A detailed guide to Hericium erinaceus cultivation techniques, teaching you to grow the stomach-nourishing mountain delicacy well

Hericium erinaceus (lion's mane mushroom) is named for its shape, which closely resembles a monkey's head, and is also called hedgehog fungus. It is a precious culinary ingredient, one of the four famous dishes, with an incomparably delicious flavor, highly sought after by many people, and many have invested in cultivating it. So, what cultivation techniques are there for Hericium erinaceus? Let's find out together with the editor!

1. Greenhouse construction

Choose a place with flat terrain, a clean environment and close to a water source to build the greenhouse. The size of the greenhouse depends on the scale of cultivation. Since Hericium erinaceus is a thermophilic fungus, the greenhouse must have good insulation measures; double-layer hollow walls are recommended. Ventilation measures must be well done, dig the ground down 50cm, and cover the top of the greenhouse with a top film for insulation. A winter-warm vegetable greenhouse can also be used to grow Hericium erinaceus.

2. Raw material formula

The choice of cultivation raw materials is the key point in growing Hericium erinaceus. Below are two formulas for your reference (1): cottonseed hulls 90%, wheat bran 8%, gypsum 1%, superphosphate 1%; (2): cottonseed hulls 58%, mixed sawdust 30%, wheat bran 10%, gypsum 1%, superphosphate 1%. Mix and stir them, then add water and stir evenly. The water content should be about 65%, not too much or too little; a water content of 65% is favorable for the growth of mycelium.

3. Bagging and sterilization

After the culture substrate is prepared, it is time to start bagging. Choose polypropylene plastic bags as the culture bags, with a specific specification of 15×32cm. Put 8 liang to 1 jin of substrate into each bag, press it appropriately tight when filling, and tie it tightly with fine string after filling. Next is the high-temperature sterilization treatment. There are normal-pressure sterilization and high-pressure sterilization. For normal pressure, put the cultivation bags into a sterilization pot, heat it to 100 degrees, keep it for 10-12 hours, then stop the fire and let it steam for 5-6 hours. For high pressure, put them into 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 Hericium erinaceus, and also a key step. Send the sterilized and cooled cultivation bags into the inoculation room. Before entering, spray and disinfect with a chemical agent; a commonly used one is the fungicide kemeiling. During inoculation, the workers must go through a series of disinfection procedures before entering the inoculation room, so as to avoid bacterial infection causing inoculation failure. When inoculating, first disinfect and sterilize the outer surface of the spawn bottle, open the spawn bottle, remove the upper layer of old mycelium, open the cultivation bag, use a tool to inoculate the mycelium into the bag, then seal the opening. The movements must be coherent and quick. Generally, each bottle of spawn can inoculate about 30 bags.

Hericium erinaceus is rich in nutritional value, is an excellent health product, has substantial economic benefits, and has broad market prospects. Farmers who have the conditions to invest in cultivation can learn more about it in depth!

The above is an introduction to the cultivation techniques of Hericium erinaceus. I hope it can help you!