Summer and winter honey mushrooms can be easily grown on your own. Planting mycelium (mycelium) is purchased both in specialized stores and on the Internet.
Usually, a winter type of edible honey mushroom, the so-called flammulina, is chosen for breeding at home. The most common are three simple growing methods, technologically different from each other: on stumps or logs, in jars, in the basement.
Stump breeding technology
Growing honey mushrooms on stumps
In this case, the remarkable positive difference is that it does not require large financial investments and is easy to implement for anyone.
Planting honey mushrooms on stumps (logs) in open ground in the garden or at the dacha, it is most favorable in the warm season from April to September inclusive; indoors, if logs are used, the mycelium of honey mushrooms can be replanted year-round.
To plant honey mushrooms in the country, you should choose a shaded place. Otherwise, they will need to be covered with straw or hay. Only stumps of deciduous trees are used: aspen, birch, poplar, hornbeam, beech, apple, acacia, pear.
It is important that the tree is cut down no later than a month before the start of work. There should also be no signs of rotting, they should be sufficiently moist, maybe with bark, but without branches. If the stumps are dry, then they need to be thoroughly soaked in water for 2-3 days.
For several days, allow excess water to drain and ventilate in partial shade. Then, in a checkerboard pattern, using a drill, holes are made across the entire surface of the stump with a depth of 5-6 cm and a diameter of 0.8-1 cm. Small pieces of mushroom mycelium will be planted in these recesses.
They are covered with moss or branches. Periodically, to prevent the stump from drying out, the soil around it needs to be watered. With this method, the mycelium germinates slowly, so to stimulate growth it is recommended to cover them with a greenhouse film, which is nailed down with small nails for fixation.
Good to know: mushrooms like to grow only on dead wood, for garden trees Growing honey mushrooms in the country is absolutely harmless.
The result is expected next year at the beginning of summer, and then you can collect honey mushrooms regularly for 5-7 years until the stump or log is completely destroyed. At first, the mushroom harvest will be small, but gradually it increases 2-4 times.
Technology of growing in glass jars
Growing honey mushrooms in jars
The method is perfect even for city apartments. For the base you will need: 1 part bran and 3 parts sawdust exclusively deciduous trees. But other combinations of one part are possible:
- sawdust;
- buckwheat husk;
- sunflower husk;
- chopped corn cobs.
Husks and cobs can be used as an independent base. Boil everything together in water. When the sawdust drains a little and cools down, add a nutrient mass to enhance the growth of honey mushrooms in the jar. For 1 kg of sawdust you need to take:
- 8 gr. starch;
- 25 gr. oatmeal;
- 25 gr. corn flour.
Then the jars are tightly filled with the resulting mass to 2/3 of the volume, sterilized in a large saucepan over low heat for at least 2 hours. After cooling to 25°C, make 5-7 cm indentations with a sterile stick and add honey mushroom mycelium. Afterwards the jars are placed in a dark place with constant temperature conditions 24°C and 85% humidity.
To avoid drying out, the contents are covered with a lid with a hole, which is covered with cotton wool. When the mycelium germinates, the jars are moved to a cooler place or the room temperature is lowered to 14-16°C. Paper is attached to the neck of the jar in the form of a cuff and they wait for the harvest to appear.
Take note: the material for planting must be of high quality and sterile. It is produced under special conditions and packaged in “breathable” bags with a biofilter.
When the mushrooms grow 5-7 cm from the jar, the cuffs are removed and the mushrooms are cut off. The yield is 25-30 percent of the initial volume of wet substrate.
The containers are closed again and left to glassed balcony. In 20-30 days you can expect new mushrooms.
Basement growing technology
Growing honey mushrooms in the basement
For the third method of growing honey mushrooms at home, use a basement. The room must be prepared in advance. Whitewash with lime or treat with 4% formalin solution to prevent insects and mold.
Provide forced ventilation with a power of about 25 kW or make ventilation outlets to the surface.
If honey mushrooms are grown in the basement all year round, then it is necessary to provide a heater to maintain optimal temperature 24-26°C. For the substrate mixture you can choose:
- chopped straw;
- sawdust;
- tree foliage;
- seed husks.
Steam the substrate with boiling water for 6-12 hours and after cooling, mix with 300 g of small mycelium. Spread into dense plastic bags 5-15 kg each, tie them up and lower them into the basement. After 3 days, you need to make several 4-6 cm holes in the bags or completely remove the bag from the substrate.
On days 12-16, the sprouted fruiting bodies of the mushrooms will be visible. Now they need to provide sufficient access to light and reduce the temperature to 14-16°C. On such a home mini-farm, if the technology is followed, in 1.5-2 months you can square meter collect up to 20 kg of mushrooms.
Note: The room where honey mushrooms are grown must be well ventilated and a constant temperature and humidity must be maintained.
How to grow honey mushrooms at home, see the following video:
ratings, average:
For growing honey mushrooms at home, it is preferable to choose a winter species - flammulina. It is adapted for the conditions of a house or apartment, and is undemanding in terms of lighting. Just like other mushrooms, it prefers high air humidity and low temperatures.
Description of Flammulina
Suitable conditions can be created in the basement, in an insulated attic, on a glazed loggia or in a garage. It is possible to grow winter honey fungus on a windowsill in small quantities.
The color of the cap depends on the brightness of the light. The brighter the light, the brighter the color. With a lack of light, the mushrooms do not color and remain white, but at the same time their taste and beneficial features don't get lost.
Flammulina differs from other species in that not only the caps, but also the velvety legs are eaten. The lower part is removed, leaving a length of about 4-7 cm. The leg has a delicate texture and tastes no different from the cap.
These mushrooms do not contain a large number of weak toxic substances, so it is undesirable to eat them raw. The recommended cooking time is 20–25 minutes, after which the toxins are completely destroyed.
Cut mushrooms are stored in the refrigerator for 5–6 days. They can be fried, pickled and dried. After heat treatment, they do not lose their nutritional and taste qualities.
Substrate preparation
To sow mycelium you can buy ready block in specialized mall, or you can prepare the substrate yourself.
