Getting started with growing medicinal mushrooms

[Scarecrow]

Okay, so I want to start growing some medicinal mushrooms, but I've never grown fungi before.

I've made a short list of species I'm interested in, but would really appreciate help with what kind of equipment I'll need, how to go about growing them/what kind of maintenance will be required, and also where to get spores from to start with.

Here's my list for now:

- Ganoderma lucidum/Reishi

- Grifola frondosa/Maitake

- Lentinula edodes/Shiitake

(I could add more to this list, but I think it'll be best if I start small.)

Links to good clear tutorials, personal advice specific to these species, etcetera, would be lovely! I have had a browse at some tutorials already, but there's such a wide variety of techniques that I'm struggling to figure out where I should start.

Something along these lines would probably be best:

http://mycotopia.net/archives/discus/messages/5/11766.html

That is, something which I can get started in a tray indoors, and then mostly leave to do its own thing. I don't really want to have to buy lights and temperature gauges and humidifiers and all that if I can avoid doing so... I'm really after a "bare minimum" technique for a first time grower, which I can then expand and improve on later.

Any advice?

[Bigred]

check out tips for noobs in mycology

[Scarecrow]

...is there a list of common abbreviations kicking around? xD

[Bigred]

could you be more specific with abbreviations

lets get down to basics

1. do you own a pressure cooker

2. do you have a sterile work area

3. do you have a appropriate area to store spawn and fruit the mushrooms

4. have you had any experience with agar and sterile technique

5. Do you have any cultures spores at the moment

Don't worry about expense i set up my agar lab for about 300 bucks and i eat a lot of mushrooms and give a lot

Edited April 16, 2013 by bigred82

[Scarecrow]

Abbreviations... these ones pop up a lot in the thread you mentioned:

PC

BRF cakes

PF jars

LC

As for your questions:

1. We have one, but I've never used it before and I'm pretty sure the lid is broken or something. Gonna go with "no".

2. Can set up a fairly sterile pretty easily, but I don't think it'll be medical standard or anything.

3. Would a large plastic tub be suitable?

4. No. I don't even know what agar is.

5. Not yet

I don't have anywhere near $300. My budget's more like $60 at the moment...

[endorfinder]

You can get an electric pressure cooker, not so big, or a large steel regular one for about your budget.

Everything else is cheap enough, you won't spend more than $100 max if you shop clever.

PM for source info if you're really having trouble but this is generally grocery / home brew store stuff.

I have some edible slants that biggy sent me, once you're equipped and have played with a spore print successfully I'll send some through. good luck bud -ef

[Scarecrow]

You can get an electric pressure cooker, not so big, or a large steel regular one for about your budget.

Everything else is cheap enough, you won't spend more than $100 max if you shop clever.

PM for source info if you're really having trouble but this is generally grocery / home brew store stuff.

I have some edible slants that biggy sent me, once you're equipped and have played with a spore print successfully I'll send some through. good luck bud -ef

Is it not possible to work without a pressure cooker? I understand it's for sterilization, but I still can't wrap my head around why sterilization is so necessary to start with. Are fungi not capable of growing in non-sterile conditions just fine, in nature?

Really I'm hoping to eventually grow stuff as naturally as possible in my garden, because in Traditional Chinese Medicine having the most natural growing environment as possible is important for the quality and strength of the end product (Qi/energy-wise, more than anything else). (But first things first, I want to learn how to grow anything at all.)

Can I also ask what slants are exactly? I presume it's short for some mushroom I am not familiar with yet. If it's edible it's probably good though - my mum expressed interest about getting me to grow her some mushrooms to cook with. Food for her, practice for me!

And thanks for the info offer. I'll take you up on that if this thread falls to pieces somehow

Edited April 16, 2013 by Scarecrow

[Bigred]

i have been using my forty dollar pressure cooker for agar its great and it just a crappy Kmart job

pc, pressure cooker

brf, cakes brown rice flour cakes

Pf, jars refers to jars used for the method called pf tek ( were you dont need a pressure cooker)

Lc, liquid culture

BRISC , Bigred is super cool

if you stuck just ask you will get plenty of help round here ( remind's me of being a newbie )

[migraineur]

It's true. I can confirm that Bigred is super cool. He makes me giddy like a school girl and I'm not even gay!

[migraineur]

If you take this hobby seriously then a pressure cooker is essential. It'll probably be the most expensive thing you buy but if you invest in a good one then it'll out live you. I've found that Amazon.com has the best prices, even if you're ordering from overseas.

The pressure cooker is essential because you need to sterilise your grain and tools etc. If you work with dirty equipment and unsterilised grain then mould will compete with the mycelium and overtake everything. If you attempt to do this the "natural" way then you'll end up wasting your time, money and resources and you'll end up frustrated if you attempt mycology without a pressure cooker. If this upsets your qi then I suggest sticking to growing plants.

[Scarecrow]

haha, okay. i just looked into the PF tek, and i'm wondering if anybody can comment on its success rate? i'm still not sure if i'm prepared/able to spend that much money on a single piece of equipment, especially for my first ever grow.

in regards to growing the natural way, i remember seeing somewhere that someone had the idea to pulp up a bunch of mushrooms in a blender, mix them with a bucket of water, and then throw them in a garden bed/pile of sawdust. i don't know if that worked out but it sounds downright reasonable to me...

thanks for the help guys.

[Bigred]

why not try get some inoculated spawn then use some straw to spawn onto its the cheapest way

your going to experience the joy of mycology .

