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Growing mushrooms on the site attracts many summer residents. Of course, avid mushroom pickers prefer searching for boletus mushrooms in the forest. But for other lovers of mushroom dishes, what is more attractive is the opportunity to assemble a basket without leaving the yard.
Mushrooms have always been considered a festive product, and white mushrooms, in general, are a delicacy on the table. It is not always possible to purchase boletus on the market, but growing it yourself is not only profitable, but also exciting. The main thing is to create conditions as close as possible to natural ones in order to get a good harvest. Growing boletus mushrooms is more difficult than oyster mushrooms, but if you put in a little effort, you will be pleased with the results.
Housewives love porcini mushrooms for their meatiness, rich taste, and also because the mushroom does not darken during processing. That's why they call him white.
Growing porcini mushrooms in a personal plot is possible in two ways:
- from mycelium;
- from fresh caps of adult mushrooms.
You can get the harvest either in a greenhouse or another room, or in the open air.
To understand why gardeners love porcini mushrooms so much, just look at an adult boletus and try it.
What will we see and feel?
- A huge beautiful brown hat on a thick white stem.The older the porcini mushroom is, the darker the cap becomes.
- The pulp of the porcini mushroom is juicy and dense. Does not change its color when cut, remains yellowish. In some cases it may turn slightly pink.
- The taste is so rich and pleasant that lovers of porcini mushroom dishes do not use other types for preparing snacks.
- When cooked, porcini mushrooms emit a very tasty aroma that overshadows the smell of other products.
If you decide to start growing porcini mushrooms, then first you need to familiarize yourself with the requirements of forest beauties for growing conditions.
Features and conditions for growing boletus
Under natural conditions, the porcini mushroom grows in close interaction with trees or in symbiosis. The favorite conifers for white boletus are spruce and pine, as well as birch and oak. In addition, the preferred age of trees is at least 35-50 years, so in young pine forests it is possible to harvest not too much.
He loves the porcini mushroom very much in forests where:
- the soil is covered with mosses and lichens;
- no sudden temperature changes;
- there are comfortable neighbors - chanterelles, greenfinches, green russulas;
- the average air temperature at the end of summer is 18°C, and in September - 10°C;
- sunlight penetrates well;
- the composition of the soil is sandy loam or, in general, well-drained sand;
- There are no ferns or hoofweed in the neighborhood.
How to grow a lot of porcini mushrooms? To do this, you need to adhere to certain rules so that the mushroom is in its usual conditions.
You need to choose a place to grow porcini mushrooms on your plot, taking into account all the parameters, so that the result does not disappoint and the efforts spent are not wasted. It’s great if there are already mature trees no younger than 7-10 years old, and the place is well lit and moistened/
It is good to bring soil from the place where the parent porcini mushroom is taken. Boletus mushrooms will not grow in any soil; they are demanding on the composition of the soil and do not grow well in conditions that are uncomfortable for them. You need to know that sudden changes in temperature, excessive shade or moisture, and a lack of fresh air will negatively affect the growth of white boletus mushrooms. Therefore, before you start growing porcini mushrooms on your site, double-check that all the necessary conditions are present.
If you decide to grow boletus crops indoors, then:
- the selected space should be well ventilated;
- it must be possible to maintain optimal temperature (from +8°C to +12°C);
- the humidity level should not go beyond 90% -92%;
- it will have to be provided with artificial light sources with low brightness.
For indoor growing, a greenhouse structure, basement, warehouse or utility building is suitable.
How to grow porcini mushrooms
Option for growing boletus mushrooms on a plot of mycelium
This method helps out lovers of porcini mushrooms when there is no time to search for forest “parents” or there is no forest nearby at all. To grow porcini mushrooms this way, you will need to purchase mycelium.
When purchasing mycelium, immediately check the following information about it:
- variety and strain;
- mold resistance;
- fouling rates;
- shelf life.
You can independently determine the quality of mycelium by its appearance and smell. Good mycelium of porcini mushrooms has a rich red color with small yellow splashes.But if the specks are black or green and you smell ammonia, then the purchased product should be returned. After purchase, store the mycelium on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature of +4°C, but no more than 3 months.
In addition to the finished mycelium, you will need to prepare:
- an area with growing coniferous or deciduous trees;
- fallen leaves, moss, small branches;
- matured compost.