You will need:
- sawdust or shavings from trees hardwood– 3 parts (can be replaced with leaf litter or straw; oak and conifers are not suitable for growing mushrooms);
- oats, pearl barley, barley, bran or chopped corn cobs - 1 part;
- chalk or lime at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 300 g of substrate;
- starch, corn or oatmeal - 1 tablespoon per 300 g of mixture, necessary to enhance nutritional properties.
The resulting mixture is thoroughly mixed, poured with warm water to swell, and left for 10 minutes. Then cook over low heat for 40-50 minutes to destroy spores of other fungi and pathogens of fungal infections. To avoid burning, add water little by little.
After cooking is completed, the water is drained and the substrate is left on the fire to evaporate excess liquid. The finished mixture should be moist but not wet.
Seeding mycelium
One- and two-liter jars or durable plastic bags with a volume of at least 2 liters are suitable for growing honey mushrooms. The resulting mixture fills the container to 2/3 of its volume.
Using a disinfected stick, holes are made in the substrate with a depth of 5 cm and a diameter of no more than 1. Calculate required amount mycelium is not difficult - it should be 2-7% of the mass of the mixture.
The holes made are filled with mycelium. The temperature of the mixture at this moment should be 25°.
Another method is when the substrate has cooled to 25°, add mycelium to it and gently mix with a sterilized wooden spatula. After this, the containers are filled.
The jars are closed with plastic lids, in which a hole with a diameter of 1 cm is first made. Gases released by fungal spores will escape through the hole. In order to prevent moisture evaporation, cover the hole with a cotton plug.
The cotton plug should not fit very tightly into the hole or be tight. It needs to be fluffed up a little.
When growing flammulina in bags, they must be tied, leaving a small hole. It is also closed with a cork.
Conditions for mycelium germination
The container is placed in a dark place where the temperature is maintained at about 25°. After 2-3 weeks, the mycelium will germinate and fruiting bodies will form on it.
The jar is moved to a brighter place, the air temperature should be about 15°. This could be a window on the north side, a glazed loggia.
The lid is removed from the jar and the bag is untied. Humidity is maintained by regularly spraying the caps and substrate. If honey-colored drops appear on the caps, it means overwatering. Availability white plaque indicates that there is not enough moisture.
If you plan to grow winter honey mushrooms in a basement or garage, their walls must first be whitewashed with lime or treated with formaldehyde for disinfection. Forced ventilation and an air heater must be installed in the room.
When the caps appear above the container, a ring of thick paper is put on the neck. This prevents honey mushrooms from decaying and allows them to grow as tall as possible.
The period of mushroom ripening is 45 days from the moment of sowing the mycelium. Cut off the mushrooms at the level of the neck of the jar. The remaining legs inside are carefully removed, and the substrate is moistened and covered again with a lid. New mushrooms will grow in 3 weeks.
In one container you can harvest 3-4 times, then the mixture becomes depleted and needs to be replaced.
For continuous receipt harvest, the mycelium should be populated into separate containers at intervals of 10 days. Then the mushrooms can be cut much more often.
Growing honey mushrooms in stumps and on logs
The method of growing mushrooms in stumps is used in the garden. It is recommended to populate the mycelium summer species again.
A stump from a hardwood tree is suitable. You can use a log or log. It should be cut down in 2-3 months and dry out a little. It is necessary to check that there is no mold and other fungi; honey mushrooms are not grown on diseased stumps.
It is impossible to place mycelium on living trees, as this will lead to the death of the tree.
Several holes are drilled in the stump, 5 cm deep and about 1.5 cm in diameter. Pieces of mycelium are carefully placed in them. You can pre-grind it and mix it with wet sawdust. The holes are covered with moss or hay on top.
If a log is used, then cuts up to 6 cm deep are made on it, keeping a distance of 15–20 cm between them. Place it lying down, burying it 1/5 into the ground.
The place where honey mushrooms are grown should be shady and not flooded. Care involves constant watering. To retain moisture, a stump or log can be covered with cellophane and secured so that it does not blow away in the wind. For the winter, the film is removed, and instead a shelter is made of coniferous spruce branches, leaf litter or white agrofibre.
Honey mushrooms grown on stumps will be ready for harvest in 2 years. The duration of fruiting is about 5-6 years. After this time, the stump usually rots.
Conclusion
When growing honey mushrooms at home, you should follow the following recommendations:
- the growing temperature is not higher than 15° (lower temperatures are not dangerous for flammulina, but its growth slows down);
- required condition - high humidity, from 85%;
- it is necessary to sterilize the jars and substrate, otherwise inedible mushrooms may grow instead of honey mushrooms or mold may appear;
- tools (wooden peg, spoon, knife) must be disinfected;
- It is not recommended to eat flammulins raw; the minimum cooking time is 20 minutes.
Compliance with these rules is a prerequisite when growing winter mushrooms at home.
Honey mushrooms are one of the most popular mushrooms, since they can not only be collected in the forest, but also grown independently in your dacha or balcony. Summer and winter variety Honey fungus is best suited for breeding at home. They are not fancy and do not require much effort even for a beginner.
Under what conditions do mushrooms grow?
Conditions for the growth of honey mushrooms are easy to arrange both at home and on summer cottage or garden. Best time for disembarkation planting material outdoors this is in April-May or August, and in the house ( warm balcony, basement) throughout the year.
Honey mushrooms are considered the most delicious and aromatic mushrooms
Air temperature at different stages growth should be from +10 to +25°C.
With uniform and high level humidity, the mycelium develops quickly, which has a beneficial effect on the growth of mushrooms. The building should be well ventilated, this could be a window or built-in ventilation. The light needed for mushroom growth is not bright; it can be grown in almost semi-darkness. Only then will the caps of the mushrooms be pale, but this will not affect their taste. At the dacha, it is better to choose a shady place for planting honey mushrooms so that the wood on which the mycelium is located does not dry out.
Methods of growing honey mushrooms at a summer cottage
You can grow honey mushrooms using the following methods:
- in the basement on bags;
- on logs;
- in greenhouses;
- in banks;
- on the stump.
In the basement on bags
The premises must be disinfected before planting. Should be in the basement all year round good ventilation. IN winter time it needs to be heated.
