Champignon has gained great popularity in industrial mushroom growing. Every year, an increasing number of champignon lovers try to grow them in their garden plots. Even despite the fact that the technology for growing them is somewhat complicated compared to growing, for example,.

At correct approach and organization of production mushrooms can be grown all year round. They grow quickly, but require special care and financial costs. The opportunity to grow these mushrooms constantly and collect 5-6 harvests per calendar year attracts many people who want to master this business. Funds with the right approach quickly pay for themselves. In this article we will look at the main methods and expenses for running this business.

Possible cultivation options and their features

At the initial stage, growing champignons can be started at home. A greenhouse, cellar, or basement are perfect for these purposes.

Growing in beds can be called one of the simplest ways. But considering that the entire process will have to be carried out manually, this option is suitable for personal use, and not for large-scale business. In addition, if infected with diseases, the soil will have to be changed completely, which is not very convenient.

Growing mushrooms in bags or wooden boxes has undoubted advantages. In this way, you can easily move mushrooms; if a disease is detected, there is no need to replace all the soil, but you can limit yourself to replacing only in infected bags or boxes. In addition, this method helps to use space in the room more efficiently. The disadvantages include the need to fill bags with soil yourself, which is inconvenient on a large scale.

How to grow champignons at home, watch the following video:

Containers, racks can be attributed to high-tech methods of growing mushrooms. Considering the significant costs of purchasing all the equipment, this method is suitable for farm owners. You can think about purchasing such equipment when you want to scale your business.

Equipment and furnishings of the growing area

When organizing a business, you will need premises.

Can you suggest Several variants:

• Use of an existing utility room or structure (basement, greenhouse, cottage).
• Renting premises.
• Acquisition of property.

The aspiring entrepreneur decides which option to choose on his own. Here, the region of residence and the amount of money that he is willing to spend on organizing the cultivation of mushrooms play an important role.

The room must be good ventilation system, it is important to maintain a comfortable temperature for growing mushrooms, 24-25 degrees.

Depending on the method of growing champignons must be purchased racks, wooden containers for filling them with compost. At the initial stage, compost can be ordered. Subsequently, it is advisable to make the soil yourself. This will reduce the cost of growing mushrooms.

To grow champignons you will need: mycelium (fungal spores). There are two types of mycelium: grain and compost. Experts advise beginners to purchase compost mycelium. It is characterized by disease resistance and is not afraid of rodents. In the future, you can switch to grain, which gives a much larger harvest.

Mycelium collections can be purchased from specialized companies or farms.

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Preparing the nutritional mixture

The habitat of the cultivated champignon is compost (nutrient mixture). The main raw materials for preparing the substrate are wheat or rye straw and chicken manure. You can use horse or cow manure with straw. The composting process is carried out in piles - concrete, covered areas.

It can be divided into several stages:

1. preparation and moistening of straw;
2. introducing droppings or manure;
3. fertilization;
4. breaking and moistening the compost;
5. pasteurization of compost.

Technology for preparing a good substrate very labor intensive. When producing it, you must strictly observe the proportions of the initial components, maintain a certain temperature and humidity regime, and monitor the level of acidity. The fermentation process lasts about a month. Therefore, some novice mushroom growers purchase ready-made compost for myceliums.

Inoculation and germination of mycelium

Compost ready for inoculation is laid out on beds or in containers for growing champignons. After a few days, you can start inoculating the mycelium. The signal for this is the temperature in the thickness of the compost. It should not be higher than +25°C. The consumption of seed material per 1 m2 of bed is about 0.5–1 kg. When grown in bags, the weight of the mycelium is 1% of the weight of the bag.

The optimal temperature inside the substrate for good germination is +25°C…+27°C. To create the required level of humidity, it is recommended to cover the beds or containers with perforated polyethylene or moistened burlap. The period of mycelium germination takes from 14 to 20 days. When the substrate is uniformly overgrown with white mycelium, the coatings must be removed.

Ripening champignons and collecting them

An important step when growing champignons at home is the creation cover soil. This layer has a microclimate that enhances the formation and setting of fruiting bodies. It differs from compost in its nutritional value, water-holding capacity and breathability. For good mycelial growth, the acidity level of the protective layer should be in the range of 6.5 - 7.5 pH.

You can prepare your own covering mixture from peat and garden soil in a 1:1 ratio. The acidity level is determined using an indicator strip and distilled water. If the soil acidity is insufficient, lime is added, and if the soil is too acidic, peat is added. The cover soil should not contain pests and pathogens. It must be moistened before application.

