Content
Many mushroom lovers dream of growing boletus in the country. It turns out that this is quite possible and can be done even by those completely inexperienced in this matter.
As a result, you will be able to please yourself and your loved ones with delicious dishes or preparations.
Is it possible to grow boletus at home?
An interesting fact is that the industrial cultivation of boletus has not become widespread. This is explained by the fact that a huge area of conifers will have to be planted for mushrooms. Therefore, the best way to propagate this delicious delicacy is to grow boletus in your own area. If you follow agricultural technology and create conditions similar to natural ones, you get butter of excellent quality.
Despite the fact that there are several varieties of the mushroom, you can grow boletus of any modification in your garden plot. It is enough to prepare a certain soil composition, ensure the planting of host trees, and properly care for the plants.Conifers are necessary for boletus, because this type of mushroom forms mycorrhiza with them, in other words, a mutually beneficial partnership of roots and fungi. In this combination, they mutually benefit from providing each other with comfortable living conditions. Having selected the necessary tree, you can safely grow boletus on your site.
What conditions must be created for boletus when growing in the country or in the garden?
In order to get a harvest in a couple of years, you need to take care of comfortable conditions for mushrooms:
- Have several coniferous trees in your dacha. For boletus, pine is considered the most ideal partner. The age of pine trees should not exceed 10 years. Older trees will take a lot of nutrients and moisture from the soil, so oilseeds will be deficient in these components. As a result, the harvest will be meager, and the taste of the mushrooms will be far from ideal.
- Choose a location and prepare the soil. If these factors are neglected, the result will also be disappointing.
The most important condition when growing boletus in the country is to bring the environmental conditions as close as possible to those in which they grow in nature.
Methods of growing butterweed
Summer residents know different ways to grow mushrooms. Choosing the best one for boletus is the key to a good harvest. Typically forest plants are propagated by:
- Disputes. This method is advantageous because you don’t need to purchase anything. Planting material is easily prepared at home, but the base must be taken from the forest. Wormy, overripe, old boletus, in which spores develop, are suitable for this. For the fermentation process you will need river or rain water and a little granulated sugar. You can replace sugar with kvass starter. The caps are crushed (just knead them with your hands) and mixed with water until smooth.The mixture is infused for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Some mushroom pickers advise infusing the mixture for several weeks. Freezing and long-term storage of the composition is not recommended. Before use, the starter is filtered, the liquid is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. The prepared area is watered with a solution and mulched. Then increase the layer of mulch in the fall before the onset of cold weather. The advantage of this option is that it is budget friendly.Important! The starter needs to be prepared within 9-10 hours after harvesting the butter.
- Mushroom picker. You can successfully grow boletus in your country house by transplanting mycelium from the forest. This is the most effective way to grow boletus at home. However, there is a very important nuance here. The mycelium should be transferred to the site under a tree of the same type under which the mycelium was collected. The downside is the appearance of the first mushrooms 3-4 years after planting. The advantage is an annual high yield and guaranteed results. Boletus grown in this way is very large and fleshy.
- Mycelium.
The method is the most well-known and popular due to its accessibility and ease of implementation. There are two types of mycelium - grain and compost. Summer residents prefer the first. The bag of seeds has instructions for use; all steps must be followed, down to the size of the plot. The harvest is ready for harvest after 2 years, and you can enjoy the first mushrooms the next year.
Judging by the possibilities, the most acceptable option for boletus is considered to be cultivation by mycelium or using purchased mycelium.
How to grow boletus
There is an algorithm that you can follow to grow boletus at home. The whole procedure consists of simple and familiar actions to summer residents:
- site selection and preparation;
- soil preparation;
- preliminary work with planting material;
- landing; caring for butterflies;
- harvesting.
Soil preparation
Select a site in advance. It is better to select a shaded place without active sunlight for planting mushrooms. Then the soil is prepared. A layer of soil 20 cm thick is removed and in its place plant materials (grass, chopped wood, pine needles) and soil from the place where mushrooms grow in the forest are laid in layers. If there is no forest soil, you can use garden soil with the addition of humus. It is important that the acid-base balance of the top layer is similar to that of forest soil. Now the bed is ready for sowing mushrooms. With minimal plot sizes, growing boletus in boxes is very popular. This method is very suitable for planting mushrooms indoors. The box is placed in a semi-dark place where diffuse sunlight predominates. If there is no such light in the room, it can be replaced with electric lighting. Oil plants need enough light for 3-4 hours a day. With this method, it is necessary to carefully observe the temperature regime and high humidity in the room. To do this, place dishes with water next to the containers. This method can be used to grow boletus at any time of the year; mushrooms do not have a growing season.
