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Mushroom cultivation on the site attracts many summer residents. Of course, avid mushroom pickers prefer to search for boletus in the forest. And for other lovers of mushroom dishes, the opportunity to collect a basket remains more attractive without leaving the yard.
Mushrooms have always been considered a festive product, and porcini, in general, are a delicacy on the table. Borovichki is not always possible to purchase on the market, but growing independently is not only profitable, but also exciting. The main thing is to create conditions as close to natural as possible in order to get a good harvest. Growing white boletus is more difficult than oyster mushrooms, but if you put in a little effort, the result will please.
Housewives love the porcini mushroom for its meatiness, rich taste and also because the mushroom does not darken during processing. For this he is called white.
Cultivation of porcini mushrooms in a personal plot is possible in two ways:
- from the mycelium;
- from fresh caps of adult mushrooms.
You can get a crop both in a greenhouse or in another room, and in the open air.
To understand why porcini mushrooms are so fond of gardeners, it is enough to look at an adult boletus and try it.
What will we see and feel?
- A huge beautiful brown hat with a thick white leg. The older the porcini mushroom, the darker the cap becomes.
- The flesh of the porcini mushroom is juicy and dense. Does not change its color when cut, remains yellowish. In some cases, it may turn slightly pink.
- The taste is so rich and pleasant that lovers of porcini mushroom dishes do not use other types for preparing snacks.
- When cooked, porcini mushrooms emit a very tasty aroma that overshadows the smell of other foods.
If you decide to start growing porcini mushrooms, then first you need to familiarize yourself with the requirements of forest beauties for growing conditions.
Features and conditions for growing boletus
Under natural conditions, the porcini mushroom grows in close interaction with trees or symbiosis. The most favorite for white boletus are conifers - spruce and pine, as well as birch and oak. In addition, the preferred age of trees is not less than 35-50 years, so not too large a harvest can be collected in young pine forests.
He loves the white mushroom of the forest, where:
- the soil is covered with mosses and lichens;
- no sudden changes in temperature;
- there are comfortable neighbors - chanterelles, greenfinches, green russula;
- the average air temperature at the end of summer is 18 ° С, and in September - 10 ° С;
- sunlight penetrates well;
- the composition of the soil belongs to sandy loam or, in general, well-drained sand;
- there are no ferns and hoofs in the neighborhood.
How to grow a lot of porcini mushrooms? To do this, you need to adhere to certain rules so that the mushroom is in its usual conditions.
It is necessary to choose a place for growing porcini mushrooms on the site, taking into account all the parameters, so that the result does not disappoint and the efforts expended are not lost. It's great if there are already mature trees at least 7-10 years old, and the place is well lit and humid /
It is good to bring the soil from the place where the parent porcini mushroom is taken. Boletus will not grow in any land, they are demanding on the composition of the soil and do not grow well in uncomfortable conditions for them. You need to know that sudden changes in temperature, excessive shade or moisture, lack of fresh air will negatively affect the growth of white boletus.Therefore, before starting the cultivation of porcini mushrooms on the site, double-check the availability of all the necessary conditions.
If you decide to grow a boletus crop indoors, then:
- the selected space should be well ventilated;
- it should be possible to maintain the optimal temperature (from + 8 ° C to + 12 ° C);
- the humidity level should not go beyond 90% -92%;
- it will have to be provided with artificial light sources with low brightness.
For indoor cultivation, a greenhouse structure, a basement, a warehouse or an outbuilding is suitable.
How to grow porcini mushrooms
Option for growing boletus in a mycelium plot
This method helps out lovers of porcini mushrooms when there is no time to look for forest "parents" or there is no forest nearby. To grow porcini mushrooms this way, you will need to purchase mycelium.
At the time of buying a mycelium, immediately specify the following information about it:
- variety and strain;
- mold resistance;
- the rate of fouling;
- shelf life.
You can independently determine the quality of the mycelium by its appearance and smell. A good mycelium of porcini mushrooms has a deep red color with small yellow blotches. But if the specks are black or green and the smell of ammonia is felt, then the purchased product should be returned. After purchase, store mycelium on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature of + 4 ° C, but not more than 3 months.
In addition to the finished mycelium, you will need to prepare:
- a plot with growing coniferous or deciduous trees;
- fallen leaves, moss, small branches;
- matured compost.
