Growing mushrooms in greenhouses: technology, characteristics of work, necessary conditions and expert advice

Growing mushrooms in greenhouses is a great way to get a clean crop for yourself or for sale. It cannot be said that the technology of this process is too complicated, but a lot of work will have to be done.

What mushrooms can be grown

Before you get to work, you need to decide on the type of mushrooms. Some representatives of this kingdom do not grow at all in constrained conditions, refusing to multiply and grow. Others, on the contrary, grow excellently on artificial substrates and composts, pleasing a rich harvest.

So, at home and in large industrial greenhouses , the following species are usually grown:

• White mushrooms. A very valuable, but incredibly moody culture. Experienced mushroom growers recommend that beginners do not mess with this variety, since whites often die, respond to the slightest climate change and grow slowly. But if you can get a crop, then it can be easily sold.
• Oyster mushrooms. An ideal culture for beginners, it is often grown on an industrial scale. Oyster mushrooms are unpretentious, they feel good in a wide range of climatic conditions and on different substrates. At the same time, they are growing rapidly - the first crop can be obtained in a month. Sales markets are also easy to find - cafes, restaurants, small shops take them for sale. The minus of oyster mushrooms is that they are inexpensive, and to get tangible profits you need to get a crop from a large area.
• Champignon. More capricious than oyster mushrooms, as they need expensive compost for growth. But they are growing well, and in the case of product sales, the costs will pay off.
• Shiitake. Tree mushroom, the same as oyster mushrooms and honey mushrooms. In our country it is not widespread, but in the world in popularity it is in second place after champignons.
• Winter mushrooms. Cold-resistant mushroom, which is important for our country.

Landing place

Mushrooms are grown in two ways:

1. Extensive. Culture sow the land near the trees on the plot or near it. That is, champignons, white and honey agarics grow in their natural environment, but under the supervision of a mushroom grower.
2. Intensive. Growing mushrooms in greenhouses refers specifically to this method of harvesting. Oyster mushrooms, white and champignons can be grown in an artificial environment year-round, but this requires a lot of labor and money.

The mushroom room is not necessarily a classic greenhouse. Other rooms, such as a garage, a barn, a basement, or even a room in a house, are also good. But any room, including a greenhouse, must be seriously prepared to create the necessary microclimate in it.

Greenhouse preparation

What is the name of the greenhouse for growing mushrooms? In some places you can hear the term “mycelium”, but its primary meaning is mycelium. Therefore, it is correct to say simply “greenhouse for mushrooms”.

To grow mushrooms in a polycarbonate greenhouse, the greenhouse must be prepared for planting such a non-standard crop. Champignons, in principle, can be planted in an ordinary vegetable greenhouse, between cucumbers, and they will feel good. But if the greenhouse is purchased for breeding purely mushrooms, then it must be modified:

1. Direct sunlight harms, so transparent walls are obscured by chalk or net.
2. Cover the floor with foil, and already lay special soil on it.
3. Install electric heaters or water radiators (or provide for a different heating method).
4. Arrange special humidifiers that work from the network. Humidity in the room should not be lower than 85-90%.
5. In order to avoid mold growth on the walls, they must be treated with a special solution from the inside. This is a very important stage, skipping it, the mushroom grower risks losing crop.
6. Ventilation system. Air should be renewed, but without drafts.
7. Zoning room. It is necessary to provide a place for the storage and cultivation of land, substrates and compost, for plantations and for the germination of mycelium.

If the crop is grown for sale, it is necessary to allocate space for its storage.

There are also special mushroom greenhouses, for example, a two-tier Petersburg, combined Moscow or according to Grachev. Such a construction resembles a vegetable greenhouse, but insulated with wooden walls and a layer of manure from above and below, and with a system of ventilation fragrances.

Equipment

What else is needed besides the greenhouse? In fact, you still need to buy a lot of things:

1. Polyethylene for covering the earth.
2. Mushrooms can be grown in different ways, sometimes the method depends on the particular variety. Mushrooms are grown on stumps, shelves, bags with a substrate, suspended or planted on a pin, boxes or other containers. Something from this list will have to be purchased.
3. Heating radiators (electric heaters).
4. Humidifiers.
5. Ventilation system.
6. Refrigerators for harvest. Even if growing mushrooms in a greenhouse is just a hobby, you need to provide a place in the refrigerator for the next wave. If the culture is for sale, then this becomes a priority.

If mushrooms are grown for the purpose of their further sale, you need to purchase containers for collection and storage, as well as packaging containers and film.

