolic disorders.

The lower limit at which cell growth of the absolute majority of fungi stops is 0-3° C, and the upper limit does not exceed 40° C. There is no single temperature optimum for mushrooms, since the temperature requirement for mycelial growth, formation of fruiting bodies and germination the dispute is not the same. For example, the optimum temperature for spore germination in the fence polypore Qloephillurn seriarium is 30-34° C, and for the growth of mycelium - 36° C.

A decrease in the intensity of growth or its complete absence in fungi at a certain temperature is in some cases caused by the inability to synthesize the necessary amino acids and vitamins. In the experiments of D. Frieze, Coprinus fimetarius cultures were distinguished by good growth even at a temperature of 44 ° C, if the medium contained casein hydrolyzate, the active component of which is methionine. Obviously, blocking the synthesis of this amino acid at elevated temperatures causes the cessation of mycelial growth. Depending on the temperature needs, mushrooms are divided into three groups: cold-loving, heat-tolerant and heat-loving.

The lack of growth of mushrooms at temperatures below zero does not mean that they die. Some fruiting bodies of the family Polyporaceae are able to withstand low temperatures down to -100°C, and the mycelium of Lentinus lepideus, Fomitopsis carnea tolerates dry heat up to +100°C, although humidified air causes the mycelium to die off at even 55°C. At the same time, fruiting bodies with fleshy or soft leathery consistency and related to annuals (Polyporus, Polystictus, etc.), die from frost in winter. In turn, woody plants and corky fruiting bodies of mushrooms from the genera Fomes, Daedalea and others are highly resistant to low temperatures and begin to vegetate again with the onset of spring.

Ecological modifications of different geographical origins are indicative. Thus, the average daily growth of Fusarium sporotrichioides in northern cultures (Yakut) is usually lower than in southern isolates (Azerbaijan and Krasnodar).

The possibility of development of each fungus is primarily determined by the pH of the environment, or the reaction of the substrate under natural conditions. A nutrient medium containing all the necessary substances, but prepared without taking into account the necessary acidity (or alkalinity), may completely exclude the possibility of development of the organism or will not have a strong inhibitory effect on it. This is explained by the formation of ammonia and organic acids, which increase pH, due to unequal absorption of medium components, assimilation of cations and anions. For physiological studies, it is important to maintain the original pH value of the medium using chalk, alkali or phosphate buffer.

The optimal pH value for most mushrooms is below 7 (within 5.0-6.0), which corresponds to a slightly acidic reaction of the environment. At the same time, there are fungi that adapt to a substrate with a more acidic reaction. These include wood-destroying, litter and mycorrhizal fungi that form organic acids. M.I. Boyko, who determined the growth of Heterobasidion annosum in 9 strains of the fungus, showed that their growth can occur in the pH range from 2.5 to 9.5, and the accumulation of biomass at pH from 5.5 to 9.5 decreases . Some representatives of mycorrhizal fungi of the genus Boletus have an optimum pH within 3.

It has been shown that the pH of the environment affects the activity of proteases. Thus, in the fungus Emericellopsis glabra, when the pH value of the reaction mixture changes from 6.0 to 12, the activity of proteases increases 5.6 times.

The growth of fungi on nutrient media is in most cases accompanied by a change in pH toward acidification. Original experiments were carried out by I. G. Konevskaya to determine changes in the pH of the medium, which was paper (sulfate, linen, sulfite, cotton and newspaper) inoculated with the cellulose-destroying fungus Chaetomium globosum. After 60 days of experiment, the pH of sulfate, cotton, linen and sulfite paper changed towards acidification, and newspaper - towards alkalization.