Growing honey mushrooms in bags
For soil for sowing mycelium use:
- crushed straw;
- foliage trees;
- woody sawdust;
- husk sunflower seeds;
- ready-made blocks substrate.
All herbal ingredients are steamed hot water for 12 hours for disinfection from pests and mold. After cooling, add honey mushroom mycelium (according to the manufacturer’s instructions) and mix thoroughly. Then the mixture is laid out in dense plastic bags from 5 to 50 kg. The tied bags are placed on racks or hung in the basement.
After three days, holes about 5-6 cm long are cut in the bags. After 14-20 days, the mushrooms will germinate and become noticeable.
For normal growth of honey mushrooms at this stage, good lighting, high humidity and a temperature of +14 to +16 ° C are necessary.
On logs
They can be used to grow mushrooms both outdoors and indoors at temperatures from +10 to +25°C. A log from a larch tree should not be rotten, but moist and with bark. Length 300-500 mm, diameter 200-500 mm. If it is dry, then it is soaked in water for two or three days. Then they take it out and let the water drain.
Preparing logs for growing honey mushrooms
There are three ways to grow honey mushrooms on logs:
- Holes are made in logs 1 cm in size, 4 cm long and 10-12 cm apart. Mycelia on wood sticks are inserted into them. Hands must be absolutely clean. After this, the logs are wrapped in plastic film, making several holes in it so that air can pass inside. They are then transferred to a damp, dark room. At 20°C, the log will be overgrown with honey mushroom mycelium within 3-4 months.
- On the garden plot from the shady side dig a hole 15 cm deep and water it. Then wood with a mushroom stick is placed in it in a horizontal position. Sprinkle the soil around the planting wood ash to repel snails. Watering is carried out regularly so that the soil does not dry out. Cover with leaves for the winter.
Growing honey mushrooms on logs
- The prepared log can also be plant in a tub or barrel with soil, and put it on the balcony. For normal growth, you need to constantly maintain a temperature of +10 to +25°C and high humidity.
A hygrometer is used to determine the percentage of humidity.
In the greenhouse
Greenhouses and greenhouses are well suited in terms of temperature and humidity level for growing mushrooms. Logs, stumps, logs are moistened and placed in a greenhouse. After that, holes are made in the wood and honey mushroom mycelium is planted, or they can be watered with a solution containing fungal spores. The planting is watered regularly to maintain moisture, and also monitor the air temperature. You can also grow mushrooms in greenhouses in jars, bags or on substrate blocks.
In banks
This method of growing honey mushrooms allows you to do without garden plots. The jar can be placed on the balcony or on the windowsill.
Growing honey mushrooms in jars
A substrate is made for the growth of mycelium– a mixture of sawdust (preferably larch) and bran in a 3:1 ratio. For one day it is filled with water, then squeezed out and not compacted much.
To prevent infection of the mycelium with mold, the jar with the substrate is sterilized in hot water In one hour.
After the mixture has cooled, use a clean stick to make a depression in it to the bottom of the jar and place the mushroom mycelium. The container is closed with a lid with holes and covered wet cotton to maintain humidity. The jar is placed in a dark and warm place. As the cotton dries, moisten it.
The mycelium will germinate in a month, and after 15-20 days the first mushrooms will appear. As soon as the mushrooms sprout, the container is placed on the windowsill on the north side, or darkened from the sun. When they reach the lid, it is removed and the neck of the jar is wrapped with a wide strip of cardboard. This will help the honey mushrooms hold on while they grow. To maintain moisture, mushrooms are sprayed with water. As the crop grows, it is cut off and the remaining stems are pulled out. In 14-20 days, new honey mushrooms will grow.
Growing on a stump
Planting of mycelium on a stump is done in the warm, but not hot, season. In the forest, mycelium is found on old stumps or tree trunks and part of it is separated along with a piece of wood. For planting, notches are cut out in the hemp and pieces of mycelium 1-2 cm in size are placed. Then cover with damp moss or sawdust. The soil around it is watered, not allowing it to dry out.
Spore breeding method
Caps of overripe mushrooms with a dark brown color underneath are selected. Place them in a container and pour clean water for 24 hours. Then, without taking them out of the water, rub them with your hands. The resulting mass is filtered. A solution containing spores is poured over stumps or logs with notches made in them. Thanks to them, the wood is better saturated. After which they are covered with damp moss or sawdust. Spores take a long time to germinate; mushrooms will grow only after 1-2 years. After the mycelium has grown on wood or stumps, it can be propagated. To do this, part of it is carefully separated and transplanted to a new place.
Honey fungus mycelium
You need to buy mycelium only in specialized stores, since they store the goods in the right conditions. If, while growing winter mushrooms in containers, the temperature rises high, then they should be put in the refrigerator for several days. The temperature should be no more than +8°C, but not less than +4°C.
Many mushroom lovers try to grow honey mushrooms at home. Not everyone succeeds. So, how to grow honey mushrooms in the country? It is recommended to start planting by choosing a place and preparing it. These mushrooms grow best on dead wood. However, if desired, you can use a special substrate. 
Why honey mushrooms
Honey mushrooms are quite tasty mushrooms that can be grown not only in your summer cottage, but also on your balcony. The main thing is to follow the germination and planting technology. These mushrooms have tender and aromatic flesh. Honey mushrooms are often used to prepare soups, stir-fries and various sauces. After all, the product retains its unique aroma even after heat treatment.
In addition, growing honey mushrooms is an activity that can bring good income. In Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany they often engage in similar business. However, in these countries a special paste is used as planting material. It is not yet possible to purchase such a substance in our stores.
Where to grow in the garden
Since it is not so easy to grow honey mushrooms in the country, it is worth preparing the place in advance. Old stumps are ideal for germination. fruit trees or damp logs that lay under a stack of firewood and were in contact with the ground.
If there is nothing suitable on the site, then rotten, rotten boards will do. Also, some summer residents practice growing honey mushrooms on sawdust.
Selection of planting material
Growing honey mushrooms on stumps is a simple but long process. The main thing is to choose the right type of wood. Summer honey mushrooms germinate best on birch stumps. This material retains a large amount of moisture even after cutting. At the same time, the dense bark protects the wood from drying out.
