Mushroom mycelium

Probably you all already know that the fungus itself is nothing but the fruiting body generated from the mycelium (that is the vegetative apparatus of fungi), and has the task to release the spores, to allow reproduction. So pick a fungus is more like grasping a fruit, rather than to cut down a tree. That said, the first target of those who want to bring the mushroom cultivation must be to obtain, in fact, the mycelium. In nature it is presented as a compact mold, and it is located underground, or into the trunks of rotting wood (or living trees), and assumes various colors depending on the species (white in most of the cases). Often rises to the surface, infact it is sufficient to enter any wet forest to run into patches of mycelium here and there, like these.

Contrary to what the "muggles" often think, to get mushrooms artificially we do not start from spores, but right from mycelium. Like all living organisms, the mycelium is also equipped with its own genetic material, and therefore there will be the most resistant and prolific, and the weaker one, that is even unable to bear fruits. In fact the characteristics of the mycelium result from the quality of the spores it has generated from; weak spores will produce weak mycelium. Therefore, for cultivation you will need to use the mycelium that appears stronger and more resilient, and which possibly has already been tested for its ability to fruit.

The first objective of the neo-grower will be to get the mycelium with these features. There are several ways to reproduce and preserve long-term mycelium. The most widely used by beginners (since achievable with raw, easy to find, materials) is liquid culture, or mycelium grown in a solution of water and nutrients of various types (honey, sugar, maple syrup, etc.).

A more "professional" way is to cultivate mycelium on agar-agar jelly, contained in Petri dishes. This procedure, however, requires more expensive equipment in order to be implemented, and is usually learned at a later period. Here are a couple of images, to help you understand:

This is mycelium of Coprinus comatus, aka Shaggy mane, looking "cottony" and white (photo does not do at most)

 

This is instead mycelium of Lepista nuda, aka wood blewit, with the characteristic violet color.

Mycelium is normally stored at low temperatures (4-5 C, 49-41 F), the refrigerator is just fine) to slow-down growth and aging: in fact, like all living organisms, after some time mycelium grows old, becoming weaker and less productive, and finally dies. However, if stored properly, it may keep viable for years. You can multiply mycelium in your possession simply by taking a sample piece and placing it in another petri dish or jar with water and honey: within a few days mycelium begins to recover and colonize the new support. This operation may not be repeated endlessly, because from transfer to transfer mycelium grows old, with the previously mentioned drawbacks. Therefore, it will be sufficient to maintain a "main", spare culture in the refrigerator, from which we will derive others to work with. When these will be less productive, just back-up from our "reserve" and transfer it back to other media, in order to have new, young material to work with.

Well, I think that's enough for now :)