Now we begin to prepare the substrate in which the planted porcini mushroom will grow. A high-quality substrate consists of sawdust from deciduous trees, straw, sunflower husks, and buckwheat. There may be other components, but one important condition is no rotten inclusions or mold!
Before planting the mycelium of porcini mushrooms, the substrate is saturated with moisture. This is done in two processing methods - steam or boiling water. The mixture can be processed in plastic bags.
The ideal time for planting porcini mushrooms on the site is the warm period of the year from May to September.
When everything is prepared, we proceed to the next stage - planting.
At the selected planting site around the tree, remove the top layer of soil as thick as a shovel (20 cm). We leave the tree in the center, and around it we expose an area with a diameter of 1 m to 1.5 m.
Place compost on top of the bare circle. It can be replaced with soil that contains a lot of peat. The thickness of the bookmark is no more than 2 cm. Now we place the mycelium in a checkerboard pattern every 30 cm. One package of mycelium is used for one tree.
Cover with a layer of soil and water. We take the soil that was removed earlier under the tree and pour water through a sprayer. For one planting (1 tree) we spend 2-3 buckets.
Cover the area where the porcini mushroom mycelium is planted with straw to maintain moisture.We water it periodically so that our mycelium does not dry out. Gardeners add biological products (“Baikal EM-1”) to the water when watering to increase germination.
In the winter months, we cover the mycelium with spruce branches, fallen leaves or straw. The radius of the shelter must be at least 2 m. In the spring, do not forget to remove it after the threat of return frosts has passed.
We get the first mushroom harvest a year after the mycelium has taken root. The growth of porcini mushrooms will continue for 4 years. Irrigation with the use of biological products increases the harvest time to 7 years.
Option for planting mushroom caps
This method also requires trees around which you will grow porcini mushrooms on the site. But the seed material will have to be obtained independently from the forest. You need to collect the caps of mature porcini mushrooms.
The minimum quantity is 7-10 pieces. Choose specimens with cap diameters of at least 15-20 cm. Break one cap and look at the color of the flesh at the break. It should have a greenish tint. If the porcini mushroom is infected with insect larvae, you should not pay attention to it.
We are starting to land.
First we prepare the material – mushroom caps:
Place them in a bucket filled with water and leave them for a day. It's good if it's rainwater.
After getting wet, knead the caps directly in the water. The pieces must be small to form a homogeneous mass. We filter it through a sieve. We also leave the remaining pulp for planting.
We prepare a place under a tree, as in the previous version.
The planting process is slightly different. We do not cover the bare area with a layer of soil, but pour the spores of porcini mushrooms directly onto the roots of the tree. Spread the remaining mushroom pulp on top.
Cover with the removed soil and water. Also neat and generous (up to 5 buckets).
The care requirements remain the same - we maintain humidity, warmth and cover for the winter.
One watering requires 4-5 buckets of water. Naturally, in the rainy season it is reduced.
They harvest in one place for 3-4 years. Then new spores are planted using the same technology.
When growing porcini mushrooms in a greenhouse, be sure to monitor the room humidity and lighting.
Tips and tricks
To improve the survival rate of porcini mushrooms, you can use the advice of experienced summer residents:
- Try to collect white boletus under trees that are identical to those where you will plant them on the site. Use separate bags for seed from different trees.
- The collected caps are soaked immediately after collection and sown the next day. Due to their rapid decomposition, storing them is not recommended.
- Don't freeze mushrooms for later sowing - it won't work. You will not receive any harvest or shoots.
- Add alcohol or sugar to the soaking water for the mushroom caps to increase their chances of survival. You will need 4 tbsp. spoons of alcohol or 50 g of granulated sugar per bucket of water.
- Be sure to disinfect the area prepared for planting. A good infusion of black tea (50 g of tea leaves per 1 liter of boiling water) or oak bark (boil 30 g of bark in 1 liter of water for an hour). The treatment is done with a cooled infusion.
- Plant porcini mushrooms on the site no later than mid-September.
- For white champignon, horse manure is considered the best compost.
Of course, growing porcini mushrooms on the plot requires patience and effort, but the resulting harvest will make you forget about the troubles. This process is successful the first time, even for novice gardeners.
