Oyster Mushrooms is one of the most liked human food and it has taken main place in human diet nowadays. The diet conscious people take mushroom as an alternate for Non – Vegetarian food. It is rich in vitamin B , vitamin C , all the essential minerals required for a human body. It has 1.6-2.5 % of proteins and has niacin as ten times more than vegetables. You can start to grow this delicious oyster mushrooms using grow bags at your home itself! It is one of the easiest home crop to grow!
Requirements for growing oyster mushrooms at home
Oyster Mushroom Spawn
Grain spawn – it is used as seeds to produce mushrooms, which are just sterilized white sorghum that are inoculated with live mycelium.
Substrate
Substrates are the growing medium for mushroom cultivation. straw is widely used a substrate after proper sterilization. However, the organic wastes products like sugarcane bagasse, saw dust, peanut shells, jute and cotton wastes can also be used as substrates.
Mushroom Grow bags
Commercial mushroom farms use mushroom cultivation bags and there are many kinds of bags are available in the market. However , You can grow your mushroom using the polythene bags as well.
Selection of substrate
Paddy straw is the widely used substrate to grow mushrooms. Other substrates like saw dust, sugarcane bagasse can also be used. However, paddy straw is easily available, cheap and easy to sterilize.
Substrate Preparation for growing mushroom in a bag
Substrates are the growing medium for the mushroom. You can use use paddy straw, coffee ground, sugarcane bagasse, saw dust as substrate. Paddy straw is the cheapest and easily available substrate that you can use.
Prepare Substrate
Cut the paddy straws in to 5-15 cm long and soak in water for at least 4-8 hours to clean the dirt and soil from it, Put a weight on it to make the straws to sink in water.
Drain the water and put into a hot water vessel to sterilize the straws. This step is very important for growing mushroom.
After sterilization, spread it on a clean and hygienic place to dry.
Let it to half dry. There should be no water in the straws , but it should have moisture.
Now the substrate for mushroom is ready.
Prepare the Grow Bags
Take a polythene cover with size 12 X 24 inches, the bag size , most of the mushroom growers used and it is the easiest to grow mushrooms in small scale.
Make some fleets in one end and tie it with a rubber band ,to make the cylindrical shape bag to hang the bags easy.
Turn the bag to opposite side and now you will get a cylindrical shape grow ready!
Mushroom inoculation with spawn
Distribution of spawn
Take the grow bag, fill little spawn in the bottom
Fill with substrate – paddy straws tightly as one layer
spread the spawns as one layer. Fill the spawns only at the sides of the bags and you should not put it in the middle. This will help you to monitor the inoculation process and easy to harvest.
Repeat the process till the top of the bag get filled.
Now tie it with another rubber band and hang it in the rope hangers.
Put 9-12 holes all around the bag with a sterilized sharp material in order to provide aeration for the grow bag.
Maintain Right Temperature for inoculation Room
Temperature is most important thing in mushroom cultivation. You should maintain the room temperature before proceeding as 23-28 degree Celsius. You can spread the wet jute bags to maintain the humidity of the room. Personal Hygiene of the person who enters the room to maintain the grow bags. Mushrooms will grow fast in the dark places. So, you need to set the light level accordingly.
Harvesting your mushroom
Mushroom spawn turns to spawn running stage after 7 days. You can see the buds pop out from the holes you made in the bags. all around the bag in 21 days. Now, you have to spray some water in the morning or evening to save the buds from drying. It will take 3-4 days for fruiting. You can harvest the mushrooms after 24 days. After your first harvest, keep spraying water on other buds and your next harvest will be ready in next 5 days. You can harvest 3 times from a single bag!
Growing Oyster mushroom is quiet easier and interesting one and hope you get inputs for it. Start growing this protein rich oyster mushroom and lead healthy living!
