Honey mushrooms are tasty and unpretentious mushrooms that can grow on any soil. Knowing some of the nuances of cultivation, you can get a quality product at home. How mushrooms are grown at home or in the garden, as well as possible difficulties and little secrets, will be discussed later.

Mushrooms: what kind of mushrooms

The name “honey agarics” itself speaks of the place where the fungus grows (logs, stumps, large branches). Often they are considered parasitic organisms that infect and slowly destroy wood. Under natural conditions, honey mushrooms grow in large colonies on old, damaged trees and stumps.

The mycelium begins to bear fruit in the fall, and the result can be obtained before frost.

Honey mushrooms - an edible variety of mushrooms, characterized by high nutritional characteristics. In addition, they contain many biologically active elements, vitamins and amino acids, which allows them to be used in scientific medicine and pharmacology.

Breeding honey mushrooms artificially does not require any preparation or deep knowledge - any beginner can cope with this. Just follow the recommendations and follow the instructions.

Did you know? Honey mushrooms began to be artificially cultivated several centuries ago in Japan. This culture was called "enokitake" - a winter Japanese mushroom.

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Several varieties of honey agarics grow in nature, but only two can grow in artificial conditions without loss of taste:

• summer;
• winter (the so-called flammulin).

Actually the winter look attracts with its gentle, unique taste.

They are used fresh and dried, and both hats and legs are taken for processing (unlike wild relatives). Flammulin hats are red-yellow in color, grow up to 9 cm in diameter. The flesh is yellowish, with a pleasant mushroom taste. Under natural conditions, mushrooms ripen in the fall and can stand until December, and with frequent thaws - until February.

Important! Winter mushrooms contain mild toxic substances that are destroyed 20 minutes after cooking.

Summer the variety is slightly smaller - a hat up to 6 cm. Their flesh is watery, and the taste is soft, not pronounced. Mushroom pickers argue that they can be eaten raw, just ripping off the hemp. In the natural environment, this species grows in colonies on rotten wood.

If the climate is mild, then you can collect such mushrooms all year round.

A rare species - poplar honey agaric. The place of growth can be not only the stump of poplar, but also a maple log. This variety is distinguished by a nutty flavor and friable structure.

But poplar honey has a big drawback: it is stored for no more than a day, and in frozen form - no longer than a week.

Perhaps the most rare form is marble. Such mushrooms are classified as delicacies. They taste sweetish, nutty, crispy. This variety is also valued for its lack of fat and a high concentration of nutrients. In the cold, stored no longer than 1-1.5 weeks.

Any housewife, even a beginner, knows that mushrooms need to be soaked in water. But just not marble - they absorb moisture and become fragile.

Why it is worth growing mushrooms

Artificial honey agaric is an appetizing mushroom that even a novice mushroom picker can cultivate both in the garden and at home. The most important thing is to stick to technology. Home mushrooms are distinguished by tender and juicy flesh. They are used for making soups, dressings, roasts.

Indeed, a unique aroma is preserved even during heat treatment. In addition, a mushroom garden can bring decent money. In Europe, many are engaged in such a business.

Did you know? Disputes of scientists about what mushrooms are like — fauna or flora — ended in 1960. Then a special kingdom of Mushrooms was singled out. In terms of protein concentration, they are close to the animal kingdom, and in terms of content (mineral composition and carbohydrates) they must be attributed to plants.

Conditions for growing honey mushrooms

If cultivation is carried out in a closed room, then it should be well ventilated. These organisms do not need bright light - it is enough to cultivate them in the gloom. True, in such a situation, the mushroom caps will be faded. But the taste characteristics of this will not change.

In the open, it is better to choose a shaded area so that a sufficient level of moisture is maintained and the mycelium does not dry out. Humidity should be high (at least 70%) and uniform - This favorably affects the growth of mushrooms. In addition, preventive work against the appearance of diseases should be periodically carried out.

Important! At different phases of growth, a temperature should be provided within + 10 ... + 25 ° C.

Places where you can grow mushrooms

Home mushrooms can be planted both in the apartment and in the summer cottage. Outdoor planting should begin in mid-spring or in August. In closed areas, honey mushrooms are planted year-round.

Methods and technologies for growing

Planting by any technology will allow you to grow fragrant mushrooms, not inferior in quality to their forest counterparts. Harvests can be taken generously, and the cultivation process will be profitable and exciting.

On the stumps

It is better to grow mushrooms on the remains of trees in the open air in the warm period (April – September). In the room using this method, mushrooms can be cultivated all year round. In the garden, a site for planting is chosen in partial shade.

Important! The tree should be cut at most 30 days before planting the mycelium.

At the same time, stumps of such crops are used for planting:

• acacia;
• Birch tree;
• beech;
• hornbeam;
• pear;
• aspen;
• poplar;
• Apple tree.

The stump should not have signs of decay, it should be well moistened and not have branches. The presence of bark is allowed. If the stump or the log is dry, they can be soaked in plain water for 2-3 days. Then, they are left in partial shade for several days so that the stump is aerated and excess moisture is removed.

In the prepared hemp, holes 0.8–1 cm wide and 5–6 cm deep are made. The mycelium will be placed in these recesses. After placing the mycelium, the recesses are covered with needles or moss. To maintain a sufficient degree of moisture, from time to time the soil near the stump needs to be moistened.

The results of planting can be hoped for next summer, and mushrooms can be harvested 5-7 years from the moment of planting until the stump completely falls apart. In the early years, the harvest will not be very plentiful, but over time it will increase by 2–4 times.

