High-Yield Cultivation Techniques for Bamboo Fungus, Plus Planting Time and Cultivation Methods
Currently, the bamboo fungus on the market includes both artificially cultivated and wild varieties, but artificially cultivated bamboo fungus has a slightly superior taste and aroma compared to the wild kind, and its market price is becoming increasingly expensive. So how to grow bamboo fungus is also a technical skill. Below, we have compiled the planting time and planting methods for bamboo fungus; those who want to try growing it should read carefully.
High-Yield Cultivation Techniques for Bamboo Fungus
1. Making the spawn: Growers only need to buy the raw materials for bamboo fungus to make their own cultivation spawn at the edge of the field. From late December to early January, choose a corner of the field and prepare a compost bed for breeding. Use 80% mixed wood sawdust and 20% wheat bran as the culture material for bamboo fungus spawn, add 110% water, then put it into a woven bag. After sterilizing at normal pressure for 10 hours, take it out and flush water into the bag with clean water to let it drain, then mix in 1% gypsum powder, pile it onto the breeding bed, and adopt the method of 2 layers of material with 1 layer of spawn sown, sprinkling some spawn on the surface of the final layer of material. For every 1 sq m of bed, use 20 kg of dry material and 3-4 bottles of bamboo fungus stock spawn. To cultivate 100 sq m of area, only 4 sq m of spawn-making at the field edge is needed, equal to 25:1. After sowing, cover the surface with woven bags, shade with rice straw, and finally cover with a film supported by bamboo strips arched over it. After sowing, uncover the film for ventilation once every 3-5 days. After 40-50 days of cultivation, once the mycelium has covered the material pile, it becomes field-edge bamboo fungus spawn.
2. Raw material selection: The raw materials currently used for cultivating bamboo fungus fall into four major categories. The first is bamboo, such as the culms, branches, leaves, bamboo heads, and bamboo roots of various bamboos. The second is trees, such as mixed wood chips, branches, leaves, and scraps from factory offcuts. The third is straw, such as bean stalks, jute stalks, grain husks, rapeseed stalks, corn cobs, cotton stalks, cottonseed hulls, sorghum stalks, sunflower stalks, and shells. The fourth is wild grasses, such as reed, Themeda, Dicranopteris, and Miscanthus. The above raw materials should be sun-dried for later use.
3. Production season: Bamboo fungus cultivation is generally divided into spring and autumn seasons. Spring sowing is preferable. Because temperatures differ between northern and southern China, two points should be grasped: first, the temperature at sowing time should not exceed 28°C, which is suitable for mycelial growth and development; second, during the 2-3 months after sowing when the mushroom buds develop, the temperature should not be lower than 10°C, so that the buds can develop healthily into fruiting bodies. In the southern provinces, where bamboo fungus is intercropped with crops, spring sowing is usual: material spreading and sowing begin at “Jingzhe” and intercropping of crops begins at “Qingming”; in the north, this is appropriately delayed. After sowing, 60-70 days are spent cultivating the fungus, then fruiting occurs from May to September in summer and ends in October, with a production cycle of about 7 months.
4. Bed preparation: Use the open spaces in orchards of apple, citrus, grape, peach, and pear, as well as open spaces among mountain trees, to intercrop bamboo fungus. Flat land or gently sloping land near a water source with humus-containing sandy loam is required. Clean up debris or weeds from the site 7-10 days before sowing, and turn the soil to dry and whiten it. Bordeaux mixture can be sprayed on the fruit trees to kill pests and diseases. Generally, fruit trees are spaced 3 m × 3 m, and the open space between them is used as the bed for cultivating bamboo fungus. The bed width is 60-80 cm, with a 30 cm path between rows. The soil clods should not be too broken up when preparing the land, to facilitate aeration, and 40-50 cm beside the fruit trees should be left as a working path.
5. Sowing and covering with soil: Before sowing, soak the culture material in water and control the moisture content at 60%-70% for later use. Sowing adopts one layer of material and one layer of spawn; the spawn can be either spot-sown or broadcast. For every 1 sq m of bed, spread 10 kg of culture material and 5 bottles of spawn, doing one side of material and one side of sowing, then cover the bed with plastic film. Within 15-20 days after sowing, generally no watering is needed; it is best to uncover the film for ventilation for 30 minutes each day, and increase the frequency of ventilation later. Spring has a lot of rain, so dig drainage ditches; the ditches should be 30 cm deeper than the bed. The suitable temperature for mycelial growth is 23-26°C. After sowing, cover the bed surface with a 3 cm thick layer of humus soil, and the moisture content of the humus soil should preferably be 18%. After covering with soil, cut bamboo leaves or reeds into small sections and spread them over the surface, and cover the bed with film to prevent rain from soaking it. If the crop intercropping method is used, the intercrop varieties include soybean, cowpea, sorghum, corn, chili, cucumber, sunflower, and other tall-stemmed or vine crops. When 15-20 days have passed after sowing and covering the bamboo fungus with soil, crop seeds can be sown in holes beside the bed, intercropping one plant at intervals of 50-60 cm.