To prevent the covering material from drying out, it must be cover with burlap and moisturize as needed. The outside temperature should be maintained at 18°C. Under such conditions, after 10–14 days, white spots will appear on the surface of the protective layer.

In order to distribute the mycelium in the cover soil more evenly, it is necessary loosen the surface with a rake or brush. After 2 days, the coating should be removed and the soil should be moistened. Germination is complete and the crop needs air. During the ripening period, the premises must be carefully ventilated. At the same time, avoid drafts and intense movement of air masses.

Champignons do not tolerate watering well during this period.

To maintain humidity in rooms with growing champignons, you need to spray the floors or place open containers with water. As soon as the champignons have reached the harvest size, watering can be resumed.

Mushrooms should be picked at the stage when the lower film of the cap has stretched, but has not yet burst. The champignons must be carefully unscrewed from the compost, being careful not to damage the mycelium. The growth site must be immediately covered with soil.

Fruiting occurs in 6–7 bursts. The most productive are the first 2 - 3 rotations. They make up approximately 70% of the total collection. And during the entire fruiting period, from 1 m2 of area you can collect from 6 to 15 kg of fresh champignons. After each new wave of fruiting, it is necessary to remove all diseased and dead mushrooms. Lost moisture in the cover soil should be compensated by watering at the rate of no more than 1 liter per 1 m2 or 0.5 liter per 1 bag.

Active growth lasts from 2 to 4 months. Then comes a period of decline. Very few mushrooms appear, and it makes no sense to grow them further.

An example of organizing a business for growing champignons is presented in the following video:

Sanitary standards for cultivation

In order to exclude the possibility of the appearance and development of pathogenic microorganisms in champignon mushrooms must be observed following conditions:

Harvest sales

Since the cultivation of champignons is supposed to be carried out for the purpose of its subsequent sale online, the business needs to be legalized.

To legally grow champignons and successfully sell them, you need to officially register with the tax authorities. Registration as quality will be optimal. When registering, indicate the code 01.12.3 - Cultivation of mushrooms. Form of taxation – Unified agricultural tax with a tax rate of 6 percent.

In addition to the above, to sell the crop you will need a certificate of compliance of the premises with the standards for growing mushrooms. This document is issued by sanitary services after inspecting the premises. When selling champignons, you will have to contact this service again, this time to obtain a quality certificate for the product. It is issued for a certain period, usually for products grown on compost alone.

Implement You can mushrooms in the following ways:

1. On one's own. With this method, products can be sold at a more favorable price. But this method is suitable only for small volumes for sale. This method will only be successful during the holidays.
2. Conclude with shops or restaurants . In this case, the entrepreneur will have regular customers, and therefore there will be no problems with sales. But at the same time, at the initial stage you will have to search for buyers for the products.
3. Sell ​​products wholesale companies. This method also has both positive and negative aspects. When selling wholesale, the price of the product will be correspondingly lower than the retail price, but the ability to sell products in large volumes will bring tangible profits.

Financial calculations

Let’s create an example for growing champignons.

The growing cycle of champignons is 2 months. It is this period that we will take into account.

Expenses

If you make compost yourself, you will need components (soil, straw), which will cost 15,000-20,000 rubles for 30 tons. The average price of mycelium is 8,000-10,000 rubles. The cost of heating and pasteurization will be 40,000-50,000 rubles. It is difficult to indicate the exact amount, since many heat sources can be used (electricity, gas, coal, etc.), the prices of which vary. Wage costs will not be taken into account, since at the initial stage you can grow champignons yourself or involve relatives in this business.

So, organization costs cases will amount to no more than 80,000 rubles. If the premises are rented or additional purchases have been made, for example, shelving, these must be included in the amount of expenses.

In the future, it may be necessary to seek the help of an accountant to maintain reporting to the tax authorities.

Let's calculate the income

Let's give some approximate numbers. We emphasize that the amount of harvest depends on the quality of the mycelium, environment, and care. On average, 30 tons of compost can produce 6 tons of champignons.

Therefore, with an average price for selling goods of 90-100 rubles per kilogram, we get 540,000-600,000 rubles.

Profit will be 460,000-520,000 rubles. Of course, this is already on an industrial scale.

Depending on the approach to this business, tangible profits can be obtained within 2-3 months from the start of cultivation.

In conclusion, I would like to add that growing champignons is more difficult than oyster mushrooms. And it is advisable, when preparing for this type of business, to familiarize yourself with the practical experience of growing these mushrooms and communicate with entrepreneurs.