If mushrooms are planted in the garden, then it is worth using the stumps of old pear and apple trees for these purposes. Honey mushrooms also grow well on alder, aspen and poplar logs. It is worth considering that honey mushrooms are capable of destroying any stump in 6 years.
You should not use pine and spruce to grow this type of mushroom. 
Preparation and planting
How to grow honey mushrooms in the country? First you need to infect the old stump with fungal spores. It is not difficult. To do this, you will need the caps of already mature mushrooms. They must be laid out with the plates down on Blank sheet paper. Spores should be pouring out of the caps. They look like dark dust. It is recommended to pour the spores into a bottle of water and shake well.
It is also worth preparing the stump itself in advance. It is worth sawing off a round piece of wood, the thickness of which should be from 3 to 5 centimeters. After this, the upper part of the stump must be cut crosswise. This can be done with an axe. The more cracks that form, the better.
Now all that remains is to infect the stump with spores. This is done quite simply. It is necessary to water the prepared wood with water containing honey mushroom spores. After this, it is worth nailing on top the round timber that was sawed off from the stump.
Germination in bags
Since not everyone is able to grow honey mushrooms in the countryside using the first method, it is worth thinking about germinating them in a greenhouse. To do this, half-rotten pieces of wood should be placed in the corner of the structure. They also need to be watered with water that contains honey mushroom spores. After some time, the wood should be transferred to bags and placed in a dark place in a woodpile. In spring, the ends, as well as those places where the bark was damaged, should be covered with mycelium. The material is ready for planting. 
How to grow honey mushrooms in the country from mycelium
The wood on which the mycelium has appeared must be placed in the place where honey mushrooms are planned to be planted. This should be an area well protected from wind and direct sunlight. Winter and summer honey fungus is germinated in this way. The mycelium of the fungus must penetrate the soil. From there it will receive additional moisture. Therefore, it is recommended to dig chocks with mycelium into the soil 2/3 of the height. The distance between the pieces of wood should be from 10 to 15 centimeters.
In order for winter or summer honey fungus to germinate, it is necessary to regularly water the chocks. This is especially true in dry and hot weather. It is recommended to water the workpieces for 5 minutes once an hour. In this case, the wood needs to be moistened from 12 to 17 hours of the day. By night the logs should dry well. 
Method three
To grow honey mushrooms on your site, you need to collect mature mushroom caps. It is recommended to place them in a container and fill them with water. The hats should sit for several days. After this, the water from the container should be drained and filtered. The resulting infusion must be soaked in pre-prepared pieces of wood or stumps. In addition, ripe honey mushroom caps can be placed on the surface of the material. After two days they can be removed.
It is worth noting that this method is not suitable for everyone, since the germination process is very slow. The first harvest of honey mushrooms planted using this method can only be obtained by the end of the next season. 
Germination of mycelium
There is also a less labor-intensive way to germinate honey mushrooms. This will require not only rotten stumps or logs, but also mycelium. The growth of summer honey mushrooms is more intense. You can find mycelium in the forest. This needs to be done in early June. You should only take the area where it is marked active growth mycelium. As a rule, in such places you can see a large number of threads that have a creamy or white shade. In addition, there should be a strong smell of mushrooms. The mycelium should be collected together with pieces of wood.
Such blanks must be placed in notches on logs or stumps. To prevent the mycelium from dying, it is recommended to cover the planting site with shingles, moss or bark. For better germination, the stump or log should be covered with film. This method allows you to get the first harvest of mushrooms by the beginning of the next season. It is best to infect wood with summer honey fungus in the fall or early summer. 
Features of cultivation
The technology for growing honey mushrooms in the country is quite simple. However, there are some peculiarities. Such mushrooms should be covered with breathable material. If desired, you can knock down a loose box from boards, agrill, or slab. Burlap or paper is also suitable for these purposes.
If the stumps remain from a freshly cut tree, then they do not need to be further processed. You can immediately begin infecting them with honey mushroom spores. If the upper part of the stump is dry, then it needs to be soaked. To do this, the wood is regularly watered for several days. Spores are planted only after the material has collected enough moisture.
The first mushrooms at correct landing should appear in June. They are usually harvested before September. However, it should be noted that in the first year there will be few mushrooms. The yield of honey mushrooms largely depends on the degree of growth of the mycelium, the quality of the wood and weather conditions. In the second year, the number of mushrooms can increase 4 times.
If honey mushrooms are planted in the garden, then you should choose a dark place where the sun's rays do not penetrate. If the stump is not located in the shade, then it is recommended to cover it. For this you can use hay or straw.
Of the entire mushroom kingdom, honey mushrooms stand out not only for their beautiful taste qualities and rapid growth, but also suitability for artificial cultivation. Moreover, this process is so accessible and exciting that even children can engage in mushroom growing. How to organize a mushroom garden and get consistent income from it bountiful harvests- we will tell you further.
Technology
Breeding honey mushrooms at home is possible in several ways. Often, cans, plastic bags, felled logs or greenhouses are used for this. The choice of technology depends on the production method seed material.
Did you know? Fungi appeared before dinosaurs - about 400 million years ago. In fact, along with ferns, they belong to the oldest inhabitants of the planet.
To sow honey mushrooms, you can use the fruiting body of the mushroom or mycelium. Each of the options is distinguished by its efficiency and minimal costs. 
From the fruiting body
To propagate mushrooms from the fruiting body, you will need to remove the caps from old, overripe specimens. As a rule, their diameter reaches 8 cm, and back side stands out with a dark brown color.
After preparing the raw material, it is soaked in water, and after 24 hours (without preliminary straining and washing), the mushroom caps are kneaded directly in a bowl to a paste-like consistency.
Then the resulting slurry is passed through two-layer gauze. The role of seed material will go to this chatterbox, which is collected in a glass container, and then watered with it on wood on stumps or logs.
Experienced mushroom pickers advise making small depressions on the workpieces before sowing. They are needed so that liquid with fungal spores collects in them. When the stumps are seeded, all grooves on their surface must be covered with damp moss or sawdust, without touching the ends.
