So you want to grow mushrooms?

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by guitarplayer »

Fungi are perennial, so to speak. They are not really plants, its a different biological kingdom. But yes if you give it food it will carry on.

This is actually strategy for Wine Caps / Stropharias that were mentioned up above. You get your setup site and then just add wood chips, or similar, every season so that the mycelium has more food, then you get the fruit (i.e. mushrooms). You can organise the setup around perennial plants, like some varieties of Kale for example. So you have a synergy in that wine caps mycelium breaks down organic material for the Kale and Kale gives wine caps shade which they like. The system does the job for you, and you get the fruit of its labour. Make sure to *chip in* some waste material in there so you don't actually have to buy wood chips for money to get this going.

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Thanks for chiming in guys. It's great to know you aren't talking to yourself. Ha

But yes, you can take spore prints as well as clone tissue. And some people really get into that aspect but I just buy the syringe because it is much faster, relatively cheap, and you know exactly which strain you are getting. There are enough wild cards (unknowns and variables) out there that I don't want to be guessing my genetics. But some people love to go into the wild and collect spores and samples to breed and cross-breed with other varieties.

Here are a few YouTube channels for anyone wanting to learn in addition to what I am providing:

https://www.youtube.com/@mossycreekmushrooms4675

https://www.youtube.com/@FreshCapMushrooms

https://www.youtube.com/@FreshfromtheFarmFungi

https://www.youtube.com/@OakandSpore

All of them are excellent in their own way, and very generous with their knowledge. All of them are nerds (just like us ;) ) and I'm pretty sure one is autistic (and funny I might add) so everybody here should feel at home. :) Seriously, they provide a wealth of knowledge and I'm grateful they exist. When I started researching this topic 4 or 5 years ago it was challenging but since then a ton of people are providing content making it much easier.

Oh, and there is debate how far you can or should expand your cultures. In theory, you can grow your mycelium to infinity but at some point degradation occurs. I don't know enough about this other than opinions I read about this topic but if my business does take off I plan on periodically replacing my genetic bank every year or so to keep things fresh.

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Alright, since my grain spawn is getting close to being fully colonized, it's time to start making 5 pound fruiting bags.

As I am making Shiitake grow bags, I use the mix formula appropriate for that mushroom which is:

5 cups dry hardwood fuel pellets
1 1/4 cups dry bran flakes
1.4 liters of water

Now you may have heard of Masters Mix. That formula is for growing oysters and lions mane. That formula is:

2.5 cups hardwood fuel pellets
2.5 cups soybean hull pellets
1.4 liters of water

I use a highly scientific method of a bowl and a jug. ;) Seriously, don't get too OCD on the ratios, close is good enough.

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Bran flakes

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HWFP

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Put everything in a bag and slosh it around. You now have created a grow bag that weighs 5 lbs and hopefully you'll ultimately be able to harvest 2 pounds of mushrooms off of this block.

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Fold the bags to remove the air and to protect the filter patch and put them in a pressure cooker for 90 minutes. Once cooled, the bags are ready to be inoculated with the grain spawn in a sterile environment. Once I have enough of these bags ready (around 10 to 12 for the size of the grain spawn bag I created), I'll show that process. But this is where the mushrooms grow.


On a related note, my grow tent arrived and I finished setting that up today. Most people grow weed in these set-ups but they also work great for mushrooms.

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sky
Posts: 1726
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by sky »

I am watching with interest. It seem kind of expensive to get into. Is there a method for growing about a pound or two a week? Or maybe growing a lot and freezing it in portions?

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

@sky
Keep in mind that I'm setting myself up to grow at least 25 pounds a week or more and that I intend to make money. For that I need consistency and results each week for the market. I fully plan on recouping all of my costs and actually making a profit. We'll see what the results are but I am looking at this from a business standpoint.

Someone like yourself can ERE your way to much lower costs. Instead of a grow tent, use a basement or crawl space. Instead of buying hardwood pellets, find a sawmill with free sawdust. Cultivate your own cultures from the wild. Find a pressure cooker for free or steeply discounted on craigslist or Facebook marketplace. Or use the straw method with lime. Make your own grow bags or grow from a free 5 gallon bucket.

So there are lots of options. My goal here is not to scare people away but to create an understanding of what these mushrooms need to grow. And once you dial in four parameters: humidity, temperature, fresh air exchange, and lighting then you are on your way. Obviously, there are cheap and expensive ways to accomplish those goals.