Mushrooms are not only a healthy and nutritious product, but also very tasty. Therefore, since ancient times they have been used to prepare various dishes. Mushrooms are used to make soups, stir-fries, salads, pates, snacks and much more. Of course, you want to pamper yourself with such delicacies all year round. Then home-grown mushrooms come to the rescue. This option is suitable for those who do not like to go to the forest, stock up for the winter, or simply prefer to eat fresh. Since champignons are the most common mushrooms, in this article we will consider the question of how to grow champignons at home.

Useful properties of champignons

Excellent aroma, spicy taste - this is how you can describe champignons in a few words. However, these mushrooms are distinguished not only by their excellent taste, but also by their beneficial properties. So, what are champignons rich in, what is included in their composition?

1. Protein. An important component thanks to which cells are renewed and built.
2. Various amino acids. They have a beneficial effect on many functions of the human body, including thought processes and memory. It turns out that if you know how to grow champignons at home, you can provide yourself with a year-round supply that makes our minds work.
3. Vitamins A, B, C, D.
4. Phosphorus. Since champignons are rich in this element, they can easily replace fish if you don’t like it.

The juice of these mushrooms can also be used as an antiseptic to quickly heal cuts, wounds and ulcers. These are the most basic beneficial properties that champignons have.

Conditions for growing champignons

The technology for growing champignons requires compliance with some important conditions.

1. Lack of sunlight.
2. Moderate warmth. It is important to observe the temperature regime; changes are extremely undesirable when growing champignons.
3. Uniform and good ventilation.
4. High humidity.
5. A specific microclimate required at each stage of mushroom growth.

To meet these conditions and successfully grow mushrooms, special equipment may be required. We will return to this issue later, but for now we will consider the places most suitable for growing mushrooms.

Places for growing champignons

As mentioned above, several conditions must be met in order to successfully grow champignons all year round. At home, a suitable place may be a basement, cellar, balcony or garage, and mushrooms are planted in boxes or pallets.

Champignons are very unpretentious mushrooms, so they can be grown even outdoors in garden beds or in greenhouses. But in this case, the harvest can be harvested only in the warm season.

How to grow champignons in the garden?

It is good to grow mushrooms in the garden because they will be in the fresh air. But on open ground it is more difficult to create the necessary conditions for champignons, and this must be taken into account, so it is better to cover them with a tarpaulin or make a canopy or greenhouse. It will be great if there is the most humid and shaded place on your site. Compost is laid out on the garden bed, and then everything is done the same as when growing champignons at home.

Equipment for growing champignons

Substrate for growing champignons

This is considered the most difficult stage in growing champignons. You may end up with a poor harvest if the substrate is not composed correctly. So, how should it be compiled?

For the substrate you will need compost for champignons, which includes: manure and straw from rye or wheat. Horse manure will give high yields, but you can also use cow or bird droppings. It would be a plus if you add fallen, non-rotten leaves and some organic waste, since champignons are very “gluttonous.” Also used as nutritional components are beet tops, sunflower seed shells, urea, chalk, gypsum, bone meal, bran and superphosphate. When compiling the substrate, the following proportion is observed: 75% manure and 25% compost.

How to grow champignons at home in a small area of ​​1.5 square meters? You can use the following compost formula.

1. Straw - 50 kilograms.
2. Urea and superphosphate - 1 kilogram.
3. Plaster - 4 kilograms.
4. Chalk - 2.5 kilograms.
5. Manure - 150 kilograms.

In total you will get a little more than 200 kilograms of substrate.

The straw must first be soaked for a day, then laid in layers with manure. It is better to moisten each layer of straw with urea and superphosphate. Then everything is mixed and other nutritional components are added. Now the substrate should sit for about 20 days. You can talk about complete readiness when the unpleasant smell of ammonia disappears.

You don’t have to stick to this formula; there are other recipes for growing champignons at home.

When preparing the substrate, you need to be prepared for the fermentation process to begin, which is accompanied by specific odors of ammonia and carbon dioxide, so it is better to do this not indoors, but in the fresh air. The compost should be covered with a canopy to protect it from rain and sunlight.

Planting champignon mycelium

At home, it is better to grow sterile mycelium obtained in laboratories. They take root easier and reproduce faster. Champignon myceliums come in different varieties, one type is consumed more, the other less. So, 1 square meter of substrate will require 400 grams of grain mycelium, and dung mycelium - 500 grams.