Light factors and radiation. Solar radiation has a significant impact on the life processes of fungi, although the effect of different parts of the solar radiation spectrum is not the same. Thus, long-wave radiation causes activation of thermal receptors, ultraviolet rays have a mutagenic effect, and visible light affects photoprotective and photochemical processes. Most mushrooms grow at approximately the same rate in light and in darkness. However, under the influence of bright light, inhibition of mycelial growth and spore germination is observed in representatives of Trichoderma, Penicillum and other fungi, especially with colorless shells. Light has a very significant effect on the formation of fruiting organs. When grown on artificial nutrient media, the fruiting bodies of Heterobasidion annosum, Polystictus abietinus, Armillariella mellea and many other higher fungi are formed only under diffuse lighting conditions. It is significant that different effects of light on sporulation can be detected even within the same genus. If Botrytis cinerea sporulates in the light and in the dark, then B. gladiolorum - only in the light. With one-sided illumination, a phototropic reaction of spore-bearing organs towards the light source is observed. Clearly noticeable positive phototropic bends are produced by representatives of Mucorales, in particular the sporangiophores Pilobolus cry-stallinus, species of the genera Phycomyces, Spinellus, Hirschioporus, etc. Some pyrenomycetes are characterized by a bend of the proboscis of the perithecia, in marsupials the bursae bend in a similar way, and in capped basidiomycetes - the legs .

The complete absence of light in some mushrooms (Pilobolus, Lentinus, Coprinus, etc.) causes sterility of the mycelium, while in others (Aspergillus, Merulius, Schizophyllum, etc.) spore-bearing organs can develop in the dark. Normal development of fruiting bodies in Lentinus edodes is observed at light intensity of 5 lux and above. In the absence of light, light-colored hypertrophied fruiting bodies are formed. Under the influence of light, pigments are formed in the mycelium and spores of some fungi.

The word "pigment" comes from the Latin pigmentum - paint. Due to the “color” of pigments, they are able to absorb certain rays of the spectrum. Pigmentation of spore shells significantly increases their resistance to direct sunlight when transported by air currents. Mushroom pigments are divided into several groups. 1. Pigments formed as a result of the transformation of orylpyruvate (terphenylquinones and their derivatives - atromentin, polyproval, telephoric, pulvic, variegated acids, etc.). 2. Pigments occurring along the acetate-mevalonate pathway (scutigeral, trametin, dermocybin, dermorubin, dermolutein, emodin, etc.). 3. Pigments formed along the mevalonate pathway (lactarovioline, lactarofulvin, Various carotenoids, primarily (carotene, as well as lacopene, canthaxanthin, etc.). 4. Nitrogen-containing pigments (cinnabarine, tramesanguine), as well as a number of pigments of different structures and origins (azachions, indigo, etc.).

It should be emphasized that light is not a necessary condition for the synthesis of all pigments in fungi. Thus, the biosynthesis of the blue indigo pigment in the fungus Schizophyljum depends on the formation of malic acid, which accumulates in the mycelium as it develops. This pigment is formed only in a culture that has lost the ability to synthesize malic acid. At the same time, when copper ions are added to the medium, the content of malic acid decreases and the amount of indigo increases.

Some yeasts, particularly Candida pulcherria, are characterized by the bright red pigment pulcherrimin.

A numerous and widespread group of pigments among lower fungi (Mucoraceae, Choanephoraceae, Mogtierellaceae, etc.) are carotenoids. Blakes Jea trispora and Choanephora cucurditarum have intensive carotene synthesis, which can be used to obtain 3-carotene. In the experiments of E. P. Feofilova, it was shown that diphenylamine has a strong influence on the synthesis of carotenoids. In the fungus Blakeslea trispora, the mycelium, washed from diphenylamine, synthesizes carotene much faster than in the control culture, which is associated with the accumulation of a colorless precursor, which is then used for carotene synthesis. If the mycelium is not washed from diphenylamine, then the formation of fatty inclusions accumulated by orange carotene granules does not occur in it. Along with this, the morphology of mycelial cells also changes. In other fungi, diphenylamine causes the accumulation of phytoene and phytofluin, i.e., the specific effect of this compound on the biosynthesis of pigments is manifested.

Carotenoids - isoprene derivatives, which are unsaturated compounds of the terpene series, belong to fat-insoluble pygmeites. These substances have been found in fungi of all systematic groups, although many contain them in small quantities. For example, in the basidiomycete Clitocybe venutissima - and carotenes make up 0.17% of the dry weight of the fruiting bodies. An increased content of carotene is characteristic of ascomycetes (orders Taphrinales, Protomycetales, etc.) and basidiomycetes, especially rust fungi, which are yellow and orange in color. Carotenoid pigments are found in many imperfect fungi, both dark-colored (Cladosporium, Curvularia, etc.) and light-colored (Cephalosporium, Trichotecium, etc.). Their role in the organism of fungi is very diverse and is primarily associated with the reactions of phototropism and phototaxis.

