Growing Mushrooms At Home Using Spore Syringe And Substrates

By Author: Spores101.co
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There are different ways of cultivating mushrooms and one of the most common method is using a spore syringe. The spores are mixed with water and ready to be injected for reproduction. While using spore syringe is a popular way to grow mushrooms, it takes a while since you start with mushroom spores and have to wait for the germination and for the mycelium to be active or come to life. You can readily buy spore syringe from reliable sources over the Internet. These things are viable for several years given that you keep them under ideal conditions. You need to keep these syringes in a cold environment. If you keep a spore syringe in a fridge, it can be still very good after six months but others have reported that they are still good to use even after two and a half years. Inoculating the substrate with spore syringe Once you have your spore syringe, you will be needing a good substrate that will be ideal for the kind of mushroom that you want to cultivate. The substrate will be the source of nutrition for your growing mycelium. There are ...
... several kinds of substrates that you can choose from. You have the sterilized substrate mediums and the unsterilized substrates. You need a sterilized substrate for growing mushrooms so it is up to you if you want to buy the ready-to-use sterilized substrates or you can prepare the substrates and pasteurize them on your own. Some of the common substrates used are rye grain bags, compost, or wild bird seeds that are either stored in a bag or jar. Cereal straws such as those from oat, wheat, or rye are very good bases to grow mushrooms. They can be considered flexible in terms of growing different varieties of mushrooms. However, you just cannot use them with spore syringe as you have to prepare them well and get rid of microbes especially if you plan to grow mushrooms indoors. Logs can also be a good substrate for mushrooms. If you plan to use a cut log, you have to make sure that the wood is fit for growing mushrooms and you've to know when the wood was cut. Do some research and match the kind of mushroom you want to grow to the woods they grow on in nature. Some common woods used are alder, ash, beech, cottonwood, and elm. Commercial mushroom cultivators also commonly use enriched sawdust for their spore syringe. Same rules apply, so everything must be sterilized. Incubation Once you have inoculated your substrate with mushroom spores, you have to wait so it will be fully colonized. This takes patience and a good waiting period of one to three weeks. It can be longer depending on the mushroom that you want to grow and how you set up the environment. You need a space that will be dark and warm so the mushrooms can properly grown. Usually you need to maintain around 78 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. As you wait for the colonization to complete, you have to check the substrate from time to time and monitor the temperature of the room. Once you see mycelium growing and connecting to each other, you will soon see a live mushroom spawn. From there, you can use that to grow more mushrooms that are a lot bigger.