When you have decided on the amount of consumables and purchased it, you can begin the actual planting. First, you should measure the temperature of the substrate; the most optimal temperature for champignon mycelium is considered to be about 25 degrees.

So, how to grow champignon mushrooms? It is recommended to make the holes in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 20-30 centimeters from each other. The mycelium needs to be broken into small pieces and planted to a depth of 5 centimeters. The grain variety can simply be laid on the surface.

Caring for mycelium of champignons after planting

After replanting the mycelium, the conditions mentioned above must be observed. This is high humidity and fairly moderate heat. Moreover, these conditions must be met not only indoors, but also in the substrate. To keep it constantly moist, you can cover it with newspaper and spray it from time to time - then the compost will not be dry.

After about a week, the mycelium will begin to grow, then the substrate should be sprinkled with 3-4 centimeters of soil on top. The technology for growing champignons suggests that during this period it is necessary to slightly lower the temperature of the substrate to about 20 degrees, and in the room - to 12-17 degrees. Do not forget about good ventilation in the room, but drafts should not be allowed. In principle, that’s all there is to caring for mycelium.

Champignon harvest

It’s not enough to know how to grow champignons at home; harvesting also has its own nuances.

With good care, champignons bear fruit in waves for up to two months, during which time you can get mushrooms many times. You can start harvesting the first harvest after 30 days.

Champignons are not cut off like wild mushrooms, but twisted out of the substrate. Then the empty hole is covered with soil and moistened to create conditions for the emergence of a new crop. Not all mushrooms are collected, but only “ripe” ones - these are those that have a stretched white film under the cap, connecting the stem and the edges of the cap, and the plate has a pale pink color. Champignons with brown plates are not recommended for consumption. If the film bursts, then the mushroom is considered old. This should not be allowed, as it greatly depletes the mycelium.

Growing champignons - a business idea

Growing champignons was popular back in the 18th century in European countries and beyond, most often in Italy, France, America, Germany, Sweden, England and Belgium. In Russia, home production of these mushrooms began only in the 19th century, because our forests are already rich in edible gifts of nature.

Today, growing champignons is a business with good profits. If you make simple mathematical calculations, you can get up to 6 harvests in one year. Of course, there will also be costs for equipment, electricity and heating. But in general, you can get a good income from selling champignons; you just need to know who to constantly sell the resulting harvest to.

It is not surprising that today such a niche as growing champignons has already been occupied by entrepreneurs, because these mushrooms bear fruit abundantly, they are easy to grow, and the necessary raw materials (essentially waste) can be purchased for almost nothing. Of course, you can try to break into this business, but you will have to make a lot of effort to get a solid profit from it in the first months.

Now you know how to grow champignons at home, and what equipment is required for this. You can engage in production on a large scale, or you can plant these mushrooms for yourself, for your soul, to enjoy them all year round. In any case, growing champignons is an easy and even interesting task.

Champignons are fairly common mushrooms. They are grown en masse for use in the food industry, particularly in cooking. Entrepreneurs build their businesses on their breeding, which brings in good income. But experienced farmers prefer home-grown champignons. Read about this in the article.

What does soil contain?

Is it possible to grow champignons at home? Of course, this can be done by a farmer or the owner of a private farmstead without any experience. The main thing is to stock up on knowledge in this matter and strictly follow the instructions. The most labor-intensive process in growing mushrooms is preparing the soil. For a mycelium area of ​​three square meters, you will need 100 kilograms of ingredients of plant origin, which include the following:

• Straw.
• Cereal grains, you can use rye or wheat.
• Fallen plant leaves.
• Tops from tomatoes or potatoes.

In addition, the soil composition should include:

• Horse or cow manure in the amount of half a centner.
• Water - 300-400 liters.
• Urea and superphosphate in an amount of two kilograms each.
• Plaster - seven to eight, and chalk - five kilograms.

You can prepare a different composition using bird droppings. Here are the other ingredients and their quantities:

• Litter and straw - per hundredweight.
• Water - 300 liters.
• Plaster, alabaster - as in the previous composition.
• Urea - two kilograms.

Compost preparation process

First you need to make a collar with the same dimensions (one and a half meters) in width, length and height. It is with this ratio of parameters that combustion will occur properly. The compost will mature within two to three weeks.

How to grow champignons at home? First you need to plant them in soil, which is prepared as follows: all components of plant origin and straw need to be soaked for a day. At the same time, they and manure should be laid in layers, and the straw should be watered abundantly. The components contained in the pile must be thoroughly mixed and moistened once a week to ensure proper combustion. During the first mixing, crushed lime is added to the compost. The second time - superphosphate. Then mixing is carried out with the addition of crushed gypsum or alabaster. Each time after mixing, the resulting stack is covered with film.

