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White mushroom or boletus is considered the king of the forest. A strong man found in a clearing is always rejoiced. But as a rule, to collect a basket of mushrooms, you have to go a long distance. Many of our readers are interested in the question of whether it is possible to create a mushroom meadow on your site. The answer is unequivocal. Moreover, they grow not only white, but other varieties of forest mushrooms, including champignons.
The selection of the mycelium of porcini mushrooms and how to grow it will be discussed in the article. But you need to remember that for the success of the business, you need to create conditions similar to those in the forest. First of all, trees should grow on the site, because it is with their root system that fungi form a symbiosis, receiving the necessary nutrients. In return, these unique creations of nature protect and protect trees from pests and diseases.
What are mushrooms
Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals. This is a special kingdom of nature. They need dead organics to feed. The cells contain chitin, exactly the same as that of insects.
The cells of the organism of the fungus are united into threads. Moreover, they grow not chaotically, but in a certain order. As a result, certain forms of the leg and hats with different colors and structures are obtained.
Animals that feed on edible mushrooms carry spores far from the place of growth, where myceliums are later formed.
Description of porcini mushrooms
Porcini mushrooms or boletus, representatives of the bolet family. These are tubular representatives of nature. The stem of the mushroom is in the shape of a barrel, very dense. Its height reaches 24 cm, and its thickness is about 10 cm.
The color of the cap can be white or reddish-brown with white veins. It all depends on how much light the mushroom receives during growth. In addition, the color changes with age. The hat is often convex, in the old porcini mushroom it is up to 50 cm. For cutting for food, it is better to take boletus with a diameter of no more than 10 cm. The hat is matte, after rain it forms mucus.
The flesh of the boletus is juicy, its color remains whitish-yellow on the cut. It contains nutrients and useful trace elements. Fresh porcini mushrooms are pickled, fried, dried, and delicious and aromatic mushroom soups are prepared. Some peoples do not heat boletus mushrooms, but use them raw.
The industrial cultivation of boletus is not practiced in any country, despite the popularity of the mushroom. It is believed that such production is unprofitable. But amateurs can open a quiet hunt right on their site if they populate a certain area with mycelium.
What conditions do porcini mushrooms need
Before you start growing the mycelium of the porcini mushroom, you need to take care of certain conditions, bringing them as close as possible to their natural environment. We present to your attention the table.
Conditions | Natural conditions |
Symbiosis | In the meadow, where boletus mushrooms are found, spruces and pines, oaks and birches most often grow. |
Old or young trees | The age of the trees where mushroom pickers find boletus is more than 50 years. The pine forest can be half as large. |
What mushrooms grow in the neighborhood | Zelenushka, chanterelle, green russula |
Temperature | At the end of July - August, when the air warms up to 18 degrees, you can go hunting. In September, porcini mushrooms grow at temperatures ranging from 8 to 10 degrees. |
The soil | There should be a cushion of moss and lichens on the surface.The soil is usually loam, sand with a deep drainage pad. |
Air humidity | Short rains and thunderstorms, after which there are fogs - go for mushrooms. |
Shine | It grows in the sun, but also tolerates shading well. |
As you can see from the table, boletus mushrooms are not such whimsical mushrooms, and you can always create suitable conditions for growing them. Especially if there are old pines, birches, oaks on the site. Look for a spot that is lit but not too damp. There should be a pillow of fallen leaves or needles under the trees. Indeed, to feed future mushrooms, rotted organic matter is needed: the boletus themselves do not have the ability to process it. If ferns or hoofed birds grow on the site, then they need to be pulled out.
Well, now about the planting material and the cultivation of mycelium.
White mushroom mycelium, how to prepare
As a rule, artificial cultivation of any mushroom requires a high-quality, viable mycelium. It is he who is an excellent planting material.
But here's how to grow the mycelium of porcini mushrooms on your own and get a mushroom clearing on your site?
Let's consider all possible ways:
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The first way. Lovers of mushroom pickers know the glades in the forest, on which there are many boletus mushrooms. You will have to go into the forest with a shovel in order to dig up fruit bodies with a lot of soil and carefully place the planting material in a basket. The soil is cut into an area of 15x25 cm so as not to damage the mycelium. You need to choose mushrooms that have large caps, since they are already ripe, ready to reproduce their own kind, spores. It does not matter whether the fruiting body is wormy or dry.
This method of harvesting mycelium is convenient in that the soil with the mycelium and the natural growing conditions are transferred to a new place. Immediately upon arrival from the forest, plant the mycelium in a permanent place, after removing part of the garden land. Although there is one danger: along with the soil, pests may appear in your garden. There is no certainty that only porcini mushrooms will grow in you, because in the soil taken from the forest there may be spores of other representatives of the mushroom kingdom. - Second way. To grow mycelium, choose a well-ripened cap of a large mushroom in the forest. It should show signs of decomposition.
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Third way. Buying ready-made mycelium. They put it on a prepared place and wait for the harvest. This method allows you to get a pure culture, therefore, by purchasing the mycelium of porcini mushrooms, you will get exactly them. Although it all depends on the conscientiousness of the manufacturers.
Preparing planting material
There are different options for growing mycelium. Let's consider them in more detail.
First option
Having cut off the boletus cap with ripe spores, we need to grow mycelium:
- Dissolve potassium permanganate (1 gram) in a bucket of rainwater.
- Add refined sugar (15 pieces). We will have a nutrient medium for growing mycelium.
- The fruit bodies, namely the caps, must be thoroughly crushed to obtain a homogeneous mass.
- Dip the gruel into the nutrient solution and leave to infuse.
- After 6-7 hours, when the mass in the bucket resembles a suspension, the solution must be filtered through cheesecloth.
- Use a watering can to spray spores in the designated areas between the growing trees. After that, spill the area with clean water so that the spores settled on the blades of grass fall to the ground. From time to time, if there is no rain, the "plantings" need to be moistened so that the mycelium and the resulting myceliums do not dry out.
Second option
If you decide to use store-bought mycelium for breeding boletus, then you should start planting in May. At this time, we make the first "crops" and, under proper conditions, we get the harvest already in the fall. You can plant mycelium until September.
Operating procedure:
- Find a location under the trees with plenty of light and moisture. Remove soil up to a depth of 30 cm over three square meters.It is for such an area that one packet of dry mycelium is enough, intended for growing fruit bodies.
- At the bottom we add bark, foliage and needles taken from the forest. The layer should be at least ten centimeters.
- Humus or fertile soil is poured upstairs.
- The powder with mycelium should be mixed with one liter of sand and sown on the prepared area. To prevent the mycelium from being blown out by the wind and washed away by watering or rain, sprinkle it with compost on top with a layer of 4 cm.
- For watering, use a watering can with a fine nozzle. But it is best to carry out drip irrigation.
Further actions for growing mycelium are in timely watering so that the soil does not dry out. Over time, mycelium forms, and the first mushrooms appear. This method of growing mycelium allows you to pick mushrooms in one place for at least 5 years.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is possible to grow porcini mycelium at home if there are coniferous or deciduous trees in the garden. To make the mushroom plantation look natural, make paths that imitate forest paths. Growing mushroom bodies on the site, you can go on a "quiet" hunt at any convenient time.
