Content
Growing champignons in the basement at home is a profitable business that does not require significant financial investments. The process itself is simple; preparatory work requires much more attention: correctly compose and prepare the substrate for champignons, maintain the necessary conditions in the basement, prepare the room and disinfect it.
Basement preparation
The basement is the most suitable room for growing mushrooms at home. Since it is easiest to maintain the temperature and humidity required for champignons.
The walls of a home basement can be made of any material. Wood, concrete, blocks, and bricks will do. The main requirement is for the floor; it must be concreted to avoid the penetration of rodents and insects, and groundwater. An earthen basement floor can increase humidity, which needs to be kept at a certain level for mushrooms to grow.
How to prepare a basement:
- Remove all foreign objects and objects from the basement;
- Disinfect the cellar using a sulfur bomb, 4% formaldehyde solution, whitewash the walls with lime, adding copper sulfate. Spray with dichlorvos in the presence of crawling and flying insects;
- The basement should be insulated in any way.One of the insulation options: using polystyrene foam boards;
- Installing lighting is only for convenience of work; 1-2 lamps are quite enough. What positively distinguishes champignons from other mushrooms is that they do not need light to grow;
- Installation of ventilation in the basement using 2 types of air ducts: exhaust and supply. Carbon dioxide, which is formed in large quantities as a result of the decomposition of the substrate, will be removed through the exhaust pipe. And fresh air will flow through the supply ventilation. Both ventilation pipes should be equipped at the entrance with a fine-mesh metal mesh to block access to insects and rodents;
- If the supply and exhaust ventilation method does not fulfill its task, then forced types of ventilation with filters for air purification should be installed. Fans can also help improve the air quality in your basement. Make sure that there are no drafts, they have a detrimental effect on the development of champignons;
- Maintain humidity in the basement, its levels should remain at 60-70%. A hygrometer device will help control humidity; you should definitely purchase and install it;
- At different stages of development, champignons need different temperatures. So, for the growth of mycelium, a temperature of +25°C+26°C is required. And for the growth of the champignon fruiting body +15°C+16°C. The temperature in the basement is monitored using a thermometer;
- If the size of the basement allows, then it is better to divide it into 2 parts, then the temperature indicators can be easily maintained;
- In order to make the most of all the available space in the basement, build racks or shelves on which the mushroom mycelium will be located.Install them in such a way that it is convenient to care for and harvest. Metal racks are convenient, but expensive, wooden racks are no worse. However, they will need to be regularly treated with an antiseptic, since the humidity in the basement is high, which contributes to the wood being damaged by fungus;
- You can use plastic boxes for the substrate. They are installed on shelves or racks.
There are no trifles in the business of growing champignons. Preparing the basement is one of the main stages.
Growing champignons on a ready-made substrate
Growing champignons at home in the basement is only possible when using a special substrate or champignon compost. To reduce the time required to obtain mushrooms, you can use a ready-made substrate seeded with mycelium. It is purchased either from a production plant engaged in growing champignons, or from manufacturers specializing in the production of substrate.
They bring the purchased compost to their basement, place it on shelves and wait for the mycelium to begin to develop and utilize all the compost. Then cover soil is poured on top of it. It will take some time to wait for the mycelium to master the soil, then it will be ready to grow the fruiting bodies of the champignons.
Currently, manufacturers of compost for champignons have begun to press it and package it into briquettes. This substrate is also already seeded with mycelium. They also offer cover soil. It requires 10 l/1 briquette.
After you deliver the briquettes to your basement, place it on racks or shelves close together in 1 layer. Leave it this way for a day so that the temperature inside and outside equalizes. Then the top of the package is cut off to create a bed 20 cm high and 1.4 m wide for ease of maintenance.
Next, the surface of the substrate is covered with newspapers or kraft paper and moistened with a spray bottle so that water does not leak out and get on the compost. Liquid consumption: 200 ml / 1 sq. m beds.
The substrate can remain in this state in the basement for 2 to 3 weeks. Then you can notice that the mycelium has mastered all the compost and reached the surface. Now is the time to use cover soil. It is placed on top of the substrate, leveled and watered well, using 2 l/1 sq. m beds. The thickness of the cover layer of soil is no more than 4 cm. The soil is sprayed every day.
After 4-5 days, the mycelium will grow into the lower layer of soil. Start regular watering 2 times a day, using 1 liter of water/1 sq. m landings. Another 1.5 weeks will pass, then the mycelium will completely develop the top layer of soil. The stage of fruit formation of champignons begins. Watering is stopped.
The temperature in the basement should be kept at +14°C+17°C, relative humidity 85-95%. If the technology for growing champignons is followed, then from the moment of applying the cover soil, parts of the mycelium appear on it on about 20 days, and after some time, peas - the rudiments of champignons. A day later they begin to water again, using no more than 1 l/1 sq. m landings.