It should be borne in mind that during the preparation of the soil an unpleasant odor similar to ammonia and carbon dioxide will be released. Therefore, it is better to do the cooking outside. But at the same time you need protection from sunlight and precipitation. If you organize the process indoors, it should be well ventilated.

How to grow champignon mushrooms at home? To do this, you need to take into account important points, without which this process is impossible. First of all, a stock of compost is made, since growing mushrooms requires a large amount of it. During its preparation, the temperature can reach from 53 to 70 o C. When the combustion process is completed, the thermometer will drop to 21-25 o C, and the unpleasant odor will disappear. The finished soil has an elastic structure and a brown color. It does not stick to your hands and the straw can be easily torn apart.

How to compost correctly?

When the preparation of the soil is completed, they begin another procedure - laying it. First you need to select the containers in which the champignons will be grown. They can be racks, wooden boxes, plastic containers, bags. The compost mass is laid out in prepared containers in a layer whose height should not exceed 22 cm.

Types of mycelium

The seed material of mushrooms is called mycelium. It is grown at home or in laboratories. There are two types of mycelium:

• Compost - this type of seed is stored for a long time at zero temperature, about a year. For a plot area of ​​one square meter, 500 g of mycelium will be required.
• Grain - this composition is more effective than the first. Seed material of this species germinates better and produces larger yields. Its consumption for the same area is less, only 330-350 g. But this mycelium has a significant drawback: a short shelf life. Its properties are preserved only for six months. Keep the seed in the refrigerator.

If champignons are grown for commercial purposes, it is better to buy planting material. But some are confused by the conditions in which it was grown, so they do it themselves. To obtain the material, you need to sow spores or isolate it from fruiting bodies, and then place it in a specially prepared medium: agar wort. Its preparation is carried out using the following technology:

• First you need to mix beer wort (one liter) and agar-agar (20 g) with boiling water.
• After dissolving the ingredients, the composition is poured into test tubes to a third of their size. Then the containers are plugged with cotton swabs and placed in an autoclave for 30 minutes at a temperature of 101 o C and 1.5 atmospheres.
• The test tubes are placed not straight, but obliquely, so that no more than 3.5 cm remains to the plugs. Now all that remains is to wait until the wort hardens.
• After this, you need to add spores or a piece of the fruiting body to the test tubes, while maintaining sterility.
• Containers should be kept in a thermostat or dark room at a temperature of 24 ° C until they become overgrown. In a couple of weeks, the nutrient medium will be absorbed by the mycelium. This means that they are completely ready for planting.

This composition is usually used by mushroom pickers to grow mycelium at home, although there are also substitutes: oat agar, carrot agar.

Technology for proper mushroom cultivation

Champignons can be grown at home using mycelium. To do this, you need to plant it correctly, and correctly select the temperature and humidity conditions in the room. If these conditions are met, the first harvest can be obtained in a year.

If the planting material is grain mycelium, you need to make grooves 30 cm deep and 50-60 cm wide in the soil. The distance between the holes should be 20 cm. In order for the temperature to normalize, you need to leave them for two to three days and only then plant the mycelium. A checkerboard pattern is used to position the mushroom body.

If compost mycelium is used to plant champignons, the technology is different. The bottom of small pits is covered with drainage. Compost is placed on top, in which the mycelium is placed. After this, the planting material is covered with it. If all the rules are followed, taking into account high-quality mycelium, after seven days you can expect the appearance of new branch threads.

After 21 days, you need to lay moist soil on top of the beds with a thickness of 25-30 cm. If the layer is larger, the bodies of the mushrooms will be blocked, and their germination will not occur soon.

In order to maintain the temperature regime in the room where mushrooms are grown, you need to temporarily install canopies or cover the soil with straw. If a white coating appears on the compost, it means it needs moisture. After watering the soil, the canopy or straw is removed.

You won't have to wait long for the first harvest, only 45 days. Mushrooms need to be collected as soon as they are ripe, since the harvest period is short, only three to four days. The next fruiting period should be expected in three to four months. The harvests of the first waves are the richest.

Champignons in bags

How to grow champignon mushrooms at home? There are many possibilities for this. Each farmstead has outbuildings and basements. They are adapted for growing mushrooms. However, you can grow champignons at home in bags made of polymer materials. This method has been used in many countries for a long time. It allows you to obtain large volumes of mushroom harvest.

