Growing Mushrooms in Buckets is rewarding and easy. Follow the informative post below and harvest fresh produce right in your home.
Learn growing mushrooms in the buckets by following the simple steps mentioned in this post for harvesting fresh mushrooms.
Growing Mushrooms in Buckets
Side fruiting, fast-growing oyster mushroom species like; yellow, pink, white, or blue oyster are perfect choices for buckets.
Pasteurization
Pasteurization is the process of preparing the substrate for growing mycelium without being restrained by colonies of pathogens, such as mold or yeast.
Process of Growing Mushrooms in Buckets
Things you’ll need:
- 20-liter food-grade bucket with a lid
- Laundry basket
- Hydrated lime
- 2 kg oyster mushroom grain spawn
- 1 bale of sugar cane mulch
- Micropore tape
- 70L bin
Instructions:
Pasteurise the substrate:
Take a 70 L bin, fill cold water in it, and add approx 3 gms of lime per liter of cold water. Fill the laundry basket with mulch or straw, put weight on the top, plunge the laundry basket in a 70L bin containing lime water for up to 16-24 hours. Once it is done, take off the laundry basket from the lime bath and let it drain.
Make holes in the Bucket:
Drainage holes are a must in a bucket, create holes between 8-12 mm. The mycelium produces CO2 and colonizes the substrate. Air circulation through holes manages carbon dioxide and the healthy growth of mycelium. For proper ventilation, create holes on the sides of the bucket within 15-20 cm, make a few holes on the base of the bucket as well.
When mycelium matures:
It will discharge liquid, yellow metabolites, which need to be drained away to ensure the substrate is not satiated. Fix micropore tape to the outside of every hole on the bucket; this will hold moisture and maintain air circulation as well.
Fill sugar cane mulch in a bucket during layering with oyster mushroom grain spawn, gently firm, and pack, assuring that the substrate can breathe. Put the lid on the bucket.
Place the sealed and packed bucket under the indirect sunlight at room temperature. Within 8-21 days, the mycelium will consume the mulch substrate and grow. Species like blue oysters will fruit in up to 3 weeks, whereas pink oysters will take eight days.
Note: Quantity of spawn or change in temperature can affect the rate of colonization.
When the mycelium has colonized the substrate, the bucket can be moved to fruiting conditions. While fruiting, the mycelium will push off the micropore tape.
Prepare a Fruiting Chamber
Mushrooms need humidity to flourish well; you can use a mini greenhouse. Spray the inside walls of the greenhouse to raise the humidity. Keep in mind that air-cirulation is also important as mushrooms releases CO2 and grow leggy if they need more oxygen.
Harvesting
You can harvest the oyster mushrooms before their caps curl upwards. At this stage, they will drop the spores. You can keep them in a paper bag and store them in a refrigerator.
Second Flush
For the next flush of mushrooms, the mycelium needs 7-14 days to recover. If the substrate is dehydrated, use clean tap water to rehydrate it. Apply micropore tape again on the holes to maintain the humidity. Summer species such as yellow and pink oysters produce a second flush soon compared to cool weather, which needs more time.