Hey everyone it's been a while since I posted. I guess the crypto proverbial dolldrums have sorted us all out nicely.. however since last posting totally fallen in love with exotic mushrooms...
Who doesn't like a good ol Shiitake.. this my first ever successful shiitake grown in my own home made tent.
I bought this shiitake growkit online, now that I know the "how to" from start to finish I have made many of my own which are currently in the incubation phase.
These incredible grey oyster mushrooms I also grew in my grow tent from a kit I purchased online I plan to grow many of these on logs and autoclave bags soon too currently in the incubation phase awaiting mycelium colonization.
There are many different ways to grow mushrooms and contrary to popular belief alot easier then most people believe. I plan to test them all, both in tents as well as in the wild, above my shrooms growing in plastic buckets aswell as below I have "inoculated" (impregnated) logs which is a much longer process but very rewarding and more natural rendering a healthier more natural and nutritious mushroom.
Grey oysters now mature and ready for harvest a mere 4 days later.
I recently started growing these indoors in a tent I made from my own liquid culture cloning mushrooms are relatively simple too..I plan to grow mushrooms on logs as well as logs which are cut through the middle and stacked. These are called totem poles. Inoculated (impregnated essentially) the mushroom spawn will spread through the log and eventually pop out the log when the conditions are ready.
The current species I am focusing on are reishi, Lions Mane, cordyceps militaris, oysters golden, giant and grey as well as red wine caps and lastly shiitake.
Here my setup under a dense macademia nut tree. I have installed misters in the tree to increase daily humidity, all mushrooms needs lots of humidity for optimal growth. They like a little light but not direct sunlight.
One of the ways to "cultivate" and expand your mushroom stocks are through plates, these petri dishes contain agar which comprises of seaweed and excellent growing substrate for "mycelium" which is technically similar to the roots of trees.
Driving in traffic I passed a guy driving a "bakkie" with a load of logs on the back. I kindly asked him If I could buy some logs from him, lucky me they were mulberry logs too which apparently makes for great naturally grown organic mushrooms.
These will be left to dry for two weeks after which I'll "inject" with mushroom spawn and Hopefully start fruiting within 3 months. Excitement looms.
Love life and blessings.
Cheers