You can make bags yourself from transparent polymer film of various capacities. For growing at home, 25-kilogram ones are more suitable. But the main criterion for choosing bags is convenience in carrying out work on growing champignons. And for it to be successful, you need to properly arrange the bags in the room. This is done in different ways, but the most common are the following:

• Based on the principle of chess placement. With this method, only 10% of the usable area is not used.
• Parallel placement of bags. In this case, the loss of area is even greater - 20%.

This can be compensated for by deep bags that contain more substrate. And the space between the unusual beds is used for air circulation. There are different options for growing champignons at home. If everything is done in compliance with technology, you can achieve excellent results.

Harvest in bags

The time to collect champignons is the most pleasant time. The mushrooms ripen four months after the mycelium is planted in the soil of the bag. When harvesting, you need to be extremely careful: you cannot cut mushrooms with a sharp blade or other object; they need to be twisted. After this, the mycelium is sprinkled with a nutrient substrate and watered using a spray bottle. It will bear fruit within two weeks. During this period of time, champignons are harvested after two to three days. It is advisable to use fresh rather than frozen champignons for food. Mushrooms with light plates inside the cap are useful. If the mushrooms are old, they will be brown in color, since such champignons accumulate toxic substances that can cause poisoning.

Advantages of growing champignons in bags

These mushrooms are unpretentious and can grow in a garden bed outdoors or indoors. But experienced mushroom pickers prefer to grow them in bags, since this method has a number of advantages:

• Pests and various diseases do not spread to the entire area, since if the need arises, you can always remove a specific bag from the premises.
• Thanks to the mobility of unusual beds in the form of bags, you can grow mushrooms seasonally and permanently.
• When placed, bags can be placed in several tiers on special stands. This will save space. This is especially important when growing indoors.
• The cost of polyethylene bags is lower than that of plastic containers. This is important when growing champignons in large quantities.

The disadvantage of this technology is the use of manual labor. But if the scale of cultivation is small, this is not burdensome.

Champignons in the basement

It is convenient to grow mushrooms in such a place, since the underground basement has a stable microclimate. Here, labor costs for creating optimal conditions for growing champignons are much less than, for example, in greenhouses. Growing champignons at home in the basement is not difficult, the main thing is to monitor the temperature and humidity conditions. During the incubation period, air humidity should be 75%, not lower. If the basement is dry, use a humidifier. It is important to know that spores are activated at a higher temperature - from 24 to 28 o C, and mushrooms germinate when it drops to 16 o C. The basement must meet the following requirements:

• Have concrete walls.
• Wooden covering is strictly prohibited. The floor needs to be concreted, or, in extreme cases, cemented.
• The basement must have ventilation.
• To prevent mushrooms from being damaged by insects that may enter the basement, the ventilation holes are covered with mesh.
• Walls and ceilings should be disinfected. You can use lime for this.
• If the basement is large, it needs to be divided into zones: for the incubation period and for obtaining fruiting bodies.

How to properly grow champignons at home in the country?

Growing mushrooms this way is much more difficult than, for example, in the basement. Here the choice of site for planting mycelium is of great importance. How to grow champignons at home? To do this, you need to find a place that is always in the shade and the soil never dries out. A canopy is built over the site or a darkened greenhouse is placed in this place. How are champignons grown at home (photos are presented in the article)? The mycelium is planted using standard technology. For champignons, an important condition for growth is the correct temperature and humidity. These indicators should be maintained, especially since mushrooms absolutely cannot tolerate heat. Equally important is the choice of substrate. It should contain nutrients in large quantities, and carbon dioxide in small quantities. The best option is land, which must be brought from the forest in advance.

Growing champignons in an apartment

This method is suitable for those who do not have a summer house or garden. The main task for such mushroom cultivation is to create optimal conditions under which they will grow and bear fruit normally. An example of how to grow champignons at home is presented step by step below:

• The first thing to do is to isolate any room in the apartment for growing mushrooms from the rooms in which people live.
• Measure humidity. It should be high, about 90%. If its readings are lower, you need to install a humidifier.
• To maintain optimal temperature, the room is equipped with heaters and ventilation. With their help, the temperature regime will be maintained. It should be taken into account that the mycelium germinates at 20 o C, and the fruiting bodies - at 15 o C.
• After preparing the room, the selected containers are filled with substrate.
• Mycelium is planted in them and covered with a film on top, which must be removed after the mushrooms appear.
• The soil is constantly moistened; it should not be allowed to dry out.
• When the time comes, the champignons should be collected.

