Tag: spawn

GROWING MUSHROOMS: MAKING THE SPAWN

Freak of Natural Staff

  The purpose of the “spawn” is to increase the fungal biomass, previously present as a small mass of cells in a Petri dish or liquid culture, and to expand this mass to possibly several kilos of mushrooms. The seed is generally made up of cereal grains such as barley, wheat, rye, oats, rice, etc., already colonized from the fungus. Each colonized grain, mixed in the final substrate, becomes a point where the fungus will develop,  colonizing completely the bag or jar containing the substrate in just few days. To…

GROWING MUSHROOMS: THE SPORES

Freak of Natural Staff

  WHAT ARE MUSHROOMS SPORES? We know that re the spores that allow mushrooms propagation. They separate from the fungi and travel long distances thanks to the air currents until they fall on a suitable substrate, giving birth to another colony of mushrooms.   When we collect these spores, we can place them in a container containing substrate, and start cultivation. Growers do not normally use spores to grow mushrooms due to the high genetic variability. Each pair of spores will generate a different individual. This means that hundreds of…

GROWING MUSHROOMS: INTRODUCTION and TECHNIQUES

Freak of Natural Staff

  GROWING MUSHROOMS IS SMART, SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE! Do you plan to grow mushrooms? There are many good reasons to begin  this hobby or activity: if desired, mushrooms are a good, profitable and economically attractive commercial crop. In addition, they are easy to grow even at an amateur level and finally they have important nutritional values. Some species, if that weren’t enough, also carry important medicinal properties. The period between inoculation and harvest can be very short, just three weeks. After the cultivation, the support can still be reused to…