Three Key Points for Winter Cultivation of Oyster Mushrooms

1. Mushroom Yard Selection: The ideal site for winter cultivation is a mushroom yard with heating and insulation conditions, such as an indoor mushroom house equipped with heating, a relatively warm underground mushroom yard, or a raised-bed mushroom yard using plastic greenhouse cultivation. The temperature of such mushroom yards can be kept above normal temperature, which is beneficial for mycelial growth and can also advance mushroom formation. Generally, for early winter cultivation, an outdoor mushroom yard can be chosen; for late winter cultivation, an indoor mushroom house is preferable.

2. Strain Selection: According to the arrangement of the fruiting period, winter-cultivated oyster mushrooms can be divided into two types: winter cultivation with winter fruiting and winter cultivation with spring fruiting. For the former, low-temperature-type varieties or medium-low-temperature-type varieties are more suitable; for the latter, medium-low-temperature-type and medium-temperature-type varieties must be chosen. The selection of specific varieties should be determined according to the environmental temperature at the end of the fruiting period.

3. Winter Management Measures: For winter-cultivated oyster mushrooms, it must be ensured that the temperature of the culture material reaches the minimum threshold temperature for mycelial growth; otherwise, the sown spawn blocks cannot colonize and feed on the material, and over time, the spawn vitality will instead decline due to its own energy consumption. In addition to using the heating and insulation conditions available in the mushroom yard, methods to raise the material temperature also include pre-stacking the culture material for fermentation and mixing the material with hot water. After the mycelium has matured, differential temperature stimulation measures must be emphasized; otherwise, mushrooms may be delayed in emerging.