Mushrooms contain many pigments - derivatives of quinone (atromethine, leucomelon, aurautiacin, etc.), anthraquinone, benzoquinone and naphthoquinone. A large number of different types of quinones are found in imperfect fungi of the order hyphomycetes (Penicillium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, etc.). Quinones have antibiotic and toxic effects and are purple or almost black in color. Mushroom pigments have a wide variety of colors - yellow, brown, red, black, green, purple, etc. They cause coloration not only of the mycelium and fruiting bodies, but also of the nutrient medium on which the mushrooms grow.

Many mushrooms contain dark pigments - melanins, which are highly polymeric compounds formed during the enzymatic oxidation of phenols. Melanin enzymes give a number of fungal species high resistance to extreme living conditions.

Of the rays of the solar spectrum, the most powerful influence is exerted by ultraviolet, which can cause mutations and, at high doses of radiation, completely suppress the vital activity of fungi.

There is information about the high intensity of the action of blue-violet rays on some mushrooms.

In Aspergillus clavatis, when exposed to blue rays, elongated conidiophores are formed, while under the influence of red rays, the size of the conidiophores sharply decreases. The degree of illumination also greatly affects the rate of release of spores from the fruiting bodies. In some ascomycetes (Podospora curvula, Nectria cinnabarina) sporulation occurs only during the daytime, in others (Hypoxylon fuscum) - only at night. A number of experiments have shown the inhibitory effect of infrared rays on the growth of house fungi (Serpula lacrymans, Poria vaporaria, Coniophora cerebella) and wood-destroying fungi (Heterobasidion annosum).

Ionizing radiation has a strong effect on mushrooms, although dark-colored mushrooms are distinguished by their resistance to radiation. There is indirect evidence that ionizing radiation causes DNA damage. Mutants of Aspergillus nidulans, Coprinus lagopus, etc. are particularly sensitive to radio radiation. Doses that have a lethal effect on fungi, mainly molds, are used to protect materials from mycodestructors, save artistic treasures and archaeological documents.

Light influences sexual and asexual reproduction in fungi. One of the compounds that induces reproductive processes is a hormone-like substance called P310, isolated from Ascochytapisi mycelium exposed to near-ultraviolet light and other imperfect fungi.

Aeration. There are no obligate anaerobes among fungi. The most typical facultative anaerobes are yeasts. Their need for oxygen for normal development is far from the same, even among fungi belonging to the same genus. Thus, Fusarium oxyporus survives under anaerobic conditions for 13 weeks, while F. eumartii dies in less than three weeks.

House mushrooms are highly sensitive to lack of oxygen. For example, in Serpula lacrymans and Coniophora cerebella the permissible minimum oxygen pressure is within 2.7 kPa (21 mmHg). Wood-destroying fungi - parasites of living trees from the genera Stereum and Trametes are less sensitive to oxygen deficiency and grow normally even at a partial pressure of 0.9-1 kPa (7-8 mm Hg), and the maximum respiration activity is in Aspergillus oryzae is observed at 13.6 kPa (105 mmHg).

Humidity of the environment. Most mushrooms require relatively high humidity to grow. Thus, edible mushrooms usually appear in rainy, warm weather. The development of mold fungi is also possible only on substrates characterized by high humidity. Wood-decaying fungi have the highest growth rate at an absolute wood humidity of 30-80%, although the minimum and maximum humidity at which they develop ranges from 20 to 150%.

Wood moisture can serve as a factor limiting the growth and destructive activity of a number of fungi. This feature is used, in particular, to protect wood from damage by fungi, saturating it with moisture by additional moistening or sprinkling. This technique is used to increase the safety of freshly cut wood. Its methodology was developed in detail by A. T. Vakin.

Organs of sexual reproduction usually develop in an airy environment, and a slightly greater dryness is more favorable for them compared to the optimum for mycelial growth. It is also significant that in some fungi, mainly molds, even a slight decrease in air humidity delays the formation of spores, while in others, such as powdery mildew Erysiphales, the number of conidia formed increases significantly.

