Mushroom Growing Medium (Subtrate)

There are 3 ways to obtain a perfect growing medium. The first two are easy, the third method “make your own” is much more complicated and is best used by those with room both inside and outside to undertake the project

1. The easiest way to get started is to purchase a kit. The kit will come with an inoculated growing medium. Just follow the instructions and wait.
2. Purchase a prepared growing medium and inoculate the medium yourself. This may be the other way you are going to grow some of the more rare and exotic varieties.
3. The third method is to make your own growing medium. This tends to be a large composting project and can only be used if you have the space and time available. When starting from scratch, sterilization and pasteurization are the most essential components in making a quality mushroom compost as the risk of contamination is the number one threat to a quality mushroom crop. Temperature and humidity also play an essential role. Because of the larger scope of this procedure, we will leave it out of this discussion and revisit it, in depth, at a later time.

What is a Growing Medium?

Mushrooms grow on decaying material, called a substrate. The substrate must be thoroughly sterilized for the mushrooms to grow properly. The growing medium should be an organic material that features carbohydrates such as sugar, lignin, cellulose or starch.

When you purchase a Mushroom growing Kit, a sterile and balanced substrate will be included. Just remember that once the growing period has ended, this substrate will no longer be viable. You will have either buy another kit or buy a substrate or a spawn bag to obtain another harvest.

Get growing medium

Again, there are some choices. You can purchase a spawn bag. This will give you a sterile strata which you can inoculate. Another option would be to create your own spawn bags.

General rules for Planting Mushrooms.

Purchase mushroom spawn from a catalog gardening seed company. Then, break up the spawn into pieces smaller than golf balls and plant them in your growing medium so they are about 8 inches apart and 2 inches deep. Check the room temperature to ensure it remains about 70 degrees Fahrenheit for 21 days, and keep the room dark. Then, drop the temperature to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and cover the growing medium with potting soil. An ideal location for growing mushrooms is in a cool, dark area such as a cellar or basement or even the area under the kitchen sink. Make sure the temperature does not drop to below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Note: When your mushrooms begin growing, check to make sure they are white. If they look pink, they are infested with bacteria and should be thrown away.

Watering
Your mushroom planting soil should be moist but not excessively wet. Water your mushrooms using a gentle spray nozzle attached to a garden hose or with a water spray bottle. Getting your mushroom growing soil too moist can attract pests such as sow bugs as well as lead to mushroom plant diseases. Do not water the topsoil unless the soil feels powdery.

