There is a mushroom that grows perfectly in winter. It is called that winter mushroom (or honey agaric). It is very popular in Japan, where I cultivate it on an industrial basis. The fungus has nutritional value, vitamins B and C, has more than even in vegetables of trace elements and minerals, has many protein.
And, most valuable – it can be safely grown at home in the winter on the windowsill.
For the substrate, straw, sawdust of deciduous wood is best suited (sawdust should be chased, lasting at least six months), which are mixed with bran, corn stumps or beer pellets. Very good for the substrate – sunflower lusk or buckwheat husk.
The prepared substrate, it is necessary to soak for a day, then squeeze and fill it with a liter or two -liter jars. Banks need to be filled on a third to half cans.
Then you should close the jars with cotton-gauze traffic jams or lids (in the lid-make a hole with a diameter of 2 centimeters and close the gauze plug).
Further, the substrate must be pronounced. To do this, put jars, in water filled with water and boil over low heat for two hours. In a day or two procedure, repeat. As banks, with a filled substrate, cool, you can do the landing of mushrooms.
Landing. Clean hands, carefully break off small pieces from mycelium (several pieces), open a jar and put there, slightly crushed pieces of planting material. The bank should immediately be closed back and put in heat (from 20 to 24 degrees above zero).
The mycelium will begin to germinate, after about three to four weeks. In appearance, you can see how it develops. If there is little moisture, then the young mycelium will rise along the walls of the can, and will have the form of white fluff. And about the excess moisture – will say the fact that amber droplets will appear on the substrate.
The sprouted mycelium must be transferred to the windowsill. Better she will feel on the north side. During a bright sun, the mycelium should be somewhat gleam. It is recommended to take out a cool place as a stimulation of the laying of fruit bodies and better development of mushrooms, banks with a mushroom mushroom.
When the mushrooms grow to the upper part of the cans, the lid should be removed, the neck is wrapped with dense cardboard or paper (stripes of 5-10 centimeters wide).
Mushrooms will grow vertically, stretching out of the cans to the outside. It is at this time, it is especially important to maintain the constantly high relative humidity (up to 95 percent), as well as ensure excellent ventilation. To increase moisture, it is necessary to regularly moisten cardboard (paper) on the neck of the cans and spray the mushrooms themselves with a spray gun or in another affordable way.
When winter honey mushrooms stretch out of the cans and their hats begin to darken and turn from round into flat, it was time to cut them off. This means that they grew up.
In order to start cutting fresh mushrooms, you should first remove the cardboard (paper) strip of strapping the can of the can.
With proper care, the yield of this excellent delicacy should be from 25 to 30 percent of the mass of a moisturized substrate.
After the mushrooms have been cut, the banks must be closed again (at the same time, you do not need to put it in a warm place).
The second wave of mushrooms will ripen through one, in a maximum of two weeks.
Winter nuts are good and fried and salty. But, nevertheless, the most delicious honey mushrooms are pickled.
There is another original way of growing winter mushrooms. A pumpkin is used for a nutrient medium. Cut holes, lay pieces of mycelium there and cover with a film. Pumpkin is put in a warm place and in a month – in cool and wet. The pumpkin is left alone.
Fruit bodies will begin to germinate over the entire surface of the pumpkin. As soon as the hats of the mushrooms become flat, they are cut off (not allowing the legs not darkened).