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 :)

Introduction

This is the exact translation in English of my Italian blog http://coltivarefunghi.blogspot.it/ about mushroom cultivation, so please forgive the numerous mistakes I'll make and my poor padronance of the language.

Hello everyone,

You may have seen for sale, at the indoor gardening and DIY, grow kit (usually straw bales, covered with a white mold) of various mushrooms species.What you will need is to put in a humid place and water it from time to time, and then wait, to see many small mushrooms that quickly growing. Within a month, however, the bale runs out and stops producing: if you want to see again the wonder of a growing fungus day by day, then you have to buy a new one. This, unless you want to try to produce your own, starting from zero. It is, in fact, possible to produce from raw materials such as straw, sawdust, manure and other, depending on the species you intend to grow. It sounds easy, but I assure you it is not :)

There's now to say that not all the species of fungi can be grown. At present, they can successfully produce only a few. Mushrooms in fact are divided into two categories: saprophytic / parasites, which feed on organic materials that is dead or alive (for example, by decomposing already dead trees, or growing on living ones) and mycorrhizal, that means, that they are associated with the roots of certain trees , with which they exchange nutrients. Porcinis and chanterelles, just to clarify, belong to the second category, which is currently not possible to grow with good results. Moreover, not all saprophytic / parasites can be grown successfully, then the species, so to speak, "usable" for our purposes become rather few, when compared with the immense number of existing species. This is not necessarily a disadvantage, since you can always experiment with new techniques and species, thus contributing, in our small way, to scientific research ... having fun! :)

Certainly the mushroom cultivation "amateur" is not a simple hobby, but it is certainly able to give more of a satisfaction. If the mysterious world of mushrooms fascinates you, and you need to succeed in growing, then you are right!

Over the next post I will try to explain, the basic techniques and gradually more complex ones that are able to learn from when I started, about two years ago.

You will not have to be discouraged by the first failures, which frequently occur at the beginning (and even after!)

Enjoy the reading!