Fungal spores are highly resistant to adverse factors and remain viable for a long time in low humidity conditions.

There are fungi, mainly from gasteromycetes, that have adapted to life in arid desert conditions (species of the genera Simblum, Podaxis, etc.). They tolerate complete dehydration, and during the rainy season they restore their vital functions. The development of fungi in nutrient solutions can be restrained by the osmotic pressure of the environment, i.e., water in this case becomes unavailable, an increase in the concentration of osmotically active substances causes plasmolysis of cells and completely stops their growth. At the same time, the amount of osmotic pressure transferred by cells is not the same and is determined both by the specific characteristics of the fungi and the nature of the substances in the solution. According to V. Lilly and G. Barnet, the fungus Rhizopus nigricans tolerates an osmotic pressure of glucose of 63.2-102 kPa (63.2 atm), sucrose - 42.1-102 kPa (42.1 atm), KNO3 - 27, 5-102kPa (27.5 atm). The suction force of mycelium cells of different strains of Trichoderma fungi is in the range of (45-48) 102 kPa (45-48 atm). Phytopathogenic fungi are highly resistant to the osmotic pressure of the solution; the sucking force of their cells is significantly higher than that of the cells of the host plant.

Air pollution. The presence of industrial waste in the air in high concentrations has a negative effect on the growth processes of fungi. Thus, treatment of a 5-day culture of Heterobasidion annosum with sulfur dioxide at a concentration of 134 mg/l reduced mycelial growth, depending on the strain, by 75-95%. When NOx was introduced at a concentration of 66.7 mg/l into a 7-day culture, mycelial growth slowed down by 45%, and in some strains it stopped altogether. An approximately similar relationship was found in the accumulation of biomass under the influence of SO2 and NOx. In experiments with the influence of heavy metals, it was found that lead and nickel salts were most toxic to H. annosum, copper and manganese salts were to a lesser extent, and zinc salts in the tested concentrations did not inhibit the growth of root sponge.

Determination of fluorine content in the fruiting bodies of edible mushrooms of the order Agaricales showed that the fluorine content depends on the type of mushroom, place and year of collection and can reach 1 mg per 100 g of dry matter, i.e., it indicates the influence of the environment on the fluorine content in fruiting bodies . As a rule, the concentration of mineral elements in the caps is higher than in the stems.

It has been proven that the fruiting bodies of edible mushrooms are capable of accumulating cadmium and mercury labeled with radioactive isotopes. Thus, in Pleurotus flabellatus, 75% of cadmium and 38.5% of mercury added to the substrate were found, while in Agaricus bisporus, 1.27% and 8.42%, respectively. Thus, the transfer of metals into fruiting bodies in different species occurs with unequal intensity.

Literature

1. Zhdanova N.N., Vasilevskaya A.I. Extreme ecology of mushrooms. - K., 1982

2. Biosynthetic activity of higher mushrooms / A.N. Shivrina, O.P. Mezkovskaya, N.N. Falina and others - L., 1969

3. Becker 3.E. Physiology of mushrooms and their practical use. - M., 2003

4. Denisova N.I. The nature and biological role of proteinases of basidiomycetes // Mycology and phytopathology. - 1984 - T. 18, No. 2. -WITH. 116-121.

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You can grow almost any mushroom yourself. Most often, mushroom pickers choose for self-growing: chanterelles, truffles, porcini mushrooms, honey mushrooms, milk mushrooms, boletus mushrooms. Boletus and shiitake mushrooms are also in demand.

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What is mycelium, what does it look like, and where do you get it?

Mycelium is fungal spores, i.e. vegetative body of a mushroom. It is made up of numerous tiny fibers called hyphae. Hyphae grow in the substrate and on its surface, absorbing nutrients necessary for fungal growth. Hyphae can have several colors: white, yellowish or brown. It is from these overgrown threads that mushrooms begin to grow.

Mycelium can vary in internal structure. Depending on this, it is divided into two types:

Coenotic (non-cellular)

A feature of its structure is the absence of partitions between cells. Those. in fact, this type of mycelium is one huge cell filled with a huge number of nuclei.

Septated

A structural feature is the presence of nuclei between the cells (they are called septa). Each cell can have one or several nuclei.

