Mushrooms grow quickly compared to most fruits and vegetables, and don't take up precious space in your garden. Most hobbyists start out with oyster mushrooms because they are the easiest to grow. Mushrooms are a healthy addition to any diet, as they are low in calories and fat, high in fiber, and contain high amounts of potassium and selenium Mushrooms are best grown indoors where the temperature and light conditions can be more readily managed.

Things You’ll Need to grow your own oyster mushrooms are:
• Straw (Wheat Straw Works Best)
• Robust plastic bags, medium or large size
• Oyster mushroom spawn (which you can get online or You may
need to find your local supplier)
• Spray bottle and water

Method.
Before you begin, wash your hands and clean all your surfaces well. It’s very important to be hygienic when cultivating mushrooms, as you do not want to grow the wrong types of fungi.

Once you’ve got all the materials, the first thing you need to do is pasteurize the straw. this essentially means heating the straw in water to around 70-75 degrees Celsius and holding it at that temperature for around 45-60 minutes. Pasteurization kills the bacteria.
Before you put the straw in the pot, cut up into small pieces, around 1 to 3 inches in length.

Once you’ve pasteurized the straw, take it out of the heating pot with tongs and let it sit in a clean tub while it cools down. It’s important you don’t put the mushroom spawn into the straw until the straw is at room temperature otherwise you will kill the spawn.


When the straw has cooled down, pack your robust plastic bags with straw quite tightly, and then distribute some of the mushroom spawn throughout the straw.
put about three or four pieces of spawn-covered dowel in each bag.
The straw should not be dripping wet, but it should still be damp from the pasteurization.

At this stage, sterilize a skewer or a nail by pouring boiling water over it and jab holes in the bags every 3 inches or so. This lets some air in, but not too much. The mouth of the bag should be closed with rubber-band or tread.
You now have to find a home for you mushrooms. Keep them out of direct sunlight. They like some indirect light and grows best at around 15-20 degrees Celsius.
Now you wait while the mushroom spawn develops into mycelium and begins taking over the entire bag. Mycelium looks a bit like white furry cobwebs, and you should start seeing it develop in the first couple of weeks. It’s important that your bags of straw stay moist, but not dripping wet. spray some water if required.


About 4 weeks later the mycelium should have spread across the entire bag of straw and your mushrooms should start forming. cut some slightly larger holes in the bag if necessary. The mushrooms will decide that they want to grow out of one or more of the holes you’ve created, and they’ll usually grow in one or two clusters.


Now comes the fun part. The mushrooms essentially double in size every day, so within a week or so you should have good-sized oyster mushrooms. Mist them with water two or three times a day over this period – again, not so they are dripping, just so they are moist. The mushrooms should be harvested while their rims are still curled over a little and pointing downwards. If their rims seem to be turning upward, it’s probably time to harvest.
To harvest the mushrooms give them a twist at the base. This ensures that you leave the very bottom of the mushroom still in the bag. You want to leave that part behind as it is needed for the subsequent flushes of mushrooms. If you keep the mushrooms moist and in suitable conditions, you should get three or four flushes of mushrooms,

When your bags stop producing, the straw can be used as mulch for the garden. Alternatively, you can distribute some of your straw into new bags of fresh straw and the growing process begins again.
If there are any mushroom experts out there, be sure to share your advice in the comments below.

mushrooms video clip credit :   • Video  


NOTE: The materials and the information contained on Natural ways channel are provided for general and educational purposes only and do not constitute any legal, medical or other professional advice on any subject matter. None of the information on our videos is a substitute for a diagnosis and treatment by your health professional. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new diet or treatment and with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, promptly contact your health care provide.


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