Probably the cheapest way is to use a bucket with straw. Using lime to pasteurize. Assuming you have a basement or other regulated temperature. Mushrooms like temps from 50 to 65 degrees F. And around 80 to 95% humidity which you can accomplish with a sprayer and a cheap plastic tent ( think garbage bag). They need lots of fresh air. The lighting is the most forgiving but they need light (6500K is ideal). And I can send you a grow bag to get you started if you like.

white belt
Posts: 1452
Joined: Sat May 21, 2011 12:15 am

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by white belt »

Cool stuff. I did a little bit of mushroom growing a couple of years ago but my substrate jars ended up contaminated after inoculation. I got a syringe of Enoki mushrooms because I wanted to try growing them for ramen. I like your budget Laminar Flow Hood alternative with the plastic container. I'm eager to see the results of everything.

I envisioned growing some mushrooms in the basement at one time before I realized all of the equipment required. I might give it another shot someday. I think it would be cool to have an urban basement setup with microgreens and mushrooms. I know of a few commercial operations that have paired the mushrooms in a warehouse with various fruit/vegetable crops. In theory the mushrooms produce carbon dioxide that the plants then turn into oxygen so there's some symbiosis. In practice, with all of the sanitization and strict humidity requirements, it might be hard to implement. I actually think gourmet mushrooms and microgreens is a very cool business idea in an urban area where restaurants want everything fresh. I also know it takes a while to perfect one's craft and there is a lot of competition these days.

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

@white belt

I think I'll show the frugal mans version when things slow down for me. I have a system for using up spent blocks that lends itself well for people that want the bare bones set-up.

I tried Enoki a couple of years ago but they were a hassle and I didn't get past the learning curve. I got ahead of myself and didn't control all of my variables.

I watch the Oak and Spore guy out of New Zealand and he tried the micro greens in addition to the mushrooms and said it wasn't worth the effort. He didn't say why but I would be curious to know. Micro greens were a hot commodity there for a while.

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

In the spirit of finding the cheapest way to accomplish growing some mushrooms, here's a guy that skips the sterilization step and simply pasteurizes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD_k-dAyE5Y

I have not tried this method but it would save one the time and cost of a pressure cooker.

And for you guys that like to experiment on the cheap, cheap, cheap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ystRW4rlqTk

I can't imagine this method is very consistent or maximizes yields and I can't find a video by him showing the end result but it is very easy and cheap to do.

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Now that I've stopped working for others to fund this endeavor (100% funded, yay!), I can focus on finishing my grow operation while all of my cultures are busy doing their thing, growing and maturing. I've since ordered 5 more cultures and created the LC and spawn bags as I showed with the Shiitake: blue oyster, golden oyster, pathfinder oyster, Florida oyster, and Lions Mane. The oysters are more aggressive in their growth and will comprise the bulk of what I have to sell.

But in the meantime I need to finish my grow set-up, namely creating a pre-conditioning room. This is where the fresh air, conditioned air, and humidity are created to supply the grow tent. Now you can do this directly in the grow tent but it takes up space and it's hard on your expensive equipment, plus you would have to clean it much more often. And it's more energy efficient to have a pre-conditioning room also, which is a big deal to me.

So here is a schematic:

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The room is going to be the size of the tent, 4 x 8, to make a nice 8 x 8 footprint for the whole operation. I didn't want a ton of space used up because I use my garage for many other things. Inside will be the mini-split and fogger, as well as the fans to push the air as well as draw outside fresh air.

So I have started with creating the fresh air intakes and furring out my interior studs to accept a wall.

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I still have to put insect screens on the inlets to keep out any bugs as well as thoroughly caulk the boxes to maintain integrity. I also have left enough room in the boxes to put in more vents if I need to in the future. Remember, this is all a bit of speculation on my part so you guys will get to share in my triumphs as well as my failures. ;)

I'll keep you guys posted as I build.

black_son_of_gray
Posts: 504
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2015 7:39 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by black_son_of_gray »

@ffj This is a phenomenal thread! Thank you for putting in the effort to share it!

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Thanks bsog, but you need to know part of reason I do this is to keep me motivated. Works like a charm and hopefully you guys get something too.

Did some electrical work today in anticipation of the pre-condition room needs and finished the wall. With double-screens to keep the bugs out.