Mycelium is also divided into several types depending on the nutritional basis intended for the growth of the mycelium:

All of the above types of mycelium can be purchased ready-made in specialized stores, or you can make them yourself at home. Fungal spores sold in stores are produced in a sterile factory environment.

Mycelium made independently may not bring the desired yield or may even be completely useless. The reason for this is the high risk of infection by pathogenic bacteria and spores of pest fungi.

This is why it will be easier for beginners to use ready-made, purchased mycelium to grow mushrooms.

Types of mycelium

Advantages

Flaws

Mushrooms can be grown in two ways:

Extensive – i.e. in the natural environment, spending a minimum amount of money;
Intense – i.e. in an artificial environment by investing an appropriate amount of money. However, it is worth saying that if this event is planned for the purpose of business development, this method pays off very quickly. From 1 kg of mycelium it is possible to collect up to 3 kg of mushrooms.

Mycelium diseases and treatment methods

Improper cultivation and errors in care can provoke mycelium disease, which often causes the death of the crop, so treatment should not only be timely, but also as effective as possible:

damage by brown mold causes brown gypsum, as a result of which whitish spots of various shapes form on the covering material or the surface of substrates. To prevent damage, proper composting and pasteurization of the substrate is carried out, as well as pollination with gypsum;
the appearance of buds of a light green hue on the substrate, as well as olive-green or brownish-black coloring, indicates damage to the mycelium by green mold. It is very important to correctly dose the starting material used to create the substrate and carry out proper composting, avoiding overheating at the stage of the pasteurization process;
moldy saprophytic fungi often cause damage to the mycelium by brown mold, which manifests itself in the form of a brownish-gray coating. For preventive purposes, the covering material is treated with a solution based on Fundazol.

The most dangerous damage to the mycelium is yellow mold, which results in the formation of areas of yellow coloration, and the substrate is characterized by the presence of a specific copper odor.

Fungal spores are resistant to high temperatures and are easily transported with soil, contaminated substrates and tools used in work. For the purpose of treatment, weekly spraying around the substrate with a 4% formalin-based solution is carried out. A good preventative measure is also to add any disinfectant containing chlorine to the water for irrigation.

How to choose high-quality purchased mycelium

If you decide to purchase a ready-made seed option, you should take the choice of mushroom mycelium seriously. You can buy it at garden centers. It is worth choosing a proven and reliable supplier. If you don’t know any, consult with people who already have experience in growing mushrooms. Or ask for advice from consultants working at your chosen garden center.

Read also: Why do zucchini taste bitter when cooked?

Do not buy a large batch of mycelium at one time - it is better to take a small amount for testing. If there are no special problems with growing this mycelium, you will receive a harvest that meets your requirements and will be satisfied with everything, choose to purchase mycelium from this supplier. If something doesn’t suit you, you should try purchasing mycelium from another manufacturer.

Be sure to check the packaging with mycelium. It should indicate the type of mushroom, as well as its strain. The following information must also be indicated on the packaging:

percentage and rate of fouling;
mildew resistance;
shelf life.

Before placing the purchased mycelium into the substrate, it must be crushed without opening the bag. The temperature of the mycelium should be equal to the temperature of the substrate. Otherwise, the mycelium risks being subject to temperature shock, as a result of which its properties will be lost.

Note! Mycelium intended for sowing is stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 3-4 degrees Celsius. Under no circumstances should it be stored in a freezer.

Each purchased package of mycelium should be stored at a distance from each other. This will ensure air flow to each bag. Opening packages with mushroom spores ready for sowing must be accompanied by their parallel treatment with a disinfectant solution.

Important! The planting of mycelium should be carried out strictly while wearing gloves. Maintaining sterility plays a huge role in successful planting and successful growth of the mycelium.

Recently, wood sticks infected with mycelium have gone on sale. Their shelf life is about six months if the humidity is above 50%. This innovation is also convenient for those who do not want to spend time preparing mycelium.

The main signs of mycelium on nails

The most common signs of the appearance of mycelium threads on nails are as follows:

characteristic longitudinal change in the structure of the nail plate,
plate fragility increases,
the color changes dramatically, turning to shades of brown and yellow; in advanced cases, it becomes black,
stripes and spots stretching to the level of the cuticle,
unpleasant smell,
burning and severe itching.

