If you have decided to start growing mushrooms at home, you have everything you need, you follow the instructions, and still something goes wrong, for example, the grow kit is not growing – read the article below, which may indicate the reasons for this situation.
There can be many reasons. In this article, we will look at the key factors that influence the success of cultivation. We will suggest how to create optimal conditions for mushroom growth, what mistakes beginners most often make, and how to effectively avoid them. We invite you to read!
Table of Contents
Mushroom cultivation – how to create perfect conditions?
To grow mushrooms at home, you need to provide them with an environment as close to their natural state as possible. Fortunately, mushrooms are not particularly demanding organisms, so you can successfully recreate most of the key factors needed for their proper development. Let’s discuss them in turn:
Temperature
The optimal temperature is 25 – 27°C. If we have trouble maintaining this temperature in the summer for any reason, it is worth considering which room is the coldest and keeping the grow kit closer to the floor (Note: do not place directly on panels, they can swell from moisture).
Humidity
First of all, high humidity – around 95%. This can be ensured by regularly spraying the inside of the bag. It is best to use boiled or filtered water for this – this reduces the chance of mycelium contamination.
Lighting
Mushrooms need light to grow properly, but they do not tolerate direct sunlight. It is best to place the grow kit in a place with indirect daylight or use a light cycle of 12 hours light and 12 hours dark.
Ventilation
Fresh air is important for mushroom growth. Opening the grow bag every 2-3 days to exchange air and spraying the inside with water helps maintain the right oxygen and humidity levels.
Sterility
Hand sterility is essential! Before opening the bag or performing any other activities, hands should be thoroughly washed or disinfected. In addition to hand sterility, let’s also try not to “breathe” into the interior
There are many forums online where you can talk about mushroom cultivation, share your experiences and exchange observations. One of the most popular places of this type is the Reddit forum. Contact with other growers is a great way to gain practical knowledge and avoid typical mistakes that beginners make.
The most common mistakes
The mistakes related to our cultivation can be divided into two types – either nothing grows, or what is not supposed to grow grows. So let’s discuss our considerations in accordance with this line of thought:
Why is nothing growing?
If nothing grows from the growkit, even though a few or a dozen days have passed since the start of cultivation, there may be many reasons. The most common culprit is too low temperature (below 18°C), which slows or stops growth, as well as lack of appropriate humidity – the mycelium needs a very humid environment (approx. 95%).
Another reason is insufficient ventilation, which leads to the accumulation of carbon dioxide, which prevents fruiting. Another common mistake is the lack of contact with diffused light, which for many species is a signal to start growing. Sometimes contamination is a problem – invisible at first, but effectively blocking the development of mycelium.
It’s also worth checking if the grow kit has not expired or been stored incorrectly, and if it hasn’t been opened too early, before the mycelium has fully colonized the substrate. Finally, sometimes you just need more patience – sometimes the mushrooms simply need more time to get started.
Is it growing as it should?
Unfortunately, the biggest threat to our breeding is infection. Most often, when it occurs, we are unable to do anything. However, there are a few things to remember.
A white coating on the mycelium in a grow kit is usually natural and doesn’t necessarily mean mold—it’s often just healthy, active mycelium starting to colonize the surface of the substrate or even mushrooms. This is especially common just before fruiting.
In such a situation, it is worth gently sniffing the growkit – if the smell you can detect is reminiscent of sandwiches forgotten in a backpack for the summer, it is almost a sure sign of the presence of mold. Additionally, you can carefully wipe the suspicious area with a sterile cotton swab on a stick; if a green, bluish or black residue remains, we have confirmation that contamination has occurred.
Harvesting
The mycelium is able to produce several times. We collect the fruiting bodies of mushrooms when the cap reaches full opening and the membrane covering its lower gills bursts. The least invasive for the mycelium is to twist the mushroom – this will avoid excessive damage, which can be an easier target for infectious agents.
During this process, it is absolutely necessary to remember to properly disinfect your hands; if you do not want the disinfectants to dry out your skin, there is no objection to using latex gloves, although this is not necessary.
However, if your grow is doing well and your crops are harvested, you may be interested in our article on different microdosing protocols.
Summary of the most important rules
Sterility is the most important. Insufficient hand disinfection is one of the biggest threats to cultivation, as it can introduce unwanted microorganisms that will harm the mycelium. Equally important are the right environmental conditions – no direct sunlight, regular moistening and systematic ventilation of the grow kit are the foundations of maintaining a healthy and strong mycelium!