The method is excellent for growing honey mushrooms indoors at any time of the year.
Video: how to obtain mycelium from the fruiting body of a mushroom
Did you know? As strange as it may sound, mushrooms can tan; at the same time, they produce vitamin D. Under conditions good lighting The cap becomes evenly tanned.
From mycelium
If, during a “quiet hunt” in the forest, you managed to find a small piece of rotten wood with mycelium, you can try to grow honey mushrooms from it at home. To do this, you need to divide the forest find into pieces measuring 2x2 cm. They will serve as grafting material, which must be placed in the holes made on the sides of the stump.
After sowing, they are covered, as in the first option, with moss. In this case, it is important to wrap the end sides of the stump with a plastic bag. It will help maintain the desired heat and humidity levels.
The use of mycelium is effective only in autumn period. Consequently, with the onset of cold weather, the wood with the mushroom garden will need to be covered with coniferous branches. If the stump is located outside, in the spring with the onset of a thaw, the mycelium may be damaged by melt water. To prevent this from happening, it is important to monitor the ends of the stump and protect them from excess moisture. For this purpose, you need to regularly clear snow from wood and spruce branches.
It is necessary to remove the covering structure from a log infested with mycelium in the second ten days of June - for summer mushrooms, and in the last weeks of July - for winter mushrooms. During this period, the mushrooms enter the fruiting phase.
The advantage of this technology is the ability to grow honey mushrooms outdoors.
Video: how to grow honey mushrooms from an old stump
Beginning mushroom growers should take into account that of the many varieties of honey mushrooms, only summer and winter variations are suitable for artificial cultivation. In cramped areas, the latter option is especially popular, since it does not require special conditions for germination.
Summer mushrooms, unlike their winter counterparts, need special cellars, hangars or boxes. In addition, a favorable microclimate will need to be created in the room. If large-scale mushroom production is not part of your plans, it is enough to acquire massive branches, old stumps or ordinary shavings.
You can go the other way - install particles of an infected stump in a hole.
Next, tie several short logs of the same height and “plant” them in the hole.
Place such “stumps” at a distance of 1-1.5 m
Conditions
If you put the sown in the apartment mushroom mycelium log and expect a harvest from it, it’s unlikely that anything will come of it. In order for honey mushrooms to bear fruit consistently, you need to take care favorable conditions. For this you need:
- free area of about 15-20 square meters (a greenhouse, a cellar, an open area in the yard and even an ordinary window sill will do);
- high air humidity (ideally 70-80%);
- constant temperature at 10-15°C in winter and 20-25°C in summer;
- uniform, but not too bright lighting (if we are talking about the cultivation of honey mushrooms on open areas, stumps are recommended to be placed in shady areas of the yard - mushrooms should not dry out and be exposed to direct sunlight);
- the possibility of ventilation (otherwise, excess accumulated carbon dioxide will not allow the mycelium to develop).
Did you know? Mushrooms are considered the largest living creatures on the globe. This theory is confirmed by findings recorded in the states of Wisconsin and Oregon. In the first case, in 1985, local residents stumbled upon a giant White mushroom, who weighed 140 kilograms. To grab himtwo adults I needed to hold hands. Second find- a huge Oregon mycelium that occupied an area of 900 hectares and weighed several hundred tons.
Stable temperature and high humidity in the basement are ideal for growing honey mushrooms
Substrate preparation
Mushrooms will not grow in anything. For their successful cultivation in an artificial environment, you will need to prepare a special soil. As a rule, it is placed in glass jars, bags, or in special greenhouse blocks.
The substrate for the mushroom garden is prepared from 2 parts of small sawdust (can be replaced with husks sunflower seeds) and 1 part of shavings. All ingredients are mixed well and then boiled in water. Then the sawdust-shaving mixture is discarded in a colander and cooled.
You should end up with a mass with a mushy consistency. You will need to add starch, as well as corn and oatmeal. The amount of all nutritional supplements is calculated in the proportion 8:25:25 per kilogram of substrate. This substrate is ideal for cultivating honey mushrooms in jars.
If you have the opportunity to engage in mushroom growing in greenhouse conditions, you will need to prepare a substrate block from sawdust, oats or barley, chalk or limestone. It is important to use sawdust from hardwood trees.
Video: components of the substrate for growing honey mushrooms in a jar, sowing
Important! Summer honey mushrooms are planted from May to August.
All components are mixed in a certain sequence:
- First, 200 g of dry sawdust is poured into 2 liters cold water and cook over low heat for about 2 hours.
- Add 70 g of oats and 1 teaspoon of chalk (or their substitutes) to the mass that has cooled to 25°C.
- The mixture is thoroughly mixed and packaged in plastic bags.
Methods
Based on the conditions of the artificial environment in which you plan to grow honey mushrooms, choose suitable way. Glass jars, greenhouses and ordinary stumps are especially popular among modern mushroom growers. Note that the first method can be implemented using kitchen window, the second - in a special room, and the third - on a personal plot. Let's take a closer look at the technology for cultivating mushrooms for each of them. 
In the bank
The advantage of jar production of honey mushrooms is that large areas are unnecessary, the technology is low-cost and accessible. It is effective only for winter varieties of mushrooms (flamulin) and is carried out as follows:
- Fill the jars 2 thirds full with the prepared substrate and compact it.
- Then glass containers sent for sterilization. Place the jars in a large saucepan with boiling water and simmer over low heat for about 60 minutes. The procedure is needed to disinfect the soil. It is advisable to repeat it in the morning.
- When the containers have cooled, you need to make a hole in the substrate to the very bottom. This requires a sterile wooden stick appropriate length. This creates a hole for the mycelium. Ideally, its diameter should not exceed 2 cm.
- The mycelium is placed into the hole using a medical syringe.
- The jar is closed with a nylon lid with holes and placed in a warm place where the air temperature is not higher than 24°C. In this case, humidity is important at the level of 85-90%. Therefore, to ensure constant humidity, cover the lid with wet cotton wool.
