How to Grow Shiitake Mushrooms at Home: A Detailed Guide to Home Cultivation Methods
Shiitake mushrooms have a very long cultivation history in our country and are also a famous medicinal fungus in China. Medical experts throughout the dynasties have offered different discussions on the effects of shiitake mushrooms. So how do beginners grow shiitake mushrooms at home?
Shiitake mushrooms are also known as flower mushrooms, fragrant mushrooms, etc., and have left an indelible mark in our country's vast cultural heritage. The ancient Chinese had very rich experience in growing mushrooms. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wang Chong recorded the cultivation method of purple ganoderma in the book Lunheng: “Ganoderma grows in the soil; when the soil is harmonious, the ganoderma grass grows.” The purple ganoderma mentioned here is the shiitake mushroom. It can be said that the artificial cultivation of edible and medicinal fungi had already begun to rise during the Three Kingdoms period.
In the Compendium of Materia Medica, there is a passage that states: “Alchemists pile wood in damp places, apply medicine to it, and then five-colored ganoderma grows.” What is recorded here about the cultivation of five-colored mushrooms is also the cultivation method of shiitake mushrooms. China is the first country to discover and cultivate shiitake mushrooms. In the Wang Zhen Agricultural Book written by a Yuan dynasty author, the artificial cultivation method of shiitake mushrooms is also recorded, namely the famous cut-flower method of cultivating shiitake mushrooms. Even now, many mushroom farmers in China and Japan still use this method of cultivating shiitake mushrooms.
When growing shiitake mushrooms individually at home, the first step is to prepare suitable materials to make fungus bags, generally mainly corncob powder, sawdust, wheat bran, rice straw powder, and gypsum. Put 1 kilogram of material into each fungus bag. After filling, it must be compacted and also sterilized. The most common sterilization method is high-temperature sterilization: place the fungus bags in a 100-degree environment for 12 hours of sterilization.
Finally, holes should be punched in the fungus bags to inoculate the spawn. Generally, after more than 20 days, the spawn can survive. When the spawn begins to send out tips, the fungus bags should be placed in a warm environment to let the shiitake mushrooms begin to grow. After young mushrooms emerge, the inferior young mushrooms should be removed so that there is a certain spacing between the shiitake mushrooms. This allows the shiitake mushrooms to grow larger and have better quality. In addition, after the shiitake mushrooms grow to a certain extent, they should be harvested promptly, otherwise it will affect the production of later shiitake mushrooms.
The above is some little knowledge about shiitake mushrooms and how to grow shiitake mushrooms at home. In our country's long historical culture, many methods for eating shiitake mushrooms have also emerged, and you can try them after growing your own shiitake mushrooms.