Such changes indicate that the fungus has settled on the body.

Self-production of mycelium from the body of the mushroom and royal mycelium at home

In order to get mushrooms without buying ready-made mycelium, you will have to produce any of the following types of mycelium yourself:

Uterine.
Mycelium from the body of a mushroom.

Sowing of mycelium must be carried out under conditions of complete sterility. This requires constant access to water, gas, and electricity.

To prepare royal mycelium, you need to purchase: test tubes with cork stoppers, an alcohol burner, tweezers, sterile gloves, wort, hydrogen peroxide, and agar-agar (has a jelly-like shape).

The work area is thoroughly sterilized and the preparation of the medium intended for inoculation begins:

Mushroom particles are prepared. They must be thoroughly treated with hydrogen peroxide, after which all particles are placed in a completely sterile container.
Agar-agar and wort are mixed together and boiled until the mixture thickens. Then the mixture is poured into pre-sterilized test tubes. After this, they are left in an inclined position until the resulting mixture cools and acquires a jelly-like shape.
A piece of mushroom is placed into each sterile test tube with the prepared mixture using tweezers, after which it is necessary to seal it. Before this, the cork must be sterilized using an alcohol burner. This will help prevent the growth of bacteria in the test tube and the formation of mold.
The inoculated tubes are placed in a dark but warm place for 14 days. The temperature should be between 13 and 21 degrees Celsius. Under no circumstances should sudden changes be allowed, otherwise all efforts will be nullified. After the specified time, the crops will be ready for planting in the substrate - this will be indicated by the appearance of a whitish fluff in the test tubes.

If the appearance of mold is observed in test tubes with mycelium, they should under no circumstances be opened in a room with healthy seed material. The contents of such tubes must be thrown away, and the container itself must be thoroughly washed with a disinfectant and hot water.

Making mycelium from mushroom bodies also requires preparation. This type of crops cannot be stored after production. Therefore, take care in advance of preparing the substrate or wood cuttings, depending on what kind of mushrooms you plan to grow. To prepare the seed, it is necessary to use mushroom caps - the latter must be ripe. It is desirable that the caps be large. Under no circumstances should there be any damage to them.

Prepared mushroom caps are poured with boiled water that has cooled to room temperature for one day. After the specified time, the water must be drained. Mash the soaked caps into a paste - this is the seed material. Now the pulp can be placed in tree cuttings or in layers in the substrate. After planting, the mycelium should be kept in a room with high humidity at a temperature of 23-25 degrees Celsius.

After the first shoots appear, the room temperature should be reduced to 12-18 degrees Celsius and maintained within these limits.

The first method of preparing potato agar

The estimated yield of the substance is 1 liter.

Ingredients: 300 g potatoes, 20 g agar (found at relevant medical laboratory supply organizations, health food stores or Asian food markets), 10 g dextrose or some other sugar, 2 g brewer's yeast (you can also use without them).

Work process.

Step 1. Before making agar for mycelium, you need to boil the potatoes with 1 liter of water for 1 hour. Next, remove the potatoes, leaving only the broth.

Step 2. Mix the broth, agar, sugar and yeast (if you are using them) thoroughly, for example, using a whisk; this mixture should not be beaten.

Step 3. Pour the resulting mixture into bottles or flasks to half or three-quarters of their volume.

Step 4. Place the steamer on the fire and wait until steam comes out. After ventilation for several minutes (depending on the specific model and in accordance with the instructions), close the valve. Bottles are boiled at 121 °C (1 atm) for 15 minutes. In this case, you need to ensure that the temperature does not exceed this level, because in this case the medium will caramelize, which will completely ruin it.

Step 5. After 15 minutes, turn off the stove and leave the dishes until they cool (about 45 minutes). Then, without wasting time, take free test tubes, remove the caps and place the containers on a stand or in clean cans, and then place them on a surface previously cleaned of dust and dirt.

Step 6: Once the bottles of nutrient medium have cooled, remove them from the pressure cooker using a towel or oven mitts. Stirring lightly, remove the foil and swabs, and using a funnel, pour the contents into the test tubes approximately one-third full.