Mycelium preparation
Mycelium is easy to purchase ready-made, but it is also easy to prepare it yourself. Next we will tell you how to prepare both options for planting material. If a summer resident has purchased mycelium, then you must strictly follow the instructions attached to the package.It is absolutely important to provide the material with the recommended soil composition, ambient air conditions, and degree of lighting.
The second option is self-prepared mycelium. It is considered more popular. This is explained by the nutritional characteristics of mushrooms. The main part of the nutrients comes to oil beetles from patron trees. Therefore, fruiting bodies can only form if there is a tree of the appropriate species and soil of a certain composition. Mycelium is prepared from mushroom caps and a growth accelerator. A nutrient solution of yeast and sugar syrup is used as an accelerator. For 1 liter of water you will need 1 teaspoon of sugar and yeast. Mix sawdust from the partner tree with peat. The mixture is dried, then the bottles (3 liters) are filled to half their volume. Boil a sweet solution with yeast, pour it onto peat, and fill it with dry sawdust to the top of the jar. Cover tightly with a lid. Leave for 5-6 hours, drain off the remaining solution, mix the substrate, make punctures in it with a stick. Place crushed mushroom caps into these punctures and cover the jars with a lid. Now you need another lid, with a hole 1.5 cm in diameter, covered with a foam plug. The jar with future mycelium should be in a place with a temperature of + 23-25 °C. After 3 months, the substrate with mycelium is transferred to a dark, cold place (+ 6 °C) and stored there until sowing.
How to plant boletus in the country or in the garden
Mushroom lovers try to grow boletus in their area. Many people like to experiment, and you don’t need to go far into the forest. The optimal time for planting is spring. To guarantee a harvest, you need to know exactly how to plant boletus in the garden:
- Prepare the soil under the tree.It is important that the type of conifer matches where the boletus was collected in the forest.
- Spread the prepared mycelium evenly around the tree in a thin layer.
- Cover with a thin layer of leaves or grass. Sprinkle soil on top. It's good to water the garden bed.
- To reduce moisture loss, a layer of leaves is again placed on top, periodically moistening the planting.
After a year, you can collect the first mushrooms you grow yourself. Properly prepared mycelium bears fruit for about 15 years. An increase in yield is observed from 5-6 years; before this, the number of fruiting bodies may be insignificant.
Features of growing boletus on a personal plot
Boletus does not require special care after planting, but it still has its own growing nuances. It is very important for growing mushrooms to maintain sufficient soil moisture. No feeding is needed for the mycelium, unless it is purchased mycelium. Then you will need to add a growth activator. When and in what quantities will be indicated by the manufacturer on the product packaging.
One more nuance - the area cannot be loosened, otherwise the damaged mycelium will not produce fruiting bodies.
In autumn, the bed is additionally covered with leaves or straw. In the spring, this layer is removed, leaving only the grass.
This is easily explained by the composition of the soil and the absence of pests that live in the forest.
Gardeners collect the first harvest the next year, then over the course of 15 years the mycelium develops and fruiting increases. If you want to achieve continuous growth of mushrooms on your site, you should plant a new bed every year. Then there is no need to worry that in a few years there will be no more oil on the site.
The harvest is harvested by hand.Mushrooms can be cut or twisted; pulling out is prohibited. This technique destroys the mycelium. The main thing is not to leave the leg on the garden bed.
Tips for beginner mushroom growers
Some summer residents, wanting to grow boletus on their property, follow all the basic steps, but do not get good results. This is due to some mistakes that are made due to ignorance or lack of experience:
- There are several types of butter, differing in taste and requirements for growing conditions. For planting in the country, it is best to choose a yellowish or ordinary butterdish. Both species belong to the second category of edibility and are widespread throughout Russia.
- It is important to add soil to the soil from the place where the boletus grew in the forest. This is an ideal soil option. In this case, the yield will be much higher.
- You cannot loosen the bed. Inexperienced summer residents believe that this technique improves air access. In fact, they simply injure the mycelium, which may collapse and not bear fruit.
- The harvest must be harvested correctly. The legs must be cut off, even if only the caps are needed. The leg left on the bed begins to rot and infects the rest of the mycelium.
- It is recommended to cut mushrooms young. It is better not to leave overripe and wormy ones at the planting site.
By following simple recommendations, you can grow tasty and healthy boletus in your summer cottage without financial investment.
Some information about boletus:
Conclusion
Growing boletus in the country is not only possible, but also useful. Homemade mushrooms are not susceptible to disease, have good taste and nutritional value. By following the recommendations, you can safely begin planting boletus on your site.