- Shoots will appear in about a month, and 2.5 weeks after that the first honey mushrooms can be seen. When the sprouts grow, the jars will need to be moved to the northern windows. It is desirable that the temperature in the room be at 14-15°C.
- Remove the lids when the mushrooms begin to reach the neck of the jar. It is important to wrap this part of the container with a strip of cardboard from the inside. This technique will help keep the mushrooms in place when the mycelium grows strongly.
- As your mushroom garden develops, sprinkle it with water periodically. This will help maintain the desired level of moisture.
- You need to harvest by cutting off the stems. Their remains are pulled out. And after 14-17 days new mushrooms appear.
Video: how to grow honey mushrooms in a jar
Important! If it’s a pity to spend jars on mushroom production, you can try cultivating honey mushrooms in a pumpkin. To do this, a hole is made in the fruit, where the mycelium is placed without a substrate. The “vegetable garden” is placed in a warm place, covering the hole with plastic film. After a month it is moved to cool conditions, and after 2 weeks it is harvested.
In the greenhouse
Greenhouse conditions are good for mushroom cultivation because they always allow you to maintain favorable microflora for mycelium growth. The method is implemented as follows:
- The first step is to select a few old stumps and move them to the greenhouse. If you don’t have such material on your farm, raw wood scraps that need to be put in a bag will do.
- Subsequently, the prepared half-rotten wood is watered with liquid containing fungal spores and left until shoots emerge.
- The development of mycelium can be accelerated by periodically irrigating the stumps. Experienced mushroom growers recommend sprinkling for five minutes every hour. The procedure begins in the afternoon and ends at 17:00.
- The first mushrooms will appear in the second half of June and will delight you until autumn.
Another way to grow honey mushrooms in a greenhouse is to prepare special blocks. They are constructed from bags filled with substrate (we mentioned methods for preparing soil above). They make holes in them and plant spores there. And they tie it on top with a plastic bag. Before tying the bag, you need to make a stopper from sterile cotton wool. It will protect the material from drying out. In the future, these containers are folded for the germination of mycelium. This will take a month. When the surface of the substrate becomes lumpy, remove the polyethylene and reduce the temperature from 20°C to 12°C.
This method is implemented using mycelium or mushroom body. The growing technology involves harvesting old, but not rotten, logs. It is best to plan sowing honey mushrooms in mid-spring, when it is warm outside, but high humidity remains. Then the harvest will ripen in a year. 
To do this you need:
- Find a mycelium in the forest or prepare a spore chatter from caps.
- Place suitable stumps in shady areas of the yard.
- Make small grooves on the surface of the wood and fill them with seed.
- After sowing, the recesses must be covered with damp sawdust or moss.
- It is important to maintain high humidity in the stump. To do this, you can cover its side zones with polyethylene or regularly moisten the soil around it.
- With the arrival of cold weather, the log is covered with spruce branches.
- In the spring, you need to shake off the snow from the tree garden and monitor the melt water, the excess of which may not be the best way to change the acidity of the plant environment.
- In June, the spruce branches are removed.
Video: how to grow mushrooms on stumps When the stumps become covered with mycelium, they need to be taken outside and buried. The first harvest will ripen in a year and the stump will bear fruit until it completely disintegrates.
The mushroom season for the vast majority of “quiet hunting” lovers lasts until the onset of autumn frosts. But it turns out there is a mushroom that can be collected even under the snow. Even experienced mushroom pickers know little about this representative of the honey mushroom family.
It grows, like autumn honey fungus, on stumps and weakened trees; it prefers the wood of poplar, willow, maple or aspen. You can meet him from the end of autumn. If the winter is thawed, snowy and without severe frosts, winter honey fungus can be found in the forest until spring.
Winter honey mushrooms are easy to cultivate, the result of the work will be visible quickly, so they will ideal option for beginners who want to try their hand at mushroom production.
general characteristics
Honey mushrooms belong to the family of honey mushrooms. In nature, forest honey mushrooms are found at the end of summer and grow until the first frost. They prefer to settle in the roots of old trees and on stumps. The cap of the mushroom is in the form of a ball, light brown in color with small scales on the surface. The plates on the underside are dirty white, sometimes covered with rusty spots.
The leg of honey mushrooms is long, brown or yellow color, the bottom is always darker, its surface is fibrous. Young mushrooms are distinguished by the presence of a whitish film connecting the edges of the cap to the stem. As the veil grows, it breaks, but part of it always remains on the leg as a whitish “skirt.” Using it, mushroom pickers distinguish real honey mushrooms from false, poisonous species.
The pulp of the mushroom is pleasant to the taste, with a pronounced mushroom aroma, whitish when cut.
Winter honey fungus: description
This type of honey mushroom is also known as winter mushroom and velvety-footed flamulina, or velvety (from the Latin Flammulina velutipes). This species is called winter because it feels good in the cold season. In the conditions of southern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, it can be collected until spring.
The winter honey fungus belongs to the fourth category. Grows in groups on stumps and deciduous trees. During periods of severe frosts, growth stops, but after thawing, honey mushrooms continue to fully develop with the formation of spores.
Appearance
The mushroom cap is up to 8 cm in diameter, usually 3 - 5 cm, yellow in color with a honey tint, it can also be orange or brown, darker in the middle part. The edges of the cap in the initial growth phase are curved inward, later - horizontal. The surface may be sticky. The plates are ocher-colored with shades from light fawn to reddish. The winter honey spores are white.
The leg is soft, velvety, up to 10 cm long (usually 3 - 5 cm), cylindrical, yellow, brown or blackish in color, darker at the bottom. The pulp is pleasant to the taste, slightly sour, white or yellowish when cut.
Autumn honey fungus differs from its winter “brother” in that a film in the form of a ring does not form on the stem.
Composition and properties
There is a practice of using honey mushrooms in diets, since they are low in calories (22 kcal). Residents of Japan are confident that eating winter mushrooms prevents the development of cancer cells. They are also recommended for use against Staphylococcus aureus in the intestines, as well as for restoring thyroid function.
Growing honey mushrooms
In Japan and Asia, winter mushrooms are grown on an industrial scale; their total global production per year reaches 100 thousand tons. When breeding, sawdust of deciduous wood, which has not been subjected to chemical treatment, and grain bran.
