Canned Jar Cultivation of Lion's Mane Mushroom Without Cotton Plugs

Lion's mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) is delicious and highly nutritious, enjoying the reputation of a "mountain delicacy." It also has good medicinal value, with notable efficacy against gastric and duodenal ulcers and indigestion, as well as an ideal preventive and therapeutic effect on tumors, especially cancers of the digestive tract. Artificial cultivation offers considerable development prospects. Cultivation methods are generally based on bottle cultivation, bag cultivation, and log cultivation. In the author's years of experience, cultivation in canned jars offers easily available containers that can be reused, with low cost. Using corncobs as the raw material and plastic film sealing instead of cotton plugs makes the operation simple, with thorough sterilization and a high yield of finished product.

1. Raw material formula: Use corncobs as the main material. Select corncobs of good color and free from contamination, and crush them with a grinder with a screen aperture of 12 cm, so that the particles are about the size of peanut kernels.

Formula 1: Corncobs 83%, cornmeal 15%, superphosphate 1%, soybean meal (or soybean cake powder) 1%. Formula 2: Corncobs 83%, wheat bran 15%, gypsum 1%, monopotassium phosphate 1%.

2. Mixing and filling: Weigh the raw materials according to the above proportions. The material-to-water ratio is 1:2. While watering, turn the pile 4-5 times to mix thoroughly; the pH value can be left natural. Corncobs have poor water-holding capacity, so after mixing, let the material sit for 1 hour to promote full water absorption by the raw materials, while excess water drains out on its own, keeping the moisture stable. Canned jars of 750 ml are best; 500 ml will also do. Fill the jars up to the shoulder, packing the material firmly. Wipe the jar mouth and body clean, cover with 0.04 cm thick polyethylene film (use polypropylene film for autoclaving), and fit with a rubber ring (which can be cut from a bicycle inner tube).

3. Sterilization and inoculation: For atmospheric pressure sterilization, keep the temperature in the stove at 100°C for 8-10 hours; for autoclaving, maintain 0.12-0.15 MPa for 2 hours, then remove and cool.

When the material temperature drops below 30°C, move into an aseptic box or aseptic room, seal and disinfect, and carry out inoculation under strict aseptic operation.

4. Mycelium incubation: After inoculation, incubate the canned jars at 25-30°C, keeping the environment clean and dry, and it must be kept away from light; otherwise, the mushrooms will emerge prematurely before the mycelium has fully grown over the jar. The jar will be fully covered in about 25 days.

5. Fruiting management: After the mycelium has fully covered the jar, lower the temperature to between 15-25°C, increase scattered light, and strengthen ventilation to stimulate the formation of mushroom buds. After about 5 days, primordia form at the edge of the jar mouth. At the primordia about 1.5 cm near the jar mouth, use a pointed wooden stick 2 cm in diameter to poke a small hole, or use a blade to cut a cross-shaped or "V"-shaped small opening; be careful not to damage the primordia. After a few days, the primordia protrude through the covering film to form mushroom buds. At this time, maintain a relative air humidity of 85%-90%. Humidity can be adjusted by spraying and watering the ground, 3-5 times daily, but do not spray directly on the fruiting bodies.

6. Harvesting: When the fruiting bodies are mature, they are pure white, with spines about 1 cm long covering the surface of the mushroom body and hanging down. When a small amount of white spore discharge marks appear on the jar body or the covering film, they can be harvested. After harvesting, seal the holes with transparent tape, but not too tightly. After 10-15 days, primordia form again, and the covering can be opened again for fruiting. Each jar can produce 50-100 g of lion's mane mushroom.

7. Conclusion: (1) The raw materials include both granules and powder. After filling the jars, there are gaps between the material, containing a small amount of air, which can support mycelial growth and will not form dead corners during sterilization. The air sealed in the space at the jar mouth is used for mycelial respiration. In addition, there are tiny gaps between the covering film and the jar mouth, allowing slow gas exchange, so the mycelium grows well. (2) It replaces cotton plugs, avoiding the troubles and contamination brought by the operation. (3) The surface of the culture material is not exposed, effectively preventing water loss and shrinkage from adding or removing material.