Tag: spore

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 LIFE CYCLE

Freak of Natural Staff

  To learn how to grow mushrooms it is essential to know their life cycle in nature. During the cultivation of mushrooms the grower needs to simulate all the conditions that the mushroom would encounter in nature. So, instead of a rotting tree trunk, we will give the mushroom to feed it sawdust or straw that has a similar composition to its natural substrate. Instead of the shade and fresh air that you would find in an undergrowth, we will set up an air-conditioned greenhouse that simulates the conditions of…

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…