Mycelium purchase

In order to start the process, planting material is needed. For mushrooms, this is mycelium - mycelium in the form of thin interwoven threads that are laid on special ground. You need to buy it from trusted suppliers so that it is fresh, not dry and not infected with various diseases. In addition to checking the certificate, it will be useful to get a small test sample, according to which you can evaluate the quality of the mycelium. It is especially important to do this in the presence of large plantations.

Other breeding options

Some experts in mushroom cultivation in the greenhouse all year round prefer not to buy mycelium, but to germinate the mycelium on their own, from live spores. It is cheaper, but also a hassle more.

Mushroom spores are bought and germinated as seeds on a special substrate at high humidity and temperature. And after the onset of intensive growth of mushrooms, the temperature is reduced.

Spores are also obtained from wild mushrooms: they are collected, soaked in water for 24 hours, and then rubbed into gruel. Suspended water is poured onto the landing site and waiting for seedlings. The method is effective, but the yield is in question.

Mushrooms can still be grown by simply moving part of the mycelium from the forest to the right place. Lovers practice a simple instillation of hats followed by intensive watering.

Substrates and composts

One of the main conditions for growing mushrooms is the transplantation of mycelium into specially prepared soil. For different types of mushrooms, various substrates are suitable, namely:

• For champignons, special compost - straw with the addition of urea and superphosphate - is moistened for several days. Then cow dung is laid out in the boxes and covered with straw from above. After 3-4 days, everything is mixed with the addition of water and gypsum. As soon as the compost structure becomes fine-grained, and the smell of ammonia disappears, mycelium can be planted: 100 kg of manure are taken per 100 kg of straw, 2 kg of urea and superphosphate and 8-10 kg of gypsum.
• Oyster mushrooms grow in bags filled with sawdust and peat and sprinkled on top of the ground.
• Growing porcini mushrooms in the greenhouse all year round is difficult due to the fact that they grow well only on dry, well-drained soils. They do not grow on substrates with the addition of peat, loam, marshy soils and sandstones. Ideally, you need land from that part of the forest where the seed came from. But you can mix garden soil with manure and sawdust.

Any substrate or compost for growing any type of mushroom can be bought ready-made.

Tips for beginner mushroom growers

1. Beginners in the cultivation of this culture often talk about the complete automation of greenhouses for growing mushrooms. But only large industrial enterprises can afford this.
2. When attracting staff, you must make sure that they have a medical book. When working with mushrooms, this is not just a formality, but a necessity.
3. If the crop is grown for sale, you must first find a point of sale.
4. Everyone can do this business - you just need patience and hard work.
5. Be sure to buy a refrigerator or a freezer with shock freezing - the shelf life of raw mushrooms is negligible, and you can lose the result of long work.
6. Water temperature for irrigation - not less than 10 ⁰. Rigid unsuitable for a delicate culture, it must be mitigated by the addition of lime.

Growing porcini mushrooms in a greenhouse

For this variety, humidity of 80-85% and the absence of temperature differences are needed. For germination, the ideal option is 28 degrees, for growth - 17. When growing mushrooms in a greenhouse, you usually need no more than a couple of months to harvest, but not in this case.

The porcini mushroom is incredibly moody; it can “take root” in a new place for more than a year. But if the mycelium still grows, it can bear fruit 3-5 years.

How to grow oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms grow either on wood blocks or on bags with a substrate. In the first case, mycelium is applied to pre-moistened bars, which will be fixed on them for 2-3 days. In the second, the mycelium is placed inside a bag with a moistened substrate. Also in the package make 7-12 holes - for the growth of mushrooms. The optimum temperature is in the range +19 ... + 21 ⁰.

The first crop - after 2 weeks, then several waves of the crop for 2.5 months, with a total product yield of about 25% by weight of the substrate. As they develop, substrates and wooden blocks are replaced.

Champignon

Sowing is carried out as follows: in the compost, holes are made in a checkerboard pattern so that at least 25 cm is left between them, and the seeds are laid out in them and covered with a four-centimeter layer of earth. The temperature of the substrate is not higher than +30 ⁰, otherwise the mycelium will die. But not lower than +20 ⁰, so that growth occurs without delay. It is not necessary to close the film - it will only hurt the mushrooms.

When the mycelium grows well, it needs to be covered with cover soil (9 fractions of peat, one fraction of chalk) 4 cm thick. The temperature in the greenhouse is reduced to +17 ⁰.

When growing mushrooms in a greenhouse, it is important to harvest in time. In champignons, a signal is a stretched, but not bursting film between the leg and the hat.