Cultivation Methods and Key Technical Points for Lion's Mane Mushroom

The lion's mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) is a relatively rare edible fungus, named for its shape resembling a monkey's head, and it is currently quite popular in the Chinese market. So what are the cultivation methods for lion's mane mushroom?

1. Greenhouse Construction

Choose a location with flat terrain, a clean environment and close to a water source to build the greenhouse; the size of the greenhouse depends on the cultivation scale. Since lion's mane mushroom is a thermophilic fungus, the greenhouse must have good insulation measures. It is recommended to use double-layer hollow walls, and ventilation measures should also be well implemented. Dig the ground down 50cm, and cover the roof with anti-drip film for insulation. A winter-warm vegetable greenhouse can also be used to cultivate lion's mane mushroom.

2. Raw Material Formula

The selection of cultivation raw materials is an important point in growing lion's mane mushroom. Two formulas are provided below for reference:

1. Cottonseed hulls 90%, wheat bran 8%, gypsum 1%, superphosphate 1%;

2. Cottonseed hulls 58%, miscellaneous wood sawdust 30%, wheat bran 10%, gypsum 1%, superphosphate 1%.

After mixing and stirring them, add water and stir evenly. The water content should be around 65%, and it should not be too much or too little.

3. Bagging and Sterilization

After preparing the culture substrate, it is time to start bagging. Choose polypropylene plastic bags as the culture bags, with a specific specification of 15×32cm. Fill each bag with 8 liang to 1 jin of substrate, press it appropriately tight when filling, and tie it tightly with thin rope after filling. Next comes high-temperature sterilization. Sterilization includes atmospheric pressure sterilization and high-pressure sterilization. For atmospheric pressure sterilization, place the cultivation bags in a sterilization pot, heat to 100 degrees, keep for 10-12 hours, then stop the fire and let them sit for 5-6 hours. For high-pressure sterilization, place them in an autoclave and maintain a pressure of 1.2-1.5 kg per square centimeter for 2-3 hours.

4. Inoculation

This is the last step in growing lion's mane mushroom. Send the sterilized and cooled cultivation bags into the inoculation room. Before entering, spray disinfect with a chemical agent; commonly used is the fungicide Kemeiling. During inoculation, workers must undergo a series of disinfection procedures before entering the inoculation room, so as to avoid inoculation failure. During inoculation, first disinfect and sterilize the outer surface of the spawn bottle, then open the spawn bottle, remove the upper layer of old mycelium, then open the cultivation bag, use a tool to inoculate the mycelium into the bag, and then seal the opening. The movements must be coherent and quick. Generally, each bottle of spawn can inoculate 30 bags.

Growing lion's mane mushroom requires careful management, and only then will the yield of the lion's mane mushroom produced be relatively high.