Growing mushrooms at home can be fun.
Savory and earthy, mushrooms are a delicious addition to many recipes. There are many varieties that can be purchased at grocery stores, and produce stands and specialty stores carry the more exotic types. They can be expensive per pound, and the quality may suffer due to handling and length of time since they were picked. Home growing is an option that can save you money and ensure that you are getting the right mushroom. Mushroom humus is the leftover organic matter after mushroom compost has been used to grow mushrooms. It is pretty devoid of nutritive content by this point, so you will have to add compost ingredients to the humus.
Instructions
Prepare the Compost
1. Lay the tarp on a flat area outside. Soak the bail of hay with water. Mix the bail of hay, manure and just 1 cup or so of gypsum with the pitch fork or shovel. Place the mixture into a compost bin or tumbler in a sunny location.
2. Keep the ingredients mixed, by either forking the contents over or turning the tumbler every two to three days. Keep moist and do not allow to dry out.
3. Test frequently with the soil thermometer to make certain the compost is processing at 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is not maintaining temperature, try moving the mixture into a barn, garage or other enclosed area.
4. After about four weeks, the compost should be ammonia free, a rich dark color and uniform in texture. Use the mushroom compost as soon as it is done.
Sowing Spawn
5. Line the bottom of a wooden crate with the mushroom humus. Add the compost evenly on top of that.
6. Spread a light layer of peat moss over the compost/spawn mixture. In about two weeks, you should see growth through the peat.
7. Freshly picked mushrooms have superior taste and structure.
Start harvesting when there are buttons or wait until the gills have opened and the mushrooms are larger.
8. Add compost to the garden. The compost that you grew your mushrooms in is useless for another crop, as it has broken down into humus. It makes a great addition to the garden as the humus attracts nutritive compounds and binds them, thus enriching the garden soil.
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