Growing porcini mushrooms in greenhouses
At the time of harvesting porcini mushrooms, these forest organisms are an excellent supplement to the diet. But you can feast on not only mushrooms brought from the thicket. Nowadays, growing mushrooms in a greenhouse is becoming more and more popular and profitable.
Growing porcini mushrooms in greenhouses
General characteristics of porcini mushroom
Before deciding to grow mushrooms, it is worth examining their nature and characteristics.
This mushroom belongs to the Boletov family, to which a number of tubular mushrooms belong in terms of their structural features. Outwardly, he is very handsome and attractive. Description:
- the shape of the fruiting body in general outlines is similar to a barrel;
- the cap is dense, fleshy;
- the diameter of the cap is 30-40 cm;
- the color of the cap is brown or reddish;
- the leg is thick, up to 25 cm high;
- the color of the leg is white;
- the pulp is juicy, homogeneous;
- the color of the flesh is creamy or pinkish.
The second name is boletus.
He loves drainage soils, moderately humid air, good illumination and warmth. This mushroom is a delicacy, which is why many people want to grow it in their greenhouses, basements or in their own garden plots.
Growing methods
To grow this amazing delicacy on its own, 2 growing techniques are used: extensive and intensive.
With the extensive method, breeding takes place in natural conditions, and the mycelium is cared for at its permanent place of growth.
For growing at home or for business development, the second, intensive method is more suitable. To grow mushrooms in a greenhouse in this way, you will need to equip it with special equipment to create the necessary conditions and microclimate.
Intensive growing conditions
To grow mushrooms in artificial conditions, you will need to build a greenhouse for mushrooms and prepare it.
Greenhouse preparation
Protect mushrooms from direct sunlight
A new or existing mushroom greenhouse must meet the following conditions:
- have good, but not direct lighting;
- good ventilation;
- the presence of sawdust;
- containers with water.
Year-round cultivation of porcini mushrooms in a glass greenhouse or polycarbonate will be successful if direct sunlight does not fall on the beds, the humidity is kept at a certain level, about 40%. A greenhouse is usually used for these purposes, in which vegetables were previously grown, but the surface is covered with black agrofibre to prevent overheating and the penetration of the sun.
The mushroom feels as comfortable as possible with good soil and air humidity, so the greenhouse for growing mushrooms is equipped with special containers with water and sawdust, which are wetted and retain moisture for a long time. It is better to place containers at a distance of 1-1.5 m from each other.
A glass room or polycarbonate greenhouse for growing mushrooms is equipped with good (strong) ventilation so that the growth and development of mushrooms is successful. In this case, drafts are unacceptable.
Preparing the beds
To get mushrooms in a greenhouse, the soil is prepared. This is a difficult and time-consuming process. For this, a special substrate is made, the composition of which largely depends on the tree under which the mycelium is found, if the seedlings are taken from the forest. To create a specific substrate, you will need the following:
- land from the forest from the place of growth;
- land from the garden or garden;
- manure;
- sawdust.
All this is thoroughly mixed by hand and infused for 7-8 days.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Fresh manure is not suitable for preparing a nutrient substrate. It is best to take "mature" humus. Naturally, good humus can be obtained only 3 years after laying the mixture. To enrich the composition with useful ones, you need to spill it with a solution of the so-called. M-preparations according to the instructions on the package.
The composition of preparations of this kind (of natural origin) includes microorganisms of the families characteristic of the soil:
- lactic acid bacteria (sterilizers);
- photosynthetic bacteria (formers of biologically active substances from organic matter and gases);
- yeast (antibiotic);
- actinomycetes (antibiotic);
- fermenting mushrooms (along with the rest help organic matter to decompose quickly).
At the end of the period, the soil mixture is transferred to wooden boxes, which are installed in greenhouses for growing mushrooms.
Mushrooms will not yield in the first year, porcini mushrooms are picky about the conditions, so these mushrooms can be grown in a greenhouse only if all requirements are met carefully.
