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  • Homegrown mushrooms

    My fella has got me into eating mushrooms. I was just wondering has anyone ever grown edible mushrooms before? And if so what the best ones to get.
    Carrie

  • #2
    I've grown a lot of mushrooms. It really depends on your taste. I tend to grow chestnut mushrooms, but have also grown oyster and shitake.
    I find I get more success with the chestnut mushrooms, but could be because they're a bit more forgiving if you forget to mist the compost for a couple of days.
    What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?
    Pumpkin pi.

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    • #3
      I bought mushroom spawn. Did as directed and set them in boxes under the greenhouse staging.
      Nada,ditto,nil nothing that year!

      Chucked the compost out onto the garden and the following year had a wonderful crop of field mushrooms!
      My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
      to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

      Diversify & prosper


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      • #4
        Originally posted by Snadger View Post
        I bought mushroom spawn. Did as directed and set them in boxes under the greenhouse staging.
        Nada,ditto,nil nothing that year!

        Chucked the compost out onto the garden and the following year had a wonderful crop of field mushrooms!
        Brilliant, I may have something to look forward to next year............
        sigpic“Gorillas are very intelligent, but they don't have to be as delicate as chimps -- they can just smash open the termite nest,”
        --------------------------------------------------------------------
        Official Member Of The Nutters Club - Rwanda Branch.
        -------------------------------------------------------------------
        Sent from my ZX Spectrum with no predictive text..........
        -----------------------------------------------------------
        KOYS - King Of Yellow Stickers..............

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        • #5
          The simple kits are quite good, but so small that you never get any real quantity of mushrooms. The most success we have ever had is simply by getting some discarded mushroom compost from a mushroom farm.

          If you can get some 'fresh' stuff they have just thrown out, it still has quite a lot of life in it, and you can make up your own beds with it in a box or ideally in a cellar or somewhere consistently cool.

          Tamp it down, and moisten it slightly (NOT wet) and then cap it with a small layer of peat. Keep the peat misted lightly once a day or so, again not wet, and within a few weeks new tiny mushrooms will start to appear on the surface. While you will probably only get two or more flushes this way, we have still managed to get 10 or 20 kilos from a relatively small area.

          It should be possible to make your own fresh mushroom compost and there is a lot of information on how to do this, but it is very fiddly needing fresh manure, lots of good wheat straw, and the need to compost it to just the right stage before spawning it.

          If you have enough nerve, the real thing to do would be to ask very nicely at a mushroom farm if you can buy a wheelbarrow or two full of the compost before they start spawning it themselves. If you found a helpful employee you might be able to get a good deal on that, and then just mix in your own spawn and cap it with peat as above.

          Here, in our part of France, there is a large plant which makes mushroom compost for all the mushroom farms for miles around. I have often thought what a good idea it would be to go along and beg some compost as I have suggested, but I haven't had the nerve yet! We do however continue to do very well using the spent compost which we pick up on 'throwout day' and get a trailer load for 5 euros. I use some to grow more mushrooms and the rest on the garden, where sometimes the mushrooms come up anyway if you cover the compost with soil!

          Good luck with your mushroom growing... it's great fun and there's nothing like having an abundance of these things for soups and stews.

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          • #6
            Thanks. I don't think we have a local mushroom farm. I think I might just start out with a starter kit first and see how it goes
            Carrie

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            • #7
              I've grown a number of kits over the years and I have found that the ones from the local garden centre were hit & miss - I take the view that it is impossible to tell how long they have been stacked there, nor whether the temperature in their "shed" has been too hot / cold, so now I only buy online from a supplier that has a good turnover to ensure that I get a good harvest, although weight/size can mean that carriage cost is significant so I usually only buy when I am buying other things too. That has been OK but the mushrooms come in flushes so hard to time them with the family coming for the weekend, or similar but can't beat the freshness. I've grown Chestnut and Shiitake mushrooms from kits.
              K's Garden blog the story of the creation of our garden

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              • #8
                Over the years, I have tried growing both kits & Spawn online................Result - Zilch, Nada, Bladdy nowt.
                sigpic“Gorillas are very intelligent, but they don't have to be as delicate as chimps -- they can just smash open the termite nest,”
                --------------------------------------------------------------------
                Official Member Of The Nutters Club - Rwanda Branch.
                -------------------------------------------------------------------
                Sent from my ZX Spectrum with no predictive text..........
                -----------------------------------------------------------
                KOYS - King Of Yellow Stickers..............

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                • #9
                  I've tried kits, Dowels,in logs and online spawn (spawn, I said, SPAWN)
                  Like BM - nothing.
                  If I could find some spent mushroom compost locally, I'd try that next...............but I haven't found a local mushroom grower.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Bigmallly View Post
                    Over the years, I have tried growing both kits & Spawn online................Result - Zilch, Nada, Bladdy nowt.
                    Originally posted by veggiechicken View Post
                    I've tried kits, Dowels,in logs and online spawn (spawn, I said, SPAWN)
                    Like BM - nothing.
                    Interested to know if they were mailorder, or just form a local garden centre?
                    K's Garden blog the story of the creation of our garden

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                    • #11
                      I got mine from Mushr00mbox.c0.uk.
                      sigpic“Gorillas are very intelligent, but they don't have to be as delicate as chimps -- they can just smash open the termite nest,”
                      --------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Official Member Of The Nutters Club - Rwanda Branch.
                      -------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Sent from my ZX Spectrum with no predictive text..........
                      -----------------------------------------------------------
                      KOYS - King Of Yellow Stickers..............

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                      • #12
                        I only got my mushroom kit on Saturday and already I can see at least 2 mushrooms growing.


                        Attached Files
                        Last edited by cariann88; 02-12-2014, 11:47 AM.
                        Carrie

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                        • #13
                          My mushrooms so far.....

                          Attached Files
                          Carrie

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                          • #14
                            How big are you ment to grow chestnut mushrooms? Do they loose there taste if they grow really big?
                            Carrie

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                            • #15
                              I have hade mine for 2-3 weeks. though i would just try this one, now i am going back for other types. I love mushrooms. i paid 15euros for this but the amount already on there has already grown the monies back for me Mushrooms are expensive out here. 5 euros for a kilo.

                              Never had any luck with the ones you buy in the UK,

                              I am scared about harvesting, i think twist but i don't know where, just hope i do it right so i can get more. looked at so many videos on youtube and googled it, i just have to do it.

                              I have just bought some suttons mushroom dry spawn, it says to get some well rotted horse manure. I am not holding out much hope but got 2 packets for the price of one.
                              Attached Files
                              I grow 70% for us and 30% for the snails, then the neighbours eats them

                              sigpic

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