Champignons can be cultivated all year round: in summer in garden beds and in winter in greenhouses. At home, this could be a cellar, barn, basement, greenhouse, etc. If there are intentions to grow them, then a special room will probably be built for this. To grow them, you don’t need a lot of light, much less the presence of sunlight; they grow well, develop and bear fruit in the dark. For them, the most important thing is the required temperature and the required moisture. The nutritious climate for champignons is a mixture of horse or cow fertilizer with wheat or rye straw.

If it is not possible to purchase horse manure, then it can be replaced with chicken or pork, adhering to certain proportions, and if straw is not available, it can be replaced with corn shoots or fallen tree leaves. The most important thing is that such components are fresh and free from pests. In order to avoid any problems, these components should be pre-processed and prepared so that the mycelium develops without problems inside the substrate and is healthy. For those who decide to grow champignons at home, it is worth immediately reminding that this activity is quite labor-intensive and requires a lot of patience, but patience and work, as a rule, are always rewarded.

Substrate preparation

Preparation of the substrate consists of placing horse manure with bedding in a cone-shaped pile and watering it with water to obtain a moisture content of 60-70 percent. Ammonium sulfate is added to this pile, which should be about 3 kg per 1 ton of substrate. Afterwards, the heap with the substrate is covered with mats, burlap or straw and left in this state to warm up. Ammonium sulfate is added to enhance the activity of bacteria that take part in the decomposition of manure. Over the course of 5 days, the pile of substrates is broken up with a pitchfork for more uniform heating. During this procedure, gypsum is added to the substrate. Its quantity should be equal to 4 kilograms per 1 ton of substrate. During the entire preparation time, the substrate is mixed 2-3 times. The finished substrate should have a uniform, dark brown consistency without the smell of ammonia, and the straw should be easy to tear.

When preparing a substrate from horse and cow mullein, with the addition of straw, these components are folded into a pile 1.5 meters high and 2-3 meters wide, after which it is constantly watered. For high-quality and uniform heating and moistening, it is constantly stirred. During the first interruption, ammonium sulfate (3 kg per 1 ton) is added, and during the third, gypsum (5 kg per 1 ton) and superphosphate (3 kg per 1 ton) are added. While mixing, thoroughly water areas that are not sufficiently moistened.

Laying the soil

At home, champignons can be cultivated on dirt floors, in enclosed spaces, on shelves or in boxes that are stacked on top of each other to save space. Ridges measuring 50x50 or 75x75cm are formed on the earthen floor. The prepared substrate is laid about 45 cm thick and compacted to obtain a thickness of about 30 cm. the sides of the ridge can be leveled with a shovel.

When using racks, the prepared substrate is placed on the racks in a layer of 30-45 cm and compacted to obtain a flat and smooth surface. Boxes for growing champignons can have arbitrary sizes, but boxes 50 cm wide, 100 cm long and 25 cm high are considered more convenient. The boxes are filled with manure and compacted, after which the thickness of the substrate should be about 23 cm. Hand tampers are used for compaction. When grown in open ground, the formation of ridges begins in early spring, as soon as the ground warms up. The substrate is laid on the ground or a dug trench, the depth of which is 20-25 cm above the beds; it is advisable to make canopies to protect the beds from sunlight or excess moisture.

Planting mycelium

Subsequently, the substrate is laid and its temperature is measured daily. Planting of mycelium begins when the temperature at a depth of 4-5 cm does not reach 27-28 degrees. For planting, sterile mycelium is purchased and grown in laboratories. Two varieties of champignons have become widespread due to their high productivity: two-spore white and two-spore brown. In laboratories, mycelium is grown on cereal grains or manure. This mycelium is sold in jars or bottles weighing 1-2 kg. Typically, from 300 to 500 grams of mushroom mycelium are consumed per square meter of substrate. Before planting, the mycelium is broken into pieces the size of a walnut or a pigeon egg. The weight of such pieces is approximately 15-20g and are placed in a wide container in one layer so as not to wrinkle. Then these pieces are planted in prepared beds or boxes at a distance of 20 cm from each other in a checkerboard pattern.

The planting technique involves lifting the substrate at the planting sites with a sharp object and making a small depression into which a piece of mycelium is placed. After this, the planting sites are closed and pressed firmly for better contact of the mycelium with the substrate.