Method for laying wood-based mycelium:1 - Drill on the prepared log 20 holes with a diameter of 10 mm and a depth of 5 - 6 cm in a checkerboard pattern without affecting the core; 2, 3 - Insert the sticks with mycelium into the holes until they stop and cover with plasticine or wax. Make sure that no debris enters the wood; 4 - On the surface, in places of infection, traces of mycelium are visible; 5 - Logs completely covered with plaque of mycelium are planted at a constant place of fruiting.The main disadvantage of this method is the fact that the mycelium sprouts slowlyTherefore, it is recommended to cover the hemp with a film to maintain and enhance its growth. The positive point is that this method does not require serious financial injections, and the process itself is easy to implement for any beginner.

Did you know? Honey agaric is considered a parasite fungus. It can affect about 200 species of trees and shrubs. May even parasitize on herbaceous plants.

On the straw

Straw is an excellent substrate for the cultivation of honey mushrooms.. The use of any cereal straw (barley, oats, rye, etc.) is allowed. Before use, it is better to grind (pass through a grinder) or simply grind. The smaller the particles, the greater the moisture capacity of the substrate.

Chopped straw is placed in a container. 12 hours before planting the mycelium, the straw is steamed in hot water. You can add a combined mineral supplement to the liquid. After cooling the straw, mycelium is added to it and mixed well.

The infected substrate is laid out in plastic bags, laid on shelves or suspended. After 3-4 days, 5-6 cm long slits are cut in the bags. After 14-20 days, honey agarics will germinate.1 - moisturizing and mixing the substrate; 2 - mixing pasteurized substrate with mycelium; 3 - drawing cuts on a bag filled with seeded substrate; 4 - placement of blocks for growing mushrooms on racks with vertical suspension.

• Cons of this method:
• labor-intensive method;
• need a separate room.

• Among the advantages of this method, note:
• bags with obsolete mycelium are easier to change;
• if honey agarics is affected by rot or infection, the bags can be quickly removed, thereby avoiding infection of the entire plantation;
• the ability to place packages in tiers, while saving space.

Did you know? The largest organism on Earth is the honey agaric, which grows in Oregon (USA), in the Malur National Wildlife Refuge. Body size is 890 ha. It was not possible to establish the exact age, but, according to scientists, the fungus is 2000–8000 years old. At first it was believed that the area was populated by different clusters. But a more detailed study revealed that this is a single organism.

Sawdust

The main advantage of this method: you can use a house or a city apartment for cultivation. And this means that it is possible to grow mushrooms not only in summer, but also in winter. The main disadvantage is the fact that sawdust must be disinfected.

You can cut mushrooms after 45 days. One three-liter jar will produce about 1,500 g of mushrooms.

The process itself is as follows:

1. Two parts of the crushed sawdust (3-4 mm in size) and part of the fine chips are mixed and boiled. Then let the moisture drain.
2. When the mixture has cooled, the nutrient components are mixed into it. For 1 kg take: 8 g of starch, 25 g of oat and corn flour.
3. In glass containers (this can be 1, 2 and 3-liter jars) for 2/3 lay the mixture and lightly tamp. Then the jars are placed in a large container and boiled for two hours.
4. When the sawdust has cooled down to + 25 ° C, 5–7 cm deep holes are made with a sterile rod. The mycelium should be planted there.
5. After filling all the openings, the containers are sent to a dark place with constant temperature indicators + 24 ° C and humidity 80–85%.

To keep moisture in the substrate, the home mushroom garden is covered with lids with slots, and cotton wool on top. After the mycelium sprouts, the temperature is lowered to + 14 ... + 16 ° C.

In the mycelium

To get fresh mushrooms at home, you can plant a mycelium. It is removed in the natural habitat of mushrooms - the forest. You can find it on obsolete, decayed stumps.

Mycelium is a cream-colored filamentous body.

Take the mycelium along with pieces of wood and tie it in small pieces (about 2 cm²) into the recesses prepared in advance in the stump. Then the stump is well moistened, wood chips or moss are laid on top, and then the film.

In early June, the shelter is removed and the first crop is cut. The main advantage is the fact that, unlike other methods, the result in this case will not be in a year, but in 8-10 months. Among the shortcomings, one can note the risk of getting low-quality mycelium and the fact that the crop will depend on the weather.

Important! In winter, the deck is insulated with coniferous branches.

Features, nuances and secrets when growing

Experienced mushroom pickers claim that no matter how simple the method of cultivation is chosen, certain rules must be followed.

Basically, recommendations come down to these tips:

1. The room should be equipped so that it is possible to regulate temperature indicators at each stage of the growing season. To do this, build a ventilation system, heating and humidification. Deficiency of fresh air is fraught with low growth of mushrooms.
2. Soil can be chosen different. The main rule: it should not contain signs of mold or rot.
3. Tanks with cultivated mushrooms are best placed on shelves. The main condition - they must be metal, wooden quickly rot.
4. It is better to purchase ready-made mushrooms from trusted suppliers. Only in this case, you can have a guarantee that it is not infected with pathogenic bacteria.
5. Before harvesting mycelium, it should be disinfected: treat with boiling water or steam.
6. Storage and processing of crops should be carried out in isolated areas. It is also advisable to provide a place for processing the produced substrate. It should be at a distance from the mushroom plantation.

The main difficulty in the cultivation of domestic mushrooms is the rapid dispersion of spores. If the growing place is a summer house, and the plantation is located on the street, it is enough to dig a trench. A special room is allocated in the room.

As you can see, cultivating honey agarics on their own cannot be called easy production. As in any business, certain rules must be followed. But the advice of experienced mushroom pickers will help in this lesson, which over time can turn into an exciting business. The resulting crop will delight you and your loved ones, and possibly grow into a profitable business.