After ripening, champignons are harvested by twisting, rather than cutting, like all other mushrooms. They are inspected for damage and placed in boxes or crates for further sale or personal consumption.
Watch a video on how to grow champignons in the basement:
Self-preparation of the substrate
To significantly reduce the cost of growing champignons in the basement, you can prepare the compost yourself.In winter, compost preparation is carried out in a room where the temperature is at least +15°C and there is good ventilation, and in summer the process can be expediently carried out outdoors under a canopy, which will protect the substrate for champignons from precipitation and direct sunlight.
What you will need:
- 100 kg of straw (wheat, rye);
- 100 kg of manure (poultry, horse, cattle);
- 50 kg of tops (potato, tomato);
- 50 kg of wheat grain;
- 2 kg of superphosphate;
- 4 kg of urea;
- 300 l of water;
- 9 kg of gypsum or alabaster;
- 5 kg chalk.
Part of the straw (30 kg) can be replaced with chopped corn stalks, hay, and dry fallen leaves. The best substrate for champignons is obtained by using wheat or rye straw; in the absence of such, you can use oat or barley. Check the quality of the straw; it should have a pleasant smell and golden color, without signs of rotting.
The straw is placed in containers, filled with water, left for 2 days, and the water is drained. Then add manure, mix well, leave for a week, stirring the mass periodically. It is more convenient to alternate layers of straw with manure, watering each layer with warm water.
On the 4-5th day of the fermentation process, superphosphate and urea are poured into the container. An ammonia smell appears. The mass should stand still until the smell disappears, stirring another 4-5 times. After this, it is sprinkled with chalk and plaster, covered with film and kept for 2-3 weeks. The temperature of the prepared substrate should reach 80°C.
From the above volume of ingredients, a substrate weighing about 300 kg is formed.It is enough to make beds for growing champignons with an area of 3 square meters. m. A properly prepared substrate springs slightly when pressed with the palm of your hand.
Growing champignons in the basement
The finished champignon compost is transferred to the basement and laid out in planting containers. Next step: place the mushroom mycelium in the substrate, i.e. let's move directly to the question of how to grow champignons in the basement? Mycelium is produced in two types: grain (grown on wheat grain) and mycelium on compost. Both are industrially grown under sterile conditions.
To sow champignons on 1 square meter of substrate, you will need 0.4 kg of grain mycelium or 0.5 kg of compost mycelium. For planting, small 5 cm indentations are made in an interval of 20x20 cm. Compost mycelium is laid. Champignon grain spores are placed on the surface and lightly sprinkled with compost.
The substrate is covered with cloth, newspapers or craft paper, sprayed with water from a spray bottle, preventing it from drying out. In 2-3 weeks, the mycelium will grow and absorb the entire volume of compost. You can see whitish threads on its surface.
Next, you will need to pour a layer of cover soil: 4 volumes of soil, 1 volume of limestone, 5 volumes of peat. At the final stage of incubation, the mycelium grows into the casing soil and is ready to form the fruiting bodies of champignons.
As soon as you see that white peas have formed on the surface of the soil, you should lower the temperature or move the planting containers to another part of the basement.There the temperature should be kept at +12°C+17°C, comfortable for forcing fruiting bodies or growing mushrooms. Humidity will be 75-95%.
After 3-4 months you can get the first champignons. Don't let them overripe. A mushroom ready for collection has a white film under the cap; no brown plates should be visible. The fruiting body of the champignon is carefully twisted, never cut off, otherwise the remains of the stem may rot and lead to the death of the mycelium.
After removing the champignon from the growth site, sprinkle the hole with soil. In the next 2 weeks, the harvest will actively ripen. If the substrate has been prepared correctly and the temperature and humidity conditions are met, then it is quite possible to harvest at least 8 waves of harvest. Then the yield of champignons will sharply decline.
The harvest should be stored in the refrigerator in boxes or crates, without stacking many layers. Be sure to visually inspect the mushrooms for rot and dark spots, otherwise you may lose a whole batch of champignons.
Conclusion
Growing champignons at home in the basement is quite possible and not as difficult as it seems. Pay close attention to preparing the basement, disinfect, insulate, if required, set up a ventilation system, maintain humidity and temperature, properly prepare the substrate for champignons and buy high-quality planting material from trusted suppliers. These are the components of a successful harvest when growing champignons in the basement.
Cultivating champignons does not require special knowledge or significant material investments. But it can become your favorite profitable business.
Good afternoon, dear Zhanibek!
In the process of preparing compost for champignons, wheat grains are not used. You can use the husk, but not the grain. Wheat tops are soaked and layered with manure. The edges are left to overheat, and then you need to prepare the substrate according to the above scheme (ample watering, adding gypsum and activators, mixing).
We wish you high harvests!
Hello! I wanted to ask. When making compost, when should you add tops and wheat grain?