Step 7. Close the test tubes with caps, but less tightly than before, place them in the pressure cooker, pouring out excess water if necessary. Having reached a temperature of 121°C, leave the dish on the fire for 30 minutes, then leave it to cool slowly again until the pressure reaches a normal level.

Step 8. Take out the test tubes and screw the caps on tightly. Fix the tubes in an inclined position. As a result, the surface of the agar medium should be at an angle with respect to the flask, thus creating as large an area as possible for the subsequent development of mycelium (such tubes are sometimes called “oblique agar”).

As the medium cools, its consistency becomes increasingly jelly-like and will eventually become so hard that the tubes can be stood upright and the agar medium will remain in the same position.

This video explains in detail how to prepare mycelium agar:

The tubes can be used immediately or after weeks or even months. In the latter case, they need to be placed in the refrigerator, and before use, make sure that there are no traces of mold or bacteria contamination on the medium.

The next section of the article is devoted to how to obtain potato agar for mycelium at home in a different way.

All the nuances of growing mushrooms indoors

For the successful development of the mycelium, it is important to properly prepare the room. It should contain shelves or racks for placing blocks and bags of mycelium. Alternatively, the bags can be hung from the ceiling using special hooks. A well-thought-out ventilation system must be present.

The room must be heated - it is better if the heating occurs using gas. Using electricity will cost much more. And the temperature regime with gas heating is much easier to control. This is very important, since at different phases of mycelium growth the temperature regime must be individual. Another important requirement for arranging a room is the presence of artificial lighting. But when it comes to growing champignons or shiitake mushrooms, they grow well in dark rooms with high humidity.

It is advisable that the room intended for growing mushrooms should not be built from wood. The wooden frame and ceilings will rot very quickly due to the conditions that must be observed in this room.

If mushroom cultivation is not planned on a production scale, a garage, greenhouse, or any existing basement may be quite suitable for placing containers with mycelium.

General information about porcini mushrooms

It is no coincidence that I call the mushroom white. According to historians, it was named like this:

for the sharp contrast with the tubular “black” mushrooms, which are unsuitable for food;
for the ability to retain color during heat treatment.

In various dialects of the Russian language, the porcini mushroom is called “dear mushroom”, “truthful”, “king of mushrooms”, so finding it at all times was a great success: to this day, experienced mushroom pickers are held in high esteem in agricultural regions. However, with the deterioration of the environment associated with the increase in large industrial production, the chance of finding a rare mushroom in natural conditions tends to zero.

In nature, it grows only in dry soil in mature forests over 50 years old, with high humidity, in stable climate conditions with average precipitation and a small temperature range. Therefore, the cost per kilogram of this product varies from 200 (for dried mushrooms) to a thousand rubles (for fresh ones). These factors have made the cultivation of porcini mushrooms a profitable business and a “supplement” to the home budget. Mushrooms do not require special conditions.

Technology for growing mycelium in open ground

Indoors, any mushrooms can be cultivated throughout the year, creating all the necessary conditions. But some people prefer to grow mushrooms in their garden plots. For this, it is recommended to choose the period from May to September. Champignons and wild mushrooms take root best in open ground. To grow them successfully, we recommend following the tips below.

When planting mycelium in the substrate, it is important to maintain the correct proportions. This process is observed by increasing the temperature of the substrate (ordinary sawdust or straw can act as this). Therefore, an excessive amount of introduced fungal spores can provoke the death of the entire mycelium due to excessive overheating.

Having chosen a shaded place, dig a hole no more than 40 cm deep. At the same time, it is recommended to retreat ideally 50-70 cm from the tree itself. It is necessary to lay out the substrate in the prepared hole - it can be leaves, pine needles, as well as sawdust. The thickness of the layer should be within 20 cm. Seed material is placed on the prepared substrate, having previously mixed it with soil: local and forest.

It is recommended to plant mushroom spores on the north side of the house or barn - this way the crops will be hidden from excessively scorching sunlight and also protected from rapid drying out.

For good germination and yield, crops need to create conditions as close as possible to their natural growing environment. It is important to monitor soil moisture - it should be moderate. Under no circumstances should it be allowed to become excessively waterlogged or dry out. The ideal solution would be to apply drip irrigation to the crops. The first harvest after inoculation (planting) of the mycelium can be harvested within 3 weeks.