Detailed Guide to Growing Mushrooms with Cow Manure, with Pictures and Videos
With the rapid development of the cattle industry today, manure pollution has become a major problem. According to relevant data, in some places, the environmental pollution caused by cow manure has exceeded the total amount of industrial pollution, and in some cases is even more than 2 times higher. A dairy cow produces more than 7 tons of manure each year, while a yellow ox produces between 5 and 6...
With the rapid development of the cattle industry today, manure pollution has become a major problem. According to relevant data, in some places, the environmental pollution caused by cow manure has exceeded the total amount of industrial pollution, and in some cases is even more than 2 times higher. A dairy cow produces more than 7 tons of manure each year, while a yellow ox produces between 5 and 6 tons. Because attention to cow manure treatment is generally insufficient in many places, some areas with concentrated cattle farming basically have no cow manure treatment facilities at all.
Zhongdi Network has compiled the methods for growing mushrooms with cow manure, listed below for netizens' reference.
Using cow manure mixed with rice straw fermented as a substrate to grow mushrooms, the varieties that can be grown include button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), shaggy ink cap (Coprinus comatus), shiitake (Hypsizygus marmoreus), and straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea), etc.
I. Formula for mushroom culture material grown with cow manure:
One mushroom house needs 8000 kg of rice straw and 4000 kg of dry cow manure. The rice straw needs to be sun-dried and free of mold before use. The cow manure should be crushed, with a diameter preferably not exceeding 1 cm. The purity of the cow manure should be above 80%. In addition to cow manure and rice straw, cake fertilizer and chemical fertilizer should also be added to supplement nutrients and increase the looseness and permeability of the culture material. 200 kg of cake fertilizer, 150 kg of superphosphate, 100 kg of compound fertilizer, and 200 kg of quicklime are needed.
II. Method for treating rice straw as culture material:
Soak the rice straw completely in water, then take it out, pile it into a straw heap 2 m high, and leave it for 5-7 days. Spray water on the surface of the heap 1-2 times each day.
III. Making the culture material for growing mushrooms with cow manure:
1. Mix the treated rice straw and cow manure together and pile them up for fermentation, 2.2 m wide, 30 cm high, and 18 m long. For each layer of rice straw laid down, spread a layer of cow manure, with the proportion of cow manure being one-half, then lay down rice straw again, one layer of rice straw and one layer of cow manure, until all the rice straw is used up.
2. Water during the piling process. The principle is not to water the bottom layer, to water the middle layer lightly, and to water the upper layer heavily, until water overflows around the material pile.
3. With the pile built in this way, the temperature generally rises to around 70 degrees by about the fourth day, and about 20-25 days are needed. During this period, the pile should be turned four times. The first turning is 5-7 days after building the pile; the suitable moisture level is when water squeezes out of the rice straw by hand. The second turning is carried out 5-6 days after the first turning, and the third turning is carried out about 5 days after the second turning, with fertilization carried out at the same time. The fertilizer amounts are: 12 kg of cake fertilizer, 4 kg of compound fertilizer, and 10 kg of superphosphate. About four days after the third turning, carry out the final turning. In this final turning, the pH value of the material should be adjusted to between 7.8 and 8.
IV. Secondary fermentation of the culture material:
After the cultivation material enters the shed, carry out secondary fermentation with high-temperature steam at 58-60 degrees for 24 hours, then gradually lower it to 50 degrees and maintain it for 48-72 hours.
V. Sowing method:
The sowing time should be chosen after 3 p.m. on a sunny day. Before sowing, spray the mushroom bed once with water, then evenly scatter the spawn over the culture material, using 1.5-2 bottles per square meter.
VI. Management during the mushroom mycelium growth stage:
The mycelium growth stage takes about 25-30 days. Temperature control during mycelium growth management is very critical, with the maximum not exceeding 29 degrees and maintained between 22-27 degrees. Seven days after sowing, the mycelium has covered the surface of the culture material and begun to spread to the lower layers. During this period, ventilate for 1 hour each day; after 7 days, ventilate for 1.5 hours each day; after 12 days, for 2-3 hours; and after 20 days from sowing, ventilate for more than 10 hours.
After 20 days, when the mycelium has fully grown through the culture material, casing soil should be applied. Casing soil can only be applied when the temperature is below 28 degrees. After 3-5 days, turn the soil once. Before casing, the material must be exposed to strong sunlight for 2-3 days for disinfection. The thickness of the casing soil layer should be between 2.5-3 cm.
VII. Management during the mushroom fruiting stage:
After 12 days of casing soil, when mushroom buds the size of soybeans appear in the soil cracks, spray once with fruiting water, with the amount sprayed being 2-3 kg per square meter of mushroom bed. The fruiting water should be sprayed for 2 consecutive days, and this can only be done when the temperature is below 18 degrees. During the peak fruiting period, spray once with nutrient water to supplement insufficient nutrients.
VIII. Harvesting mushrooms:
Button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) can generally be harvested about 5-7 days after budding, when the cap is about to flatten, the spores have not yet been discharged, the cap diameter has grown to 4-6 cm, and the stem length is 3-5 cm.
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