Growing porcini mushroom on a windowsill
Boletus, or as they are commonly called - porcini mushrooms, are one of the most delicious. They contain a lot of vitamins, fiber and plant protein. This is a seasonal mushroom that appears only when autumn is warm. However, it is possible to carry out the cultivation of porcini mushrooms on the windowsill.
Growing porcini mushroom on a windowsill
Features of growing porcini mushroom
Growing porcini mushrooms at home is difficult enough. They need symbiosis with woody species characteristic of their natural habitat: oaks, birches or conifers, as well as a thick cover of moss.
These mushrooms are very picky about the climate, they need good lighting, humidified air. It is not easy to create such conditions at home.
Requirements for the premises
Porcini mushrooms are also grown at home on the windowsill. For good growth, a room that retains heat and moisture well is suitable for them. You also need special equipment:
- Heating system with temperature control: for this type of mushroom, the optimal temperature variant is fluctuations in the range of + 15 ... + 17 ° С.
- Ventilation system: fresh air is needed for cultivation. In a closed room with humid air, the growth of boletus is significantly slowed down.
- Lighting: the mycelium during the development of fruiting bodies must be well illuminated. Lamps with diffused light (daylight), which are used in greenhouses, are suitable.
Before planting the mycelium, the room is disinfected. For disinfection, aqueous solutions of active drugs are usually used, which act on the cell membranes of microorganisms and destroy them.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
When carrying out disinfection, it is important to remember:
- The usual household disinfectants such as "whiteness" or detergents are not suitable: they do not give a lasting effect.
- The safest is the use of smoke bombs.
- The higher the quality of the preparation, the shorter the disinfection time, i.e. exposure of the drug.
- Most often used for disinfection Lizoformin-3000, medical hydrogen peroxide (30-40%), chloramine or bleach.
- When carrying out disinfection, be sure to:
- the presence of protective equipment, most often rubber gloves;
- avoid contact with the surface of the skin or mucous membranes of both concentrated and diluted active solutions.
Window sills, on which boletus will be grown, are especially carefully processed. To do this, use a 0.4% solution of copper (II) sulfate. It has a more familiar name for our ears - copper sulfate. Walls and ceilings are treated with lime with the addition of copper sulfate. Processing with a smoke bomb will not hurt.
Substrate preparation
The main difficulty in growing this species is to create conditions close to the natural habitat of porcini mushrooms. Planting substrate is sold ready-made in garden stores, or you can also make it yourself. To do this, take:
- dry oak or birch leaves;
- small branches of conifers;
- dry moss (a little).
All ingredients are crushed, sifted sand and dry clay are added in a 4: 1 ratio. To grow many porcini mushrooms at home on the windowsill, the substrate must be infused for 14 days in a warm and always dry room.
Mycelium selection
For sowing porcini mushroom, use ready-made store-bought mycelium or made at home. For self-preparation, ripe mushrooms are taken, even slightly rotted specimens are suitable. It is only important that the hat is intact.
The hats are carefully cut from the legs, passed through a meat grinder or chopped with a sharp knife. Then the resulting mass is left in a solution for 3-4 hours from:
- potassium permanganate - 1 g is taken for 10 liters;
- sugar - 10-13 cubes.
As a result, you will receive an aqueous solution with spores - a kind of liquid preparation for planting.
Mushroom planting
The first harvest can be obtained in a month.
It is easier to grow porcini mushrooms at home on a windowsill in prepared containers. The substrate is evenly distributed in pots, the thickness should be at least 25-30 cm. The top layer is lightly pressed by hand - the surface should be more or less even.
A drainage layer 3-4 cm thick is placed at the bottom of the container. This helps the soil to breathe well. Then the mycelium is evenly distributed or a liquid workpiece with spores is spilled. Sprinkle it on top with a layer of substrate (3-5 cm), without pressing it. During planting, the room should be at least 25 ° C, the same temperature should be maintained until the first shoots appear.
The finished structure in the container should look like this (starting from the bottom):
- drainage 3-4 cm;
- substrate (25-30 cm);
- mycelium;
- surface layer of the substrate (3-5 cm).
Care
The first shoots of boletus in the apartment appear in about a week. To do this, maintain a certain room humidity, optimal temperature and good lighting. Then the temperature is reduced to 15-17 ° C.
The soil is sprayed daily with a spray bottle. If heaters are used, dishes with water are placed next to them or wet towels are hung. This helps maintain a high humidity level in the room.
There must be good air circulation in the room to provide the seedlings with sufficient oxygen. Also, the porcini mushroom loves light, so the lamps are turned on every day for 6-7 hours.
After the first crop appears, mycelium often rises to the soil surface. So that it does not dry out and the collection of mushrooms in the future is good, it must be sprinkled with a thin layer of substrate. For a greater yield, ammonium nitrate is added to the soil in a ratio of 1: 5.
Harvesting
The first crop appears 25-30 days after planting the mycelium. Porcini mushrooms yield a harvest within 35-45 days with a break of 2 weeks. Instead of cutting with a knife, it is recommended to twist them carefully so that the mycelium will not be damaged.
The empty wells are sprinkled with a substrate: this way you will protect the mycelium and soon new mushrooms will grow in them. With proper care, up to 20-25 kg can be harvested from 1 m².
Conclusion
White mushroom is one of the most beneficial for the human body. It has a delicate taste and pleasant aroma. It contains many vitamins and useful trace elements.
It is possible to grow a good harvest of porcini mushrooms at home, but this is an extremely laborious process and not everything can work out the first time. It is important to provide the right conditions: adequate lighting, temperature and high humidity levels. The first crop will appear in 3 weeks.