[endorfinder]

Slants are agar cultures usually intended for long term storage.

Yes the pf tek works and you can get away without a pc but seriously spend the cash like the other guys said. Success rate will depend on all sorts of things like environment, cleanliness of work space (carpet is evil) etc etc. PC takes a lot out of the equation there. Yeah it can be done but tbh brf cakes suck, just get a pc and go to grain.

Outdoor growing is a nice idea but tricky when you're getting started, your chance of contamination skyrocket.

Almost everyone starting out with mushroom growing tries to cheap out on buying a pc but I've never heard anyone say they regret the purchase!

[endorfinder]

Yes as biggy says I'm sure someone can send you some oyster spawn or something to play with.

For wood loving outdoor edibles have you considered plug spawn?

[Bigred]

Dude blending mushrooms is not going to work and if it did it would only push out a couple of fruits .

The kmart pressure cooker is a great entry steriliser to mycology i use it a lot . When i get back into

culturing will hook you up with some spawn .

[SkyWalker]

The blokes are correct, you can obtain a sterile medium without pressure cookers but you are looking at like a 5 percent chance, trust me i've tried, and i did everything to hospital standards, i had one lot of spawn go well but around 10 lots that didn't, depending on how large you want to go you might not need a pressure cooker, just an eski a thermometer and real hot water can sterilise some mediums, but the pressure cooker is the easiest way to go, i got one from kmart for 20 bucks before when i was making a water purification distillation system, worked great, things need to be sterile so as not to contaminate, compete, inhibit your spawn, you are essentially trying to grow mold without having anything but the spores from your mushroom grow in the environment, you dont want a whole bunch of mold messing up your whole setup

[Scarecrow]

ahh, i understand now why sterilization is important... because you're creating ideal conditions for mould and other unwanted growths, too.

all right, i'll have to try and do some research to find out what i can get. SW, you say you got one for $20? that sounds like a great deal compared to the other prices people have been mentioning. is it just as effective?

@ef: what's plug spawn? also, i still have no clue what agar is.

[migraineur]

This might help you: http://www.mushroomvideos.com/

You can see samples of the clips and you can buy the digital version for $9 USD. It'll teach you beginners methods and more advanced methods which involve agar, grain to grain transfers (G2G), spawn to bulk etc.

DO IT!

[Scarecrow]

This might help you: http://www.mushroomvideos.com/

You can see samples of the clips and you can buy the digital version for $9 USD. It'll teach you beginners methods and more advanced methods which involve agar, grain to grain transfers (G2G), spawn to bulk etc.

DO IT!

thinking of picking this book up actually. i've read good things/recommendations about it. thoughts?

[migraineur]

I own that and "Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms". The books complement each other. I haven't read them in a while but I think the video would be of more use to you at the moment and it's cheaper than buying the books. Watching the videos can also make it easier for you to understand.

I've found a way to get cheap cultures is to buy the premade mushroom grow boxes from Bunnings and other places. You'll end up with a few flushes of mushrooms and then you can make your own spore prints or take tissue samples from the fresh mushrooms. This is how I got my hands on portobello mushrooms. However, I ended up eating so many in a short period of time that I got sick of them and I never wanted to eat them again so I chucked my cultures out.

You can end up spending a small fortune getting started in this hobby but once you've got your pressure cooker and a few other things the ongoing costs are minimal. Grain, coir, straw etc is very cheap and you can get manure for free from stables. Stables will let you take as much as you want since they can't seem to get rid of it fast enough.

In the long run you'll end up saving a lot of money if you like eating mushrooms since they are expensive to buy. You might even be able to sell them if you find a buyer. You can also use the spent substrate on your garden as mushroom compost.

[endorfinder]

forget it, get RR's videos instead. they're extremely well done and will help you get around all this stuff in no time.

and seriously google things like agar, you'll learn a lot very quickly

[waterboy 2.0]

^agreed and if you are into it as a hobby then pick up the Stamets works -worth every penny IMO.

The mushroom cultivator is a little dated, but covers some important areas. If I lost my copy I would buy another, they others would miss it...lol

a few points:

maitake - its a fussy thing I'd put it into the advanced catergory , environment control demanding catergory....have to be fussy or it goes fishy...and I mean that literally...like dead fish fishy.

reishi - its an agressive thing, once its established it can outgrow most contams..fussy on the right parameters to get conk form, but antler form just as medicinal.

Shiitake - I would highly recommend this as a low input first grow.Get some plugs and suitable wood. Bang em in let nature run its course. Keep an on moisture/bit of shadecloth if needed. Otway Agroforestry Network were selling plugs/dowels a while back in Vic, they were importing stamets cultures through quarantine and still may be?

[endorfinder]

A kind member sent me some shiitake dowels a little while back, PM me if you would like to have a play with a few of those.

You'll need a special sized drill bit, mallet/hammer, and eucalyptus logs (am i missing anything wb?)

[Mycot]

Or use the dowels to make a woodchip bed.

[waterboy 2.0]

^ good luck with that for shiitake..it doesnt like competition

can use dowels to innoculate woodchip/shavings in growbags though.

fresh cut log, left for a few weeks then innoculating. Sealing the , inserted dowel in helps during establishment, cheese wax recommended, not essential.

I just found a drill bit the right size in the toolbox and mallet them in.

Keep the log from directed contacting the ground, even a brick will do it. Due to first point. Dont keep wetting the logs or competitor fungi and moulds will take hold.