How to grow the honey mushroom? A detailed explanation of honey mushroom cultivation techniques
The honey mushroom is the fruiting body of the fungus Armillaria mellea. The honey mushroom tastes tender, smooth and refreshing, and is rich in nutrients, making it a very precious type of mushroom. The honey mushroom is now cultivated over a very wide area, and many people want to start growing it too. However, the cultivation methods for fungal vegetables are completely different from those for ordinary vegetables, so many friends do not know how to begin. Below, the editor brings you the cultivation techniques for the honey mushroom. Let's take a look!
1. Tree species selection
The choice of tree species has a great bearing on whether honey mushroom cultivation succeeds. Do not choose trees with too strong an aroma or excessively hard wood, such as pine and camphor trees. Usually chestnut trees and wild cherry trees are used as the main species. The honey mushroom prefers to grow in low-temperature environments, so after choosing the tree species we must also pay attention to the planting time. Control the planting season according to the different temperature changes in each region, then do a good job of heat protection and insulation and other tasks, to ensure the healthy growth of the honey mushroom and avoid planting failure caused by unsuitable cultivation timing.
2. Cultivation preparation
Cut the previously prepared tree species into log segments of about 80 cm, then cut the log segments down to the mother branch part, and place the spawn directly into the cuts. Then choose fertile, deep soil free of pests and diseases and dig pits of about 32 cm as the mushroom bed. Then place the log segments into the mushroom bed, and fill the gaps between the log segments with soil rich in organic matter. Sprinkle a layer of spawn on the log segments, then repeat about 3 times, and finally cover with about 8 cm of soil, keeping the soil moist. Under normal management, harvesting can be done around October each year. If log segments are not used, you can also cultivate with the mushroom wood previously used to grow Gastrodia elata; choose mushroom wood more than one year old and place it into the culture layer, cover with soil and grass material, keep it moist, and harvest in autumn.
3. Cultivation management
When cultivating the honey mushroom, management work is very important. There are different management methods at each growth stage of the honey mushroom, especially during mycelial growth and fruiting body growth. Generally, about 3 days after cultivation, the mycelium will resume growth; at this time, control the temperature at around 25°C, maintain a suitable environment, and do a good job of watering. Then during fruiting body growth, around 15°C is the most suitable temperature for fruiting body growth. When the mycelium has covered the culture material, water promptly to replenish the moisture lost by the mycelium, control the humidity at around 85%, maintain a suitable growth environment, and promote the growth of the honey mushroom.
4. Pest and disease control
The honey mushroom has relatively strong growth ability and a certain capacity to resist competing fungi, so during cultivation, if management work is done well, the incidence of pests and diseases is very low. However, during open cultivation, there are a great many competing fungus spores in the culture material. If an unsuitable environment hinders the growth of the honey mushroom, its disease resistance will be reduced, leading to invasion by competing fungi. The main cause of competing fungus invasion is unsuitable temperature and humidity, so during cultivation you must be sure to control temperature and humidity well. Do not allow a high-temperature, high-humidity environment to occur, otherwise it will have a tremendous impact on the growth of the honey mushroom.
The above is a brief introduction to honey mushroom cultivation techniques. The cultivation techniques for the honey mushroom are rather troublesome, and managing them is not as simple as imagined. This is also why many people cannot grow them, so before planting, everyone must be sure to do these management tasks well; those without management skills should try not to plant them. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you all for reading and supporting.