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The porcini mushroom, or boletus, is considered the king of the forest. A strong creature found in a clearing is always rejoiced at. But as a rule, to pick a basket of mushrooms, you have to walk a long distance. Many of our readers are interested in the question of whether it is possible to create a mushroom clearing on their site. The answer is clear. Moreover, not only porcini mushrooms are grown, but also other varieties of forest mushrooms, including champignons.
The selection of porcini mushroom mycelium and how to grow it will be discussed in the article. But we must remember that for the success of the business, it is necessary to create conditions similar to those in the forest. First of all, trees should grow on the site, because it is with their root system that the mushrooms form a symbiosis, receiving the necessary nutrients. In return, these unique creations of nature protect and protect trees from pests and diseases.
What are mushrooms
Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals. This is a special kingdom of nature. They need dead organic matter for nutrition. The cells contain chitin, exactly the same as that of insects.
The cells of the fungal body are united into threads. Moreover, they do not grow chaotically, but in a certain order. The result is certain shapes of stems and caps with different colors and structures.
Animals that feed on edible mushrooms carry the spores far from the place of growth, where myceliums subsequently form.
Description of porcini mushrooms
Porcini mushrooms or boletus mushrooms, representatives of the Boletaceae family. These are tubular representatives of nature. The stem of the mushroom is barrel-shaped and very dense. Its height reaches 24 cm and thickness is about 10 cm.
The color of the cap can be white or red-brown with white streaks. It all depends on how much light the mushroom receives during growth. In addition, color changes with age. The cap is often convex, in the old porcini mushroom it is up to 50 cm. For cutting for food, it is better to take boletus mushrooms with a diameter of no more than 10 cm. The cap is matte; after rain, mucus forms on it.
The pulp of boletus mushrooms is juicy, its color remains whitish-yellow when cut. It contains nutrients and beneficial microelements. Fresh porcini mushrooms are pickled, fried, dried, and delicious and aromatic mushroom soups are prepared. Some peoples do not heat-treat boletus mushrooms, but consume them raw.
Boletus mushrooms are not commercially grown in any country, despite the popularity of the mushroom. It is believed that such production is unprofitable. But amateurs can open a quiet hunt right on their site if they populate a certain area with mycelium.
What conditions do porcini mushrooms need?
Before you start growing porcini mushroom mycelium, you need to take care of certain conditions, bringing them as close as possible to the natural environment. We present to your attention a table.
Conditions | Natural conditions |
Symbiosis | In the clearing where boletus mushrooms are found, spruce and pine trees, oaks and birches most often grow. |
Old or young trees | The age of the trees where mushroom pickers find boletus mushrooms is more than 50 years. The pine forest can be half as large. |
What mushrooms grow next door? | Greenfinch, chanterelle, green russula |
Temperature | At the end of July - August, when the air warms up to 18 degrees, you can go “hunting”. In September, porcini mushrooms grow at temperatures from 8 to 10 degrees. |
The soil | There should be a cushion of moss and lichens on the surface. The soil is usually loam, sand with a deep drainage cushion. |
Air humidity | Short rains and thunderstorms, after which there are fogs - go for mushrooms. |
Light | It grows in the sun, but also tolerates shade well. |
As you can see from the table, boletus mushrooms are not such fastidious mushrooms, and you can always create suitable conditions for growing them. Especially if there are old pine, birch, and oak trees on the site. Choose a place that is lit, but not too damp. There should be a cushion of fallen leaves or needles under the trees. After all, to feed future mushrooms, rotted organic matter is needed: boletus mushrooms themselves do not have the ability to process it. If ferns or hoofweed grow in the area, they need to be pulled out.
Well, now about planting material and growing mycelium.
White mushroom mycelium, how to prepare
As a rule, for the artificial cultivation of any mushrooms, high-quality viable mycelium is required. It is he who is an excellent planting material.
But how can you grow porcini mushroom mycelium yourself and get a mushroom clearing on your site?
Let's consider all possible ways:
- First way. Mushroom pickers know clearings in the forest where many boletus mushrooms grow.You will have to go into the forest with a shovel to dig up fruiting bodies with a large amount of soil and carefully place the planting material in a basket. The soil is cut into an area of 15x25 cm so as not to damage the mycelium. You need to choose mushrooms that have large caps, since they already contain ripe spores, ready to reproduce their own kind. It does not matter if the fruiting body is wormy or if it dries out.
This method of harvesting mycelium is convenient in that the soil with mycelium and natural growing conditions are transferred to a new location. Immediately upon arrival from the forest, you plant the mycelium in a permanent place, having first removed some of the garden soil. Although there is one danger: pests may appear in your garden along with the soil. There is no certainty that you will only grow porcini mushrooms, because soil taken from the forest may contain spores of other representatives of the mushroom kingdom. - Second way. To grow mycelium, you choose a well-ripened cap of a large mushroom in the forest. It should show signs of decomposition.
- Third way. Buying ready-made mycelium. They lay it out on the prepared place and wait for the harvest. This method allows you to get a pure culture, so when you buy porcini mushroom mycelium, you will get exactly that. Although everything depends on the integrity of the manufacturers.
Preparing planting material
There are different options for growing mycelium. Let's take a closer look at them.
First option
Having cut off the boletus cap with ripe spores, we need to grow mycelium:
- Dissolve potassium permanganate (1 gram) in a bucket of rainwater.
- Add refined sugar (15 pieces). We will have a nutrient medium for growing mycelium.
- The fruiting bodies, namely the caps, must be thoroughly kneaded to obtain a homogeneous mass.
- Dip the pulp into the nutrient solution and leave to infuse.
- After 6-7 hours, when the mass in the bucket resembles a suspension, the solution must be filtered through gauze.
- Using a watering can, spray the spores in the designated areas between the growing trees. After this, water the area with clean water so that the spores that settle on the blades of grass fall to the ground. From time to time, if there is no rain, the “plantings” need to be moistened so that the mycelium and the resulting mycelium do not dry out.
Second option
If you decide to use store-bought mycelium to breed boletus mushrooms, then you should start planting in May. At this time, we do the first “sowings” and, under proper conditions, we get a harvest in the fall. You can plant mycelium until September.
Operating procedure:
- Choose a good place under the trees, where there is enough light and moisture. Remove soil to a depth of 30 cm over three square meters. One package of dry mycelium intended for growing fruiting bodies is enough for this area.
- To the bottom we add bark, leaves and pine needles taken from the forest. The layer must be at least ten centimeters.
- Humus or fertile soil is poured on top.
- The mycelium powder must be mixed with one liter of sand and sown on the prepared area. To prevent the mycelium from being blown away by the wind or washed away during watering or rain, sprinkle a 4 cm layer of compost on top.
- For watering, use a watering can with a fine nozzle. But it is best to carry out drip irrigation.
Further steps for growing mycelium involve timely watering so that the soil does not dry out. Over time, a mycelium will form and the first mushrooms will appear.This method of growing mycelium allows you to collect mushrooms in one place for at least 5 years.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is possible to grow porcini mushroom mycelium at home if there are coniferous or deciduous trees in the garden. To make the mushroom plantation look natural, make paths that imitate forest paths. By growing mushroom bodies on the plot, you can go on a “quiet” hunt at any convenient time.