Among gardening enthusiasts, growing honey mushrooms on artificial substrate is becoming a popular activity, and sometimes even a business. Ease of care and undemanding living conditions make the growing process simple and easy.
Winter honey fungus lends itself best to cultivation. It can be grown under normal home conditions. To arrange the premises, the conditions of a balcony or loggia will be sufficient; you still need to select suitable plastic containers or plastic bags. Glass jars also work well for this.
Raw materials for substrate
For the substrate, you can use not only wheat or rice bran, but also buckwheat or pearl barley husks, sunflower husks, crushed corn cobs or chopped straw.
They need to be mixed with deciduous wood sawdust; it is better if they are not fresh, but stale (about a year). Ratio: three to four parts of sawdust, one part of bran or its substitute. The components are mixed well, moistened and placed in the selected containers so that half the volume is filled.
Substrate preparation
The prepared substrate must be disinfected and destroy harmful microorganisms that can harm the mycelium. To do this, the mixture of sawdust and bran is sterilized.
Winter mushrooms germinate well in glass jars. It is convenient to sterilize the substrate directly in them by boiling the bottles in a container of water over low heat for about two hours. The procedure is repeated again the next day and the substrate is allowed to cool to room temperature.
At the next stage, to the entire depth of the “soil” for mushrooms, depressions are formed with a long rod for loading the mycelium.
The jar should be closed with a tight lid, in which the vent up to 2 cm in diameter. It should be sealed with porous foam rubber or a cotton swab to prevent foreign microorganisms from entering.
Sowing mycelium
The acquired mycelium is carefully placed into the formed holes through the neck of the jar. It is divided into small parts and evenly distributed throughout the entire thickness of the substrate in the jar.
The amount of mycelium introduced can range from one to five or even seven percent by weight of the substrate. Next, the closed container is placed in a place with stable room temperature for a month. During this time, a mycelium should form in the jar, while the loose substrate becomes compacted, and white veins of developing mycelium should be visible.
In the old days, mushrooms were grown from spores; winter honey fungus can also be grown in this way. In this case, the mycelium should be germinated on a substrate of sawdust and brewer's grains. You can add sugar and yeast fertilizer to a regular substrate. After this, the mature honey mushroom cap with mucus and spores should be placed in the prepared medium and given time to germinate.
Mycelium care
On initial stage jars with substrate can be kept in a shaded place; light is not needed for growth. After small tubercles (primordia of honey mushrooms) begin to form on the mycelium threads, the container is placed in a bright place. The optimal temperature for the growth of fruiting bodies is 10-12 degrees.
For intensive growth, remove the lids from the jars, spray the mushroom caps with water from a spray bottle or support
The humidity in the room is 85 percent and it is well ventilated.
After the mushrooms reach the height of the neck, wrap the jar with a strip of thick paper or cardboard 10-15 centimeters wide. This can increase the length of the legs.
The fact is that in winter mushrooms growing in the forest, only the caps and light parts of the legs are eaten. But for mushrooms grown in an artificial environment, the entire stems are quite suitable for culinary processing.
If, after the formation of honey mushroom rudiments, jars with mycelium are placed in the cold for 2-3 days (in freezer or outside in the winter), then after returning to the balcony you can expect a friendly growth of fruiting bodies already on the fourth day after “hardening”.
Collection and storage
The harvest of winter mushrooms is usually harvested on the tenth day from the moment the rudiments appear. The fruiting bodies are cut off at the neck level. The legs remaining in the container are carefully removed from the substrate. The jars are closed with lids and the germination cycle is repeated.
Usually after 15 days the second crop is ready for harvest. It is possible to receive up to three fees per bank. After this, the substrate is depleted and must be replaced. From one three-liter jar possible way out products can reach up to 1.5 kg of tender mushroom bodies.
Winter mushrooms can be fried, pickled, salted, dried or frozen. Cut mushrooms can be stored in the refrigerator without loss of quality for up to six days.
When boiled, the winter mushroom, like the autumn honey fungus, remains slippery, which some may not like.
Precautionary measures
Winter honey fungus is an edible mushroom, but there is evidence that it contains weak toxins that are destroyed by heat treatment. To prevent undesirable consequences, winter mushrooms are boiled for at least 20 minutes before use.
Canned mushrooms prepared in non-compliant manner hygiene rules and heat treatment conditions can serve as a medium for the development of anaerobic bacteria. Their toxins, even in minimal concentrations, can cause serious poisoning that is life-threatening.
Grown honey mushrooms
With the arrival of cold rains and the first frosts, the mushroom season usually ends. And few people know that in nature there is a winter mushroom - winter honey fungus (Flammulina velvety). Yes, this is understandable, well, who goes into the forest to pick mushrooms after frost! But you can collect winter mushrooms not only in the forest. The Japanese were the first to begin growing winter honey fungus, putting its cultivation on an industrial basis in the mid-50s. Today, some countries in Southeast Asia are engaged in the production of winter honey fungus; attempts are being made to cultivate it in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Moldova. Winter honey fungus has high nutritional value, contains vitamins B and C, is rich in protein, and has the ability to synthesize biologically active substances. It surpasses vegetables in the content of minerals and microelements.
Winter honey fungus can easily be grown at home. When artificially growing winter honey fungus, sunflower husks, straw, buckwheat husks, and sawdust from deciduous trees are used as a substrate. When using sawdust, preference is given to those that have matured for six months or a year. Next, the selected substrate is mixed with additives, which include corn cobs, bran, and spent grain. The prepared substrate is kept in water for 20-24 hours, squeezed out and filled with ordinary one- and two-liter glass jars, no more than half the volume. The jars are closed with cotton-gauze stoppers or lids, in which a two-centimeter hole is made in advance. Jars filled with substrate are pasteurized for 1.5-2 hours in a pan of water over low heat. The procedure is repeated the next day or every other day. After this, mushrooms are planted in the cooled jars.
