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Growing
edible mushrooms can be fun. Here is a new method that can be simpler for
the home grower than other traditional methods. It uses hydrogen peroxide
to prepare a stove pellet growing meduim. This method was demonstrated at
the Oregon Mycological Society Spring
Foray 2000 in central Oregon by Ed
Foy.
-
Put 1 quart of stove pellets in a small, clear plastic bag, made to
hold between 2-4 gallons, about .5 (point five) MIL thick.
- Fill
2 cooking pots with 3-1/2 cups each of water (7 cups total). Cover,
bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat, remove both pots after 1 minute.
- Pour
contents of one pot into the bag of pellets. Close bag loosely. Wait
for everything to cool before proceding. The moistened stove pellets
will have expanded to more than 4 times their original volume.
- Add
to the bag 1 tablespoon hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2) or 2 tablespoons of
limestone flour (CaCO3).
You may also substitute a teaspoon of granular or
powdered gypsum for a teaspoon of either lime, as I do. Gypsum is reputed
to force faster fruitings. All of this is to adjust the PH for best
results. Next, you may add a nitrogen supplement. It should give you
more mushrooms, but how will you ever know? Dr. Wayne of Eugene, the
Peroxide Man, states in his manual that you can use your own urine,
since it has lots of nitrogen. I prefer dried non-fat milk. Add 2-3
tablespoons to the bag.
- When
the second pot of boiled water has cooled to room temperature, lift
the cover and stir in 2 tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution,
available at all drug stores and markets (the brand name is not important).
Now, pour the water/hydrogen peroxide mixture into the bag. Again, close
the bag loosely and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Finally,
open the bag and mix in about a pint of spawn.
You should gently knead and turn the bag to insure thorough mixing.
Be sure that you have control of the process and that the bag is tightly
closed. A spill at this point could be disasterous. You can close the
bag with a twist tie and put it in its container.
- Keep
it at room temperature, in the dark or out of direct sunlight. In a
couple of weeks you should notice through the thin wall that the substrate
is beginning to turn white. If still in the dark, move the bag to a
place with enough light to read by.
- Watch
for bumps, or primordia, to appear. When they do, open the bag, encourage
air flow, spritz the block once or twice a day with light water mist.
Cover with a humidity tent of some kind, if possible.
- When
mushrooms reach full size, like an upturned hand for P. eryngii, cut
and enjoy!
Note:
The block may fruit again after soaking for a few hours in clean water
if it has not begun to fall apart. Also, it is easier to do all of the
mixing in a clean bucket and then fill 4-5 bags if you want that many
fruitings. You will need about 2 quarts of spawn. Two
excellent sources of spawn are:
Plan
to order at least a gallon of spawn from either source. Budget $20-$35,
delivered, allow a month for the spawn to be produced. How much spawn
do you need? Many growers use about 1/2 pint per gallon of moistened substrate.
I used 1 pint per gallon bag at the foray. More spawn means faster colonization,
less time for contaminants to gain a foothold. It comes down to growers
choice and how much spawn you have on hand.
Regards,
Ed Foy
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