A Detailed Guide to the Cultivation Techniques and Growth Cycle of the Shaggy Mane Mushroom
The shaggy mane mushroom, as its name suggests, is a mushroom that looks like a chicken drumstick, with a tender, fresh texture and a delicate fragrance. It has high nutritional value, containing abundant protein, minerals, vitamins and so on, and is a type of fungal food deeply loved by consumers. Below, let us see how the shaggy mane mushroom is cultivated!
Cultivation Techniques for the Shaggy Mane Mushroom
1. Site selection and ingredient mixing. The cultivation site can be chosen indoors, or outdoors in open fields or greenhouses, or intercropped among fruit trees or crops. Planting can be done in all four seasons of the year: in summer, grow indoors or in a shade shed; in autumn, winter and spring, mainly grow outdoors in open-field cultivation. Ingredients: calculated for a planting area of 20 sq m, 400 kg of dry rice straw and 20 kg of lime powder are needed; in addition, auxiliary materials (such as wheat bran and rice bran) may be added as appropriate.
2. Raw material treatment. Sprinkle 3% lime water onto the ingredients; while watering, build up the compost into a pile 2 m high, with length and width as desired; pat it firm and cover with film to ferment. Insert a thermometer into the material; when the material temperature rises to 60°C, let it continue until the next morning, then turn the pile once, sprinkling 3% lime water while turning, and cover with film to ferment again as before; once it again reaches above 60°C and is maintained for 1 day, it can be taken to the field for cultivation.
3. Sowing and cultivation.
(1) Building the beds: dig beds 1.2 m wide and 10 cm deep, with unlimited length, totaling 20 sq m, and dig drainage ditches 20 cm deep and 20 cm wide around them.
(2) Disinfecting the beds: a few days before cultivation, pour 3% lime water over the entire bed, and on the day of cultivation scatter a layer of dry plant ash.
(3) Sowing method: adopt the layer-sowing method with 3 layers of material and 3 layers of spawn; per square meter, calculated on a dry material basis, use 20 kg of material, about 25 cm thick, with a spawn rate of 10%. After sowing is finished, press and level the material surface with a wooden board, thinly scatter a layer of dry plant ash, then cover with 3 cm of soil, thinly scatter another layer of plant ash on the soil surface, cover with film to spawn-run, and after 3 days shake the film to ventilate, twice a day.
4. Spawn-running management and harvesting. Imitating the method for raising rice seedlings, set up small arched sheds, and by reducing or increasing the thickness of the straw curtains on the bamboo arches and by making double-layer bamboo arches with double-layer film, regulate the bed temperature between 10—28°C; after 40 days, small mushrooms can be seen breaking through the soil. At this point, remove the covering film on the soil layer of the material surface, and spray water lightly and frequently in a fine mist to keep it moist; after another 10—25 days, they can be harvested at the button stage. Twist the mushrooms left and right by hand to pull them out, and trim off the soil on the mushroom base with a knife before selling.
Growth Cycle of the Shaggy Mane Mushroom
Shaggy mane mushroom scientific name: Coprinus comatus. It belongs to the class Fungi, order Agaricales, family Coprinaceae, genus Coprinus. It is a straw-decaying, medium-to-high temperature large fungus. Under artificial cultivation, the mycelial growth period is 20~30 days, and from budding to maturity of the fruiting body is 5~7 days; 48 hours after maturity, it begins to secrete lysozyme and undergoes autolysis. Generally, casing soil is applied starting 20 days after sowing, and it takes 7~10 days for the mycelium to climb onto the casing soil surface, at which point it enters the fruiting stage.
Cultivation Season
The shaggy mane mushroom is a straw-decaying, dung-inhabiting, soil-inhabiting fungus with very strong adaptability. It belongs to the constant-temperature fruiting, medium-temperature type of mushroom. The suitable temperature for mycelial growth is 23~28°C, and the suitable temperature for fruiting body formation is 15~18°C. It can be cultivated in both spring and autumn. For autumn cultivation, the spawn is generally made from June to August, and fruiting occurs from late September to December, up to early December; for spring cultivation, the spawn is generally made from November to February of the following year, and the spawn needs appropriate heating for spawn-running, with fruiting from April to June.
The Edible Benefits of the Shaggy Mane Mushroom
1. Boosting immunity. The protein in the shaggy mane mushroom is the most important nutrient for maintaining immune function, and is the main component making up white blood cells and antibodies.
2. Relieving constipation. The cellulose in the shaggy mane mushroom can promote peristalsis of the intestinal wall, aid digestion, and prevent dry stools.
3. Calming the mind and relieving restlessness. The shaggy mane mushroom contains various amino acids and vitamins, which can regulate metabolism and have a sedative and calming effect.
4. Lowering blood sugar and relieving thirst. The shaggy mane mushroom has an auxiliary therapeutic effect on diabetes.
As described above, the cultivation method of the shaggy mane mushroom is largely similar to that of general mushrooms. Fungal foods like to grow in damp places and grow very quickly; generally, after about one month of cultivation, there will be fresh and delicious mushrooms to eat!