Caring for champignons

After planting the mycelium, in order to get a harvest, future champignons need care. This content consists of maintaining the required temperature in the room at all stages and the required humidity of the substrate. Immediately after planting, the room temperature should be maintained within 24-26 degrees. During this period, the mycelium grows very actively deep into the soil and can produce a good harvest. If the temperature is higher, the mycelium will grow more in the surface layers, which will lead to less formation of fruiting bodies. In this case, the humidity should be about 60 percent. The mycelium loves moisture very much, and therefore the humidity must be constantly monitored.

After a week and a half, the mycelium is already growing well and the temperature in the room should be reduced to 18-20 degrees, and the surface of the substrate with the mycelium is covered with earth. The consistency of the soil is fine-grained and slightly moist. Before filling, it must be kneaded well and passed through a fine-mesh sieve. The soil is poured without compaction, for good access of oxygen to the mycelium. In the future, the temperature (about 16 degrees) and air moisture content (80-90%) and the humidity of the surface layer (about 60%) continue to be maintained. In this case, you need to regularly ventilate the room, as carbon dioxide accumulates in it.

Harvesting

The most interesting stage when growing champignons is harvesting. This is a very pleasant process that carries a lot of emotions and a lot of pleasure. Moreover, this is not a trip to the forest, in which you can find a dozen mushrooms, and then such a trip is remembered for a long time, and the feeling of pleasure knows no bounds. And here are whole beds of champignons, which seem to be lined up by order and according to size. So many mushrooms make your eyes wide open and, at first, you don’t know what to do with them.

Such a harvest will appear in 3-4 months, after a lot of work and a lot of patience. Mushrooms in which the film still connects the edges of the cap and the stem of the mushroom are susceptible to harvesting. Mushrooms whose membrane has already torn are considered overripe and are not recommended for consumption.

The technology for collecting champignons does not require cutting them, but requires twisting them. After this, these places are covered with earth, which is poured on top of the substrate and watered. With a good harvest, and this can only happen with good care, you can collect from 5 to 12 kg of fresh mushrooms from one square meter. After the first harvest, in about a week it will be possible to harvest another harvest.

An alternative way to grow champignons

It is possible to grow mushrooms at home in other ways, but for this they use mycelium grown in the laboratory. They are grown on compost or grain. In this regard, there are two types of them: grain and compost. Grain mycelium is usually stored at a temperature of about 4 degrees for six months. Compost mycelium is not so demanding. It can be stored at home at a temperature of no more than 20 degrees for 20 days. It is most suitable for growing indoors, although it does not produce such large yields as grain. To grow in an apartment you will need 0.5 kg of mycelium per square meter.

Before planting, the substrate should be pasteurized. As a rule, this is done by pouring boiling water over the straw. To do this, you can use some container, put straw in it and pour boiling water over it. After some time, it is pulled out and the substrate is prepared. Most likely, when growing in an apartment, boxes will be used, which are filled with a substrate that is well compacted and should spring back when pressed by hand. Before filling the substrate, you should measure its temperature, which should be within 25 degrees. The thickness of the substrate stuffed into the boxes should be no lower than the height of the boxes, about 5 cm. This will allow you to grow a good harvest of champignons in your apartment if the temperature and humidity conditions of the air and substrate are maintained.

Features of growing champignons

In order to start growing these mushrooms seriously or to grow them for yourself in your apartment for the sake of interest and pleasure, you should know about the main features of their cultivation. The peculiarities lie in the fact that growing champignons is a labor-intensive process that requires careful adherence to cultivation technologies due to the great demands of the champignon mycelium. It is important to adhere to everything here: constantly monitor the humidity and temperature of the substrate. It is important to know that the laying of fruiting bodies occurs at the moment of a temperature difference from +25 degrees to +15 degrees. It is very important! If such conditions cannot be provided, then mushrooms may not be seen. You should also know that during their growth a lot of carbon dioxide and ammonia are released and the room in which they are grown should be well ventilated.

This should be taken into account when growing mushrooms in an apartment. Mushrooms, in particular champignons, can not only be purchased in the store, but also grown independently in your apartment. Growing champignons in an apartment is the opposite way of growing, and it is realistic, since not so many of them are needed for a family, and such a quantity can always be provided with the necessary conditions.

Growing other types of mushrooms at home

Growing champignons is a complex and labor-intensive process that is difficult to master at home. For example, growing mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms is less difficult, since they are less demanding on growing conditions and technology. They can be grown, for example, in plastic bags in a suspended state or on wooden chocks, maintaining optimal humidity. In addition, they are more useful than champignons.