Now we start preparing the substrate in which the planted porcini mushroom will grow. A high-quality substrate consists of sawdust of deciduous trees, straw, sunflower husks, buckwheat groats. There may be other components, but one important condition is that there are no rotten inclusions or mold!
Before planting the mycelium of porcini mushrooms, the substrate is saturated with moisture. This is done in two ways of processing - steam or boiling water. The mixture can be processed in plastic bags.
The ideal time for planting porcini mushrooms on the site is the warm season from May to September.
When everything is ready, we proceed to the next stage - planting.
At the chosen place for planting around the tree, remove the top layer of earth as thick as a shovel's bayonet (20 cm). We leave the tree in the center, and around it we expose an area with a diameter of 1 m to 1.5 m.
Put compost on top of the bare circle. It can be replaced with soil that contains a lot of peat. The thickness of the bookmark is no more than 2 cm. Now we place the mycelium in a checkerboard pattern every 30 cm. One package of mycelium is used for one tree.
Cover with a layer of soil and water. We take the soil that was removed earlier under the tree, pour water through a sprayer. For one bookmark (1 tree) we spend 2-3 buckets.
Cover the area where the mycelium of porcini mushrooms was planted with straw to maintain moisture. We water it periodically so that our mycelium does not dry out. Gardeners add biological products ("Baikal EM-1") to the water during irrigation to increase germination.
In the winter months, we cover the mycelium with spruce branches, fallen leaves or straw. The radius of the shelter must be at least 2 m. In the spring, do not forget to remove it after the threat of return frosts has passed.
The first mushroom harvest is obtained a year after the mycelium has taken root. The growth of porcini mushrooms will continue for 4 years. Irrigation with biological products increases the harvest time to 7 years.
Planting option for mushroom caps
This method also requires trees around which you will grow porcini mushrooms on the site. But the seed material will have to be obtained independently in the forest. You need to collect the caps of mature porcini mushrooms.
The minimum quantity is 7-10 pieces. Choose specimens with cap diameters of at least 15-20 cm. Break one cap and look at the color of the flesh at the break. It should be greenish.If the white fungus is infected with insect larvae, do not pay attention to this.
We start landing.
First, we prepare the material - mushroom caps:
We put them in a bucket filled with water and leave for a day. It's good if it's rainwater.
After getting wet, knead the caps right in the water. The pieces should be small to get a homogeneous mass. We filter it through a sieve. We also leave the remaining pulp for planting.
We prepare the place under the tree, as in the previous version.
The planting process is slightly different. We do not cover the bare area with a layer of soil, but pour the spores of porcini mushrooms directly onto the roots of the tree. Lay out the remaining mushroom pulp on top.
Cover with removed soil and water. Also neat and plentiful (up to 5 buckets).
Care requirements remain the same - we maintain humidity, warmth and cover for the winter.
One watering requires 4-5 buckets of water. Naturally, in the rainy season, it is reduced.
In one place they harvest 3-4 years. Then new spores are planted using the same technology.
When growing porcini mushrooms in a greenhouse, be sure to monitor the room humidity and lighting.
Tips & Tricks
To improve the survival rate of porcini mushrooms, you can use the advice of experienced summer residents:
- Try to collect white boletus under trees that are identical to where you will plant them on the site. Use separate seed bags from different trees.
- The collected caps are soaked immediately after harvesting, and the next day they are sown. Due to their rapid decomposition, it is not recommended to store them.
- Don't freeze the mushrooms for seeding - it won't work. You will not get any crop or seedlings.
- Add alcohol or sugar to the soaking water for mushroom caps to increase their chances of survival. It will take 4 tbsp. tablespoons of alcohol or 50 g of granulated sugar in a bucket of water.
- Be sure to disinfect the area prepared for planting. An infusion of black tea (for 1 liter of boiling water 50 g of tea leaves) or oak bark (boil 30 g of bark in 1 liter of water for an hour) is well suited. Processing is done with a cooled infusion.
- Plant porcini mushrooms on the site no later than mid-September.
- Horse manure is considered the best compost for white champignon.
Of course, growing porcini mushrooms on the site requires patience and effort, but the resulting crop will make you forget about the hassle. This process is successful the first time, even for novice gardeners.