6. Scientific management: After sowing, under normal temperature, cultivate for 25-33 days; when the mycelium climbs onto the material surface, the film covering the bed can be removed. After the mycelium continuously multiplies through cultivation and absorbs a large amount of nutrients, it forms mycelial strands and climbs onto the material surface, transforming from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, soon producing mushroom buds and breaking through the ball with a single stalk to form fruiting bodies. At this time, the branches and leaves of forest fruit trees and intercropped crops are in their lush period, playing a shading role. During the fruiting period, the moisture content in the culture material should preferably be 60%, the moisture content of the covering soil should not be lower than 20%, and the air relative humidity should preferably be 85%. During the mushroom bud growth period, except in rainy weather, spray water once in the morning and once in the evening each day, keeping the relative humidity not lower than 9%. The mushroom buds swell and gradually develop a raised top, then within a short time break through the ball, quickly extend the stalk and spread the skirt to form fruiting bodies. Bamboo fungus cultivation places great emphasis on watering, with the specific requirement of the “four looks”: first, look at the covering material. When bamboo leaves or stalks and grass become dry, water should be sprayed. Second, look at the covering soil. If the covering soil turns white, spray more and spray frequently. Third, look at the mushroom buds. If the buds are small, spray lightly and mist-spray; if the buds are large, spray more and spray heavily. Fourth, look at the weather. On sunny and dry days with high evaporation, spray more; on rainy days, do not spray. Only in this way can good buds grow, good mushrooms emerge, and the caps be beautifully shaped.
Bamboo Fungus Planting Time and Cultivation Methods
Bamboo fungus can be cultivated once the temperature is above 7°C, and cultivation from October to December is preferable.
1. Indoor box cultivation
Use waste wooden boxes as cultivation containers. First spread 5-10 cm thick humus soil on the bottom of the box, then spread bamboo sections, wood sections, or other substitute materials on top, and inoculate bamboo fungus spawn onto the material. Use 3 bottles of spawn per sq m, finally cover with 5-8 cm of fertile soil, water thoroughly, and cultivate at room temperature to promote spawn running. Water often to keep it moist. Under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, the mycelium can fill the culture material in 4-5 months. When the temperature reaches 20-24°C, mushroom buds form in the surface soil. At this time, the indoor air relative humidity should be kept above 85%. After the mushroom balls emerge from the surface soil, the air relative humidity should be raised to above 95%.
2. Bed cultivation
Choose a sheltered, shady site and dig a bed 10-15 cm deep and 100 cm wide, with no limit on length. Leave 10 cm of loose soil at the bottom of the bed, first spread a layer of bamboo slices or cut logs (dry bamboo slices need to be washed and soaked for 8-12 hours, then dried of surface moisture), sow 1 layer of spawn on the bamboo slices or cut logs, sprinkle 1 layer of dry bamboo leaves, and cover the top with 10 cm of fertile soil. If shading conditions are poor, a shade shed should be built over the bed. Water frequently to keep the surface soil moist. From inoculation to harvest takes 10-12 months.
When to Harvest Bamboo Fungus
The harvest time for the edible bamboo fungus is from June to September each year. It has high nutritional value and great market demand. Bamboo fungus is a cryptogamic fungus parasitic on the roots of dead bamboo, with a shape somewhat like reticulated dried white snake skin. It has a dark green cap, a snow-white cylindrical stalk, and a pink egg-shaped volva. At the top of the stalk, a ring of delicate, pure white reticulated skirt spreads downward from the cap, and it is called the “Fairy in a Snow Skirt,” “Flower of Mountain Treasures,” “Flower of Fungi,” and “Queen of Mushrooms.” Bamboo fungus is rich in nutrients, with a strong fragrance and delicious taste, and has been listed among the “Eight Rare Herbs” since ancient times.
Management Techniques for Bamboo Fungus
1. Water management is the key to the success or failure of cultivation. During the mycelial growth stage, soil moisture should be kept at 65-70%; too much or too little humidity is unfavorable. If the soil is too dry, fine water can be sprayed, but water should not accumulate on the soil.
2. Management at each growth stage. During the mushroom bud growth stage, the temperature should preferably be controlled at 20-23°C, and the air relative humidity at 70-75%; during the fruiting body growth stage, the air relative humidity should be raised to 90-95%, and water can be sprayed 3-4 times a day; open windows for ventilation 1-2 times a day for 30 minutes each time.
3. Management of outdoor bed cultivation. Strictly prevent trampling by people and livestock. During the spawn-running process, do not dig and inspect it ordinarily, so as not to break the mycelium.
4. Replenish soil in time. If buried cut logs are exposed above the soil surface, soil should be added in time to cover them.
So growing bamboo fungus is not such a simple matter. As the saying goes, farmers depend on the sky for their livelihood; if the sky is not helpful, you can only rely on technology to support you. If you have neither, you might as well honestly go to the market to buy bamboo fungus; it does not cost much, or if you have the ability, you can also go into the mountains to dig for bamboo fungus.