How to Grow Straw Mushrooms: Detailed Explanation of Key Cultivation Techniques
The straw mushroom has delicate, tender flesh and a delicious flavor. Because it is a high-temperature type edible fungus that comes to market in midsummer, precisely during the off-season for other mushrooms and vegetables, it is highly favored by consumers.
Straw mushroom production methods are simple, the production cycle is short (10 to 20 days), and the raw materials available for cultivation are abundant, making it a low-cost, high-benefit mushroom. The key cultivation techniques for straw mushrooms are described below:
1. Cultivation season. The optimum temperature for straw mushroom mycelium growth is 28°C to 38°C. The optimum temperature for fruiting body growth is 28°C to 33°C. When choosing the timing for off-season cultivation of straw mushrooms, one should select a season that approaches but is still below the normal air temperature for straw mushroom growth; cultivation is generally carried out in two time periods: mid-April to late June, or September to early October. During the cultivation process, temperature regulation should be carried out promptly in accordance with the temperature requirements for fruiting body growth.
2. Site selection. Straw mushroom cultivation can combine indoor and outdoor methods. Indoor cultivation can use idle rooms and mushroom houses, while outdoor cultivation is divided into small arch shed and large greenhouse cultivation. Whichever method is chosen, it must meet the requirements of shading, wind protection, heat preservation and humidity increase.
3. Raw materials and preparation. The cultivation raw materials are mainly waste cotton or cottonseed hulls. For indoor cultivation, first spread a 10 cm thick layer of fresh rice straw on the bed frame, then cover with waste cotton or cottonseed hulls for cultivation. When using waste cotton for cultivation, soak the waste cotton in water 1 day before sowing until it has absorbed enough water. Cottonseed hulls must also absorb enough water; mix in 5% quicklime and pile for 24 to 48 hours. The spent cultivation material should be treated as follows: 1 to 2 weeks before sowing, scrape off the casing soil layer, ventilate and air-dry, and before the new raw material is put on the bed, water with lime water at pH = 8.5 so that the cultivation material absorbs enough water. For indoor cultivation, the moisture content of the cultivation material is appropriate when 5 to 6 drops of water drip out when squeezed tightly by hand, with a water content of about 65% to 70%.