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ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

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I had a good day today and stuff is finally feeling like it's coming together. I've got parts and pieces and equipment lying around everywhere and it's all in my way. Soon it will be organized.

I am insulating the interior with 2 inch foam board. I want to to maintain energy efficiency as much as I can because electricity isn't free, and I don't want high electric bills because of this operation. So once the board is completely finished I will seal any cracks with tape and spray foam. The goal is to maintain air conditioning only in the pre-condition room and grow tent.

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ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Finished the pre-condition room. Everything is taped up, sealed and foam sprayed in the cracks. Also ran a new electrical circuit with a light for all of the stuff that will require electricity such as the fans and the fogger.

Next project is to install the mini-split.

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ertyu
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:31 am

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ertyu »

This is shaping up great :)

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Thanks ertyu

What's been nice is that all of the tape, electrical, spray foam, screws, and the wood I possessed already (left over from my house build) or were given to me. This would have been much more expensive otherwise.

I'm still chafing over how much the green foam board cost me. Building material has gotten ridiculous in cost.

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Quick tip:

When your grain bags are about a week in for oyster strains, or they look like this:

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Take the whole bag and crumble everything up to redistribute the mycelium. It will make full colonization much faster. This applies to the fruiting bags also.

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ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Worked on the mini split to get it installed.

This video was extremely helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaJp_DCxlJM

The instructions that come with the unit are shit, so if you decide to ever install one of these things for mushrooms or otherwise, do yourself a favor and watch this guys video. I'm grateful he took the time to do this for noobs like myself.

Got the pad poured for the condenser unit, mounted the hanging bracket, drilled the hole through the exterior wall, and mounted the electrical and line sets to the top unit. There was a lot thinking and measuring twice involved today, haha.

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Tomorrow I'll install the electrical disconnect, mount the top unit, and attach the outside unit to the concrete pad.

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Just about finished. I have to perform a vacuum test on the line sets, release the coolant, and then I can power it up and see if it works. I have a couple of contacts that can perform the test or I can buy the vacuum pump myself.

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All in all not terribly hard to install. The biggest headache are the line sets that have to be handled very delicately and bent into place. As they are 15 feet long it's definitely a two person job to set the upper unit as it's very awkward.

I need to get this grow tent operating and trouble-shot soon as I need to start fruiting in a couple of weeks. My oyster grain bags have colonized very rapidly and I need them transferred to fruiting bags in the next couple of days. I have four bags that are ready to go, all different cultures.

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I am also setting up my fogger in the meantime. I'll post how that is configured here soon.

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Alright, it's time to inoculate the fruiting bags. So in two pages I've basically shown you how to create grain spawn bags and the fruiting blocks. Let's put them together!

Here's what your spawn bags should look like, fully colonized and hard. You need to break them up until they are crumbly again.

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Now here is where cleanliness and lots of isopropyl alcohol come into play. You do not want to contaminate all of your hard work. Mask, gloves, Sterile air box, and everything sprayed with alcohol. Cut the top of the grain bags after spraying and put 1 CUP of grain spawn into every fruiting bag and immediately seal. Make sure you stay organized and not get your cultures mixed up so you can label each bag appropriately.

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Much like the spawn bags, you need to break up the block and mix the cup of spawn around the medium next.

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Now all of these cultures are oyster strains and they need to colonize the block at around 70 degrees F for the next two weeks (oysters are fast, other varieties may be much slower). So pick a place that is warm and dark most hours and in two weeks you are ready to fruit out some mushrooms. Isn't that exciting?

ffj
Posts: 376
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:57 pm

Re: So you want to grow mushrooms?

Post by ffj »

Let's put the fogger together.

I bought the nine-head ultra-sonic fogger from House of Hydro: https://thehouseofhydro.com/collections ... pare-discs

Now you'll need a water container, I bought a barrel, the fogger (listed above), a fan to push the mist into the grow chamber, a reservoir sterilizer: https://thehouseofhydro.com/collections ... sterilizer, and the ducting.

And the rest is just putting it all together. I started with putting a valve on the bottom of the barrel for filling and draining and cut the necessary holes for the fan, duct, and cords for the UV light and fogger.

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The last thing I need to do is calibrate the amount of humidity that's allowed into the grow chamber and I'll do that with this: https://thehouseofhydro.com/collections ... controller

But I still have to establish the fresh air intake, the exhaust, and balance that with the humidity control. So I'll show that in a later post.

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