Mushrooms are a lot more complex than they look.
As simplistic as mushrooms look they are actually complicated vegetables to grow. The "things you will need" list to grow mushrooms includes everything from water to wheat and corncobs to horse manure. There is a chain reaction and relativity between each phase of the growth process and whether a mushroom will actually sprout or not. Does this Spark an idea?
Proper Compost
Proper compost is as important to growing mushrooms and getting them to sprout as soil is to getting plants to grow. What's interesting is that mushrooms are finicky and only like certain ingredients in their compost. Wheat straw and horse manure are favored. After that, mushrooms will tolerate hay, corncobs, cottonseed hulls, poultry manure and dried brewers grain. Don't try to add much else. Doing so can literally "gum up the works" and the compost could form competitive bacteria that will make it difficult for the mushrooms to develop and sprout.
Mycelium Development
Mushrooms require vegetation and reproduction to grow, just as an apple requires a tree to grow on. In this analogy, mycelium is the tree and the mushroom is the apple. Once the compost is properly "cooked," it provides the right conditions to develop the mycelium. Mycelium requires the dark, moist conditions of the compost substrate to form. Every phase of the mushroom growing process is meticulously related.
Pasteurization
Although it may sound like an oxymoron -- pasteurizing the compost is an important factor in getting mushrooms to sprout. Pasteurization ensures that the compost is not harboring any insects or pests. The compost must be biologically "pure." Otherwise, the substrate microorganisms will not enable the mycelium to develop.
Casing
Once the compost is properly cooked, the mushroom grower has to add between 1.5 to 2 inches of soil on top of the compost. This layer is called the "casing." The casing makes the conditions right for the mycelium to finalize its vegetative work so the reproductive work can begin to produce actual edible mushrooms. The casing period is lengthy, and can take anywhere from 18 to 21 days to complete itself.
Ammonia In, Ammonia Out
As surprising as it might seem, ammonia levels are important factors in mushroom growth. Ammonia is desired during the first phase of the compost development. It is the presence of the ammonia scent that tells the grower that the compost is cooked. However, after the pasteurization process the scent of ammonia is highly undesirable. If the smell persists, the process can fail. The linger of ammonia indicates that unwanted organisms still live within the compost substrate and the compost did not properly pasteurize.
Room Temperatures
Mushroom farmers use barns or specially developed rooms to grow large crops. The mushroom growing process requires different temperatures at different phases and vigilant supervision. For example, cooking the compost requires keeping the room temperature at 150 degrees F in a sealed off room -- while turning the compost anywhere from one to two weeks. Once compost is cooked, the room temperature must be reduced to 75 degrees F to promote the development of the mycelium. Finally, to produce the much-anticipated mushroom sprouts after the casing phase, the temperature must remain at 65 degrees F.
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