Popular Edible Mushrooms

The most popular edible mushrooms

	Agaricus (white mushroom, button mushroom) Widely available; varies in color from white to light brown and in size from small to jumbo stuffer; plump and dome-shaped; pleasing flavor intensifies when cooked. Mature Agaricus with open veils have an intensely rich taste. Agaricus is quite versatile, being excellent for use both raw and cooked. Also available canned and dried. AKA - common mushroom, button mushroom, white mushroom, table mushroom, champignon mushroom, crimini mushroom, Swiss brown mushroom, Roman brown mushroom, Italian brown, Italian mushroom, cultivated mushroom, or when mature, the Portobello mushroom Grow your own: Seasonal White Button Mushroom Growing Kit
	Chanterelle (girolle) Vase-shaped; ranging in color from bright yellow to orange; nutty and delicate flavor and texture; expensive when fresh; also available dried and canned. Add late in the cooking process to avoid toughening. Use in salads, sauces and risottos. AKA - girolle, egg mushroom, pfifferling
	Crimini (Italian brown) Naturally dark cap that ranges in color from light tan to rich brown; rich, earthy flavor is more intense than that of the button (Agaricus). Substitute for button mushrooms to add a more full-bodied flavor. The mature version of the crimini is the Portabello. AKA - common mushroom, button mushroom, white mushroom, table mushroom, champignon mushroom, crimini mushroom, Swiss brown mushroom, Roman brown mushroom, Italian brown, Italian mushroom, cultivated mushroom, or when mature, the Portobello mushroom
	Enoki Long stems and tiny, snow-white caps; small white mushrooms are joined at the base and resemble bean sprouts; light and mild, almost fruity, flavor with a crisp texture. Also available canned. Before using, cut away from the communal base. Use in sandwiches, salads and as garnishes. If you use them in a cooked dish, add at the last possible moment as heat toughens enoki. AKA - enokitake; enokidake; snow puff mushrooms; golden mushrooms; velvet stem
	Enotaki  Grow your own: The Enokitake Mushroom
	Morel  A relative of the highly-prized truffle; tan to dark-brown, cone-shaped, spongey; smoky, earthy, nutty flavor; expensive and also available canned and dried. The darker the mushroom, the more pronounced is the flavor. This mushroom must be cleaned well when fresh due to its dimpled head. Grow your own:  Morel Mushroom Kit
	Nameko  These are Japan's second most popular cultivated mushroom. The Nameko has a strong flavor, some report they slight taste similar to that of cashews. Grow your own: Nameko Mushroom Kit
	Oyster Oyster mushrooms are prized for their smooth texture and subtle, oyster-like flavor.  They are grown commercially, so they're widely available and fairly inexpensive. Fluted cap resembles a fan; ranging in color from a soft beige brown to gray; can be eaten raw in salads but more often this mushroom is cooked to bring out its delicate flavor and velvety texture. Some say this mushroom has a faint oyster-like or seafood flavor, to match its likeness in shape to oysters. AKA - abalone, white, blue, golden, pearl, red, tree,trumpet (King Trumpet, King Oyster (Eryngii)...so many varieties Grow your own: Oyster Mushroom Kit
	Piopinno Grown on decaying tree stumps or beneath popular trees. The Piopinno mushroom is a popular food ingredient in both Asia and southern Europe. Also known as Black Poplar mushroom named from its growing habitat around poplars, the Pioppino develops a light brown colored cap sprouting from a thin white stem. Firm in texture, the Pioppino provides a mildly nutty flavor when cooked and can be added to complement a variety of rice, risotto, and meat dishes. AKA: Black Poplar mushroom Grow your own: The Pioppino Mushroom
	Porcini Resembles the traditional fairytale toadstool; weighing from a couple of ounces to a pound each with caps from one to ten inches in diameter; smooth, meaty texture; pungent in flavor; pale brown color; very expensive; many general cooking uses. Also available dried. AKA - cepes; boletes; boletus; steinpilze; singular tense: porcino
	Portabella The Portabella mushroom is one of the tastiest mushrooms ever grown. When harvested young in the button stage, it is called a crimini and can be used in the same way as the regular white button mushroom. When harvested as a mature mushroom, with the gills exposed, it is called a Portabella. Its long growing cycle gives a deep, meat-like flavor, and substantial texture. They are good whole, sliced, grilled, baked, stir-fried and deep-fried.The thick cap on the Portabella is meaty and is wonderful to cook with. Portabella caps can grow from 3-4" across to as large as 5" in diameter. Grow your own: Seasonal Giant Heirloom Portabella Mushroom  Kit
	Shitake  Ranging in color from tan to dark brown; characterized by broad, umbrella shaped caps up to ten inches in diameter, wide open veils and tan gills; rich, full-bodied flavor, is almost steak-like, with a meaty texture when cooked. These are best when cooked in almost any method, particularly sautéing, broiling and baking. Remove stems before cooking but reserve them for soup stocks. AKA - black forest mushroom , black mushroom , black winter mushroom , brown oak mushroom , oak mushroom, Chinese black mushroom , Oriental black mushroom , forest mushroom , golden oak mushroom , donko Grow your own: The Shiitake Mushroom Kit

I love mushrooms. I also love cooking shows. I'll watch anything that has to do with cooking. I am a vegetarian for over 40+ years but I still watch BBQ university. When I watch these shows, they use the most outrageous mushrooms. But, when I go to my store, they are rarely displayed or are so expensive that I have never tried them. Confused and frugal, I decided to get a better knowledge of mushrooms.

I immediately was overwhelmed by the massive world of the mushroom. Clearly, it could take a lifetime to master this field of knowledge. Therefore, I decided to concentrate first on the edible varieties.

Mushrooms are not difficult to grow if you follow some simple rules. However, you will NOT save a lot of money raising your own. Your reward is that you will have your favorites on hand and will have the more hard-to-find varieties at conveniently at hand. Another reward is the joy that you get because of the mere beauty of these "fungilicious" food sources.


The purpose of this blog will be to;

• List the most popular EDIBLE mushrooms and provide a guide to growing them.
• Discuss the fundamentals of growing mushrooms.
• Discover the fantastic world of mushrooms - many non-edible, some poisonous and even som that glow in the dark

So lets get started.