How to Grow King Oyster Mushrooms: A Detailed Guide to Planting Time and Techniques

The king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) is a food ingredient that loves warmth and moisture, and it is currently distributed in many parts of our country. For many people who want to grow king oyster mushrooms, the first thing is to understand its best planting time, and then its planting method; only after a deep understanding of these can you possibly grow king oyster mushrooms with high yields.

King Oyster Mushroom Cultivation Techniques

1. Substrate formulas. (1) 37% mixed hardwood sawdust, 37% cottonseed hulls, 18.5% wheat bran, 5% cornmeal, 1% gypsum, 1% white sugar, 0.5% lime powder, pH 9-11. (2) 78% cottonseed hulls, 18% wheat bran, 1% sugar, 2% cornmeal, 1% gypsum, pH 9-11. (3) 23% mixed hardwood sawdust, 23% cottonseed hulls, 18% wheat bran, 1% white sugar, 1% gypsum, 4% cornmeal, 30% bean stalk powder, pH 9-11.

2. Mixing ingredients and making bags. Weigh the above culture materials according to their respective proportions, place them on the floor of the mixing yard and turn and mix evenly, adjusting the water content to 60%-65%. Use 17×33×0.004 cm gusseted polyethylene bags or polypropylene bags to fill with material; each bag holds 500 g of dry material and weighs about 1100 g when wet, sealed by folding the corners diagonally and inserting the ends straight in. After filling, place them into a large empty sterilization bundle (self-made for about 30 yuan, can hold 500-800 bags) for sterilization for 4-5 hours, then cool to room temperature and take them out. For inoculation, use a sterile edible fungus inoculator; on the inoculation operating table, two people work together to open the bag mouth fully and insert the spawn; each 750 g bottle of king oyster mushroom cultivation spawn can inoculate 40-60 material bags. After inoculation, place them indoors in a clean and hygienic area for mycelium culture, maintaining the temperature between 20°C-25°C and the relative air humidity above 70%. Ventilate 1-2 times a day to keep the air fresh; after about 30 days the mycelium fills the bag.

King Oyster Mushroom Planting Time

For cultivation under natural conditions, according to the suitable growth temperature of the king oyster mushroom, generally autumn-winter and winter-spring cultivation are preferable, but in areas where winter temperatures are relatively high, it is better to schedule fruiting from December to February, because if the temperature is too high or too low it is difficult to form primordia, which is not conducive to the growth and development of the fruiting bodies. The king oyster mushroom is different from other oyster mushrooms: if the first flush does not form normally, it will affect the occurrence of the second flush, which will inevitably affect the total yield. Therefore, whether in the south or the north, the appropriate cultivation period should be arranged according to the suitable temperature for fruiting; generally, it is advisable to make the cultivation bags 50 days in advance when the local temperature drops below 18 degrees.

King Oyster Mushroom Planting Methods

Method of burying the spawn bags. After the mycelium has filled the spawn bags, move them into a vegetable greenhouse and bury them in soil. The soil in the greenhouse must be loose and fertile enough. The biggest feature of soil-covered cultivation of king oyster mushrooms is that the fruiting bodies grown are large, fresh and tender, and high-yielding. First remove the bags: select bags with no contamination and good mycelium growth, cut the bags open with a knife, take out the spawn blocks intact, then place them neatly and horizontally into the bed, leaving 2-3 cm gaps between bags. Then fill the gaps with disinfected clean fine soil; after the whole bed is covered with fine soil, spray clean water once, then cover with plastic film, and cover the plastic film with rice straw. Continue mycelium culture for 15 d; when the soil is covered with king oyster mushroom mycelium, remove the film and ventilate, maintaining a certain temperature, which is conducive to the formation of king oyster mushroom fruiting bodies. At the same time, during the fruiting stage a certain amount of light is needed, so that after the king oyster mushroom fruiting bodies form, no watering is needed within 7 d; strengthen ventilation and keep the air in the mushroom shed clean. From primordium formation to fruiting body maturity, the king oyster mushroom generally needs 13-15 d. Young mushrooms grow relatively slowly; when the mushroom body grows to more than 6 cm, it is necessary to increase the humidity in the shed and let the mushroom body receive scattered light, with a relative humidity of 85%-90%, to promote the formation of normal fruiting bodies.

Fruiting Management of King Oyster Mushrooms

1. Humidity regulation: during the stage of fruiting body occurrence and growth, the relative humidity in the mushroom house should be kept at about 90% at the initial stage; during fruiting body development and when nearing harvest, the humidity can be controlled at about 85%, which helps extend the shelf life of the fruiting bodies. At the same time, take care to avoid spraying water directly onto the mushroom bodies; especially when the temperature rises, spraying water directly onto the mushroom bodies easily makes the fruiting bodies turn yellow, and in severe cases can also cause bacterial infection and lead to rot.

2. Air regulation: with poor ventilation it is difficult for the fruiting bodies to develop normally, and if high temperature and high humidity occur at the same time, the fruiting bodies will rot. Therefore, the mushroom house must maintain good ventilation conditions.

3. Light source control: both the stage of fruiting body occurrence and development require light, preferably 500-1000 lux; when the temperature rises, take care not to let light shine directly.

There are two cultivation times for king oyster mushrooms, namely the autumn and winter seasons each year, so friends who want to grow them should grasp these two time periods well. The cultivation techniques for king oyster mushrooms are relatively complicated, but no step can be omitted; they need to be cultivated carefully, and only then will there be a high-yield return.