Growing methods in greenhouses
Mushrooms can be grown in any basement
There are several ways to get fruit bodies in a mushroom greenhouse. Each owner chooses the most suitable one for himself.
Reproduction by mycelium
This method is usually used in private small farms.
It doesn't require much automation. It will be possible to grow mushrooms in any basement; an economic functional building made of polycarbonate, glass or simply covered with a film is suitable. The transfer of mushroom mycelium to the greenhouse and its subsequent development takes place on the basis of a nutritious substrate, ready-made compost.
A prepared greenhouse for growing mushrooms is equipped with special equipment for the care and installation of boxes. The rest of the process goes step by step.
- Initial outdoor training: from the end of May to October, the top soil layer (about 2 m in diameter from the trunk) is removed near the trees, to a depth of 20 cm. Compost or peat mixture (up to 3 cm) is spread into the resulting void. Here the mycelium itself is placed with your hands, divided into several parts.
- Laying out the mycelium on the prepared place: produced according to a checkerboard pattern. Then the planting is covered with a layer of excavated soil and watered abundantly. Each site will need 2-3 buckets of water.
- Shelter for all mushroom beds: for these purposes, straw or hay is used, which are laid out in a layer of at least 40 cm.This way, moisture and a stable temperature will be better preserved.
- Watering: in the process of growth as the substrate dries. For the winter, the planting is covered with additional materials, moss or sawdust.
When spring comes, the cover is removed, the grown mycelium is carefully removed from its place and moved to prepared boxes, after which they are sent to greenhouses for growing mushrooms, where they grow and develop further.
Disputed way
For growing mushrooms in a greenhouse on a larger scale, a spore harvesting method is used. For this, mushrooms are found in the forest, 6-7 pieces. This biological material must be fully matured. Specimens spoiled by pests are thrown away.
The hats are separated from the legs and soaked in a sweet solution.For 10 liters of pure rain water add 15 g of granulated sugar. They are kept in such a solution for 24 hours. At this time, all spores are activated, ie. will be capable of germination when exposed to favorable conditions.
After that, the caps are ground until homogeneous with water (to get a mushy mass). Then strain them through several layers of gauze to remove excess water. All that remains on the surface of the gauze is your planting material.
A kind of puree is evenly spread on the previously prepared fertile soil and sprinkled with earth and peat, poured with the remnants of rainwater, which remained after filtering.
The planting is watered abundantly with plain water, the boxes are sent to the greenhouse. After a while, the first caps will appear from the ground. This is how mushrooms are grown in greenhouses by the spore method.
Growing from mycelium
It is easy to grow a good harvest in this way. For this you need a mycelium. After it is found in the forest, it is dug up and carefully carried to a plot in a vegetable garden or garden. For the reproduction of the porcini mushroom using the mycelium, a 15x25 cm layer is quite enough, which is carefully divided into 10-15 fragments. In this case, it is worth grabbing a little more land from the place of growth.
This soil of the house is loosened and mixed with the rest of the soil. Pits are made in the soil and pieces of mycelium are laid out in them, making sure that they lie flat, without bends or folds. From above, everything is covered with soil, husk from seeds. The process ends with abundant watering.
A beautiful flower called alstroemeria is also propagated.
The method is good for breeding whites in southern latitudes, where the weather is consistently warm. In these latitudes of Russia, porcini mushrooms are planted from the first days of May to June. Fruiting in mushroom greenhouses begins in the second year. They grow quickly and are harvested several times a year.
Conclusion
The process of growing and breeding greenhouse mushrooms is very laborious and you always need to be ready to solve new problems and issues. But observing the basic rules of growing crops in a greenhouse, it will be possible to achieve great success and get a pretty good profit for the season. Properly equipped mushroom rooms will allow you to grow the delicacy all year round. The artificially obtained product is completely safe for health, it does not contain toxins from the environment. Such a mushroom will always be in demand. It will be possible to sell it all year round in supermarkets and markets, both fresh and frozen, dried or salted, the main thing is to find the right advertising methods and regular customers.
