How to Grow the Shaggy Mane Mushroom? A Detailed Explanation of Key Cultivation Techniques

The shaggy mane mushroom (Coprinus comatus) is a type of mushroom that is currently very popular with consumers on the market, with excellent sales. This has led many people to consider growing it. Growing shaggy mane mushrooms requires doing good work in many aspects. Let's take a look together below!

How to Grow the Shaggy Mane Mushroom

1. Site selection and ingredient mixing. The cultivation site can be chosen indoors or outdoors in open fields, greenhouses, or intercropped between fruit trees and crops. Planting can be done in all four seasons of the year. In summer, grow indoors or in shade sheds; in autumn, winter, and spring, mainly grow outdoors in open-field cultivation. Ingredients: calculated for a planting area of 20 sq m, you need 400 kg of dry rice straw and 20 kg of lime powder. In addition, auxiliary materials (such as wheat bran, rice bran) can be appropriately added.

2. Raw material processing. Sprinkle 3% lime water onto the ingredients. While watering, build up the culture material into a pile with a height of 2 m; the length and width can be determined by yourself. After patting it firm, cover with film and ferment. Insert a thermometer into the material. When the material temperature rises to 60°C, keep it until the next morning, then turn the pile once. While turning, sprinkle 3% lime water, cover with film again to ferment as before, and once it reaches above 60°C again and maintains for 1 day, it can be taken to the field for cultivation.

3. Fermented material bag cultivation. Generally choose plastic bags with dimensions of 22 cm × 45 cm, 24 cm × 48 cm, or 26 cm × 50 cm, with a thickness of 0.015 cm. Wash the exterior of the spawn bags that have well-grown mycelium, cut open the plastic bags, and place the spawn in a clean box, breaking it into pieces the size of peanut kernels for later use. The spawn must not be placed in ventilated areas or under sunlight, and must be used up the same day. Stack the spawn bags in groups of 3-5, and use a sewing machine with a thick needle to punch 3 rows of small holes at equal distances on the bags. The holes should preferably face the spawn inside the bag to facilitate air exchange, prompting fast mycelium sprouting and fast growth.

Cultivation Techniques for the Shaggy Mane Mushroom

1. Building beds: For shaggy mane mushrooms, build beds according to the direction of the mushroom shed, with 0.5 m walkways between beds. In the greenhouse, dig mushroom beds 80-100 cm wide and 15-20 cm deep; length is unlimited. Water thoroughly to saturate the bottom, and spread 150 g of lime powder per sq m of bed surface.

2. Sowing: The layer-sowing method can be used for sowing, generally 3 layers of material and 3 layers of spawn, with a material thickness of 15-20 cm and a sowing rate of 15-20%. First spread 1 layer of 5 cm thick culture material on the mushroom bed, then sprinkle 1 layer of spawn. In this way, spread a total of 3 layers of material and sprinkle 3 layers of spawn. After sowing, cover with sterilized plastic film and newspaper for mycelium-running management.

3. Mycelium running: Insert a thermometer through the plastic film about 10 cm deep into the material to observe changes in material temperature. Starting from the fourth day after inoculation, lift the covering film once a day to allow ventilation and air exchange. Note that the material temperature at 10 cm must not exceed 25°C, and is best kept below 25°C. When the material temperature is on the high side, strengthen nighttime ventilation in the shed and ventilation under the film, or uncover the newspaper and spray an appropriate amount of clean water to cool it down. After about 20 days, the shaggy mane mushroom mycelium can cover the material layer.

Management During the Mycelium Fermentation Stage

1. Pile fermentation. When the air temperature is 10°C-20°C, stack 3-4 layers; when the air temperature is 20°C-25°C, stack 1-2 layers; when the air temperature is above 25°C, arrange in a single layer.

2. Temperature. Shaggy mane mushroom mycelium can grow at 8°C-30°C, with a more suitable temperature of 20°C-26°C. When the outdoor temperature is above 30°C, ventilate as much as possible in the morning and evening. In low-temperature seasons, the mushroom material can be stacked in more layers to generate accumulated heat, prompting the mycelium to grow as quickly as possible.

3. Humidity. During the growth of shaggy mane mushroom mycelium, maintain the relative air humidity at 60%-70%. During the mycelium growth stage, lime can be scattered on the ground to keep it dry.

4. Light. Weak light is preferable. Sunlight must not shine directly on the spawn bags. Generally after 25-30 days, the mycelium can fill the entire bag.

Harvesting and Processing of the Shaggy Mane Mushroom

1. Harvesting: When the mushroom body is firm, the cap has a few scales and tightly wraps the stipe, and the ring has just begun to loosen, harvest at about seven-tenths maturity. If not harvested in time, the fruiting body will autolyze and turn black. Do not spray water within 4 hours before harvesting, to avoid discoloration where the mushroom body is pinched by hand. When harvesting, hold the lower part of the stipe and gently twist and pull it up.

2. Processing: After harvesting, place fresh mushrooms head-first into plastic or wooden containers. After clearing soil and debris from the mushroom bases, they become a primary product. Then, according to the market destination, grade and sort them for fresh sale or processing. After harvesting, clean up debris on the material surface, level the holes left by harvesting, spray 2% lime water, then cover with film. After cultivating the mycelium for 5-7 days, carry out fruiting management according to conventional methods. Generally, 3-4 flushes of mushrooms can be harvested.

In the early stage of growing shaggy mane mushrooms, you must do a good job of site selection, and the fertilizer ratio is also very important, then cultivate at the appropriate time. During cultivation, temperature must be well controlled to ensure good growth. The later processing and harvesting work is also very important. This has been introduced above, so everyone can read more.