Jar with sprouted honey mushrooms
In each jar, with pre-washed hands, place several pieces of mashed planting material, broken off from the mycelium. The jar is closed and placed in a room with a temperature of at least 20-24 degrees. After 20-30 days the mycelium germinates. During germination, the mycelium does not require lighting. After germination, the jars can be placed on the windowsill; if it is not on the north side, then slight shading should be done. When the mushrooms begin to come out of the jar, you need to wrap thick paper the neck of the jar to a height of 5-10 cm. This is done so that the mushrooms are held vertically, stretching out of the jar. Periodically wetting the cardboard and spraying mushroom caps from a spray bottle, maintain high air humidity (85-95%), which is very necessary at this stage.
When the mushrooms completely come out of the jar, the jar is freed from the strapping and the mushrooms are cut off. The resulting yield is 25-30% of the weight of the wet substrate. The jars with the substrate are closed again and taken out onto the glazed balcony. In 7-14 days the second mushroom wave will begin.
Enough original way was proposed by Associate Professor of Donetsk University L. Filchakov for growing winter honey mushrooms. Common pumpkin is used as a nutritional base. Through a small hole made in the pumpkin, several pieces of mycelium are placed inside. Leave the pumpkin in a warm place, covering the hole with cellophane. After 25 days, the pumpkin is placed in a more humid and cooler room. The emerging rudiments of the fruiting bodies of the fungus will be visible on the pumpkin in the form of dots. Grown mushrooms are cut off when the mushroom cap becomes flat and the stem has not yet begun to darken. Winter honey mushrooms are especially tasty when pickled, and are also used for frying and pickling.
Summer and winter honey mushrooms can be easily grown on your own. Planting mycelium (mycelium) is purchased both in specialized stores and on the Internet.
Usually, a winter species, the so-called flammulina, is selected for breeding at home. The most common are three simple growing methods, technologically different from each other: on stumps or logs, in jars, in the basement.
Stump breeding technology
In this case, the remarkable positive difference is that it does not require large financial investments and is easy to implement for anyone.
Planting honey mushrooms on stumps (logs) in open ground in the garden or at the dacha is most favorable in the warm season from April to September inclusive; indoors, if logs are used, the mycelium of honey mushrooms can be planted year-round.
To plant honey mushrooms in the country, you should choose a shaded place. Otherwise, they will need to be covered with straw or hay. Only stumps of deciduous trees are used: aspen, birch, poplar, hornbeam, beech, apple, acacia, pear.
It is important that the tree is cut down no later than a month before the start of work. There should also be no signs of rotting, they should be sufficiently moist, maybe with bark, but without branches. If the stumps are dry, then they need to be thoroughly soaked in water for 2-3 days.
For several days, allow excess water to drain and ventilate in partial shade. Then, in a checkerboard pattern, using a drill, holes are made across the entire surface of the stump with a depth of 5-6 cm and a diameter of 0.8-1 cm. Small pieces of mushroom mycelium will be planted in these recesses.
They are covered with moss or branches. Periodically, to prevent the stump from drying out, the soil around it needs to be watered. With this method, the mycelium germinates slowly, so to stimulate growth it is recommended to cover them with a greenhouse film, which is nailed down with small nails for fixation.
Good to know: mushrooms like to grow only on dead wood; for garden trees, growing honey mushrooms in the country is absolutely harmless.
The result is expected next year at the beginning of summer, and then you can collect honey mushrooms regularly for 5-7 years until the stump or log is completely destroyed. At first, the mushroom harvest will be small, but gradually it increases 2-4 times.
Technology of growing in glass jars
The method is perfect even for city apartments. For the base you will need: 1 part bran and 3 parts sawdust from exclusively deciduous trees. But other combinations of one part are possible:
- sawdust;
- buckwheat husk;
- sunflower husk;
- chopped corn cobs.
Husks and cobs can be used as an independent base. Boil everything together in water. When the sawdust drains a little and cools down, add a nutrient mass to enhance the growth of honey mushrooms in the jar. For 1 kg of sawdust you need to take:
- 8 gr. starch;
- 25 gr. oatmeal;
- 25 gr. corn flour.
Then the jars are tightly filled with the resulting mass to 2/3 of the volume, sterilized in a large saucepan over low heat for at least 2 hours. After cooling to 25°C, make 5-7 cm indentations with a sterile stick and add honey mushroom mycelium. Afterwards, the jars are placed in a dark place with a constant temperature of 24°C and 85% humidity.
To avoid drying out, the contents are covered with a lid with a hole, which is covered with cotton wool. When the mycelium germinates, the jars are moved to a cooler place or the room temperature is lowered to 14-16°C. Paper is attached to the neck of the jar in the form of a cuff and they wait for the harvest to appear.
Take note: the material for planting must be of high quality and sterile. It is produced under special conditions and packaged in “breathable” bags with a biofilter.
When the mushrooms grow 5-7 cm from the jar, the cuffs are removed and the mushrooms are cut off. The yield is 25-30 percent of the initial volume of wet substrate.
The containers are closed again and left on the glazed balcony. In 20-30 days you can expect new mushrooms.
Basement growing technology
For the third method of growing honey mushrooms at home, use a basement. The room must be prepared in advance. Whitewash with lime or treat with 4% formalin solution to prevent insects and mold.
Provide forced ventilation with a power of about 25 kW or make ventilation outlets to the surface.
If honey mushrooms will be grown in the basement all year round, then it is necessary to provide a heater to maintain the optimal temperature of 24-26°C. For the substrate mixture you can choose:
- chopped straw;
- sawdust;
- tree foliage;
- seed husks.
Steam the substrate with boiling water for 6-12 hours and after cooling, mix with 300 g of small mycelium. Place 5-15 kg in thick plastic bags, tie them and lower them into the basement. After 3 days, you need to make several 4-6 cm holes in the bags or completely remove the bag from the substrate.
On days 12-16, the sprouted fruiting bodies of the mushrooms will be visible. Now they need to provide sufficient access to light and reduce the temperature to 14-16°C. On such a home mini-farm, if you follow the technology, you can collect up to 20 kg of mushrooms from one square meter in 1.5-2 months.
Note: The room where honey mushrooms are grown must be well ventilated and a constant temperature and humidity must be maintained.
How to grow honey mushrooms at home, see the following video:
