Straw mushrooms are unique edible fungi suitable for cultivation in summer, and their short cultivation cycle is remarkable. It only takes about 5 days to transform from mycelium into small granular fruiting bodies, and reaches the harvest standard in 10 days. The whole process only takes 30 days, which is significantly shorter than other edible fungi in half the time, achieving efficient cultivation with one crop per month. . The bag cultivation technology of straw mushrooms is simple, easy to implement, low-cost, and can be implemented indoors and outdoors. It is the preferred solution for mushroom farmers.
1. Cultivation Substrate
Straw mushrooms prefer natural fibers, such as rice straw (preferably every other year and exposed to the sun to remove impurities), corn stalks and fungus residues, with an appropriate amount of low-nitrogen supplementary materials such as rice bran and peanut drying to balance nutrition. For substrate treatment, the rice straw is soaked in lime water and adjusted to a slightly alkaline environment with a pH of 7.0-7.8, which not only softens the rice straw but also increases its moisture retention. It is then mixed with auxiliary materials such as cottonseed hulls to ensure a moderate moisture content (65%-70%).
2. Bagging
The cultivation bag should be a polypropylene bag with a size of 50cm×24cm. Polypropylene bags have better air permeability, heat resistance, antibacterial properties, and heat dissipation capabilities. Since straw mushrooms are high-temperature fungi, you should choose polypropylene bags with better heat resistance. Put the mixed planting material into the bag and compact it.
3. Sterilization
After the bagging is completed, the cultivation bags are stacked and placed in the sterilization device for high-temperature sterilization. If normal pressure and high temperature sterilization is used, quickly increase the temperature to 100°C and maintain it for 12 hours. If high-pressure steam sterilization is used, it can be maintained for 4 to 6 hours.
4. Inoculation
After sterilization, the grow bags are inoculated. Note that the strains used at this time are cultivated strains, and the cultivated strains need to be used up within 1 week. If stored for more than 20 days before use, the output will be affected. When inoculating, the environment must be sterile or an inoculation box must be used for inoculation.
5. Fungus Management
The inoculated mycelium bags are moved into the culture room that has been disinfected in advance. Maintain appropriate temperature and humidity (32°C, 90%RH) to promote the healthy growth of mycelium. During the growth period of mycelium, low light or dark environment is required, with timely ventilation and avoidance of convection wind.
6. Fruiting Management
When the fungus bag is full of mycelium, take it off. At this time, keep the indoor temperature at 30℃~34℃. Adjust the room temperature to 30-34°C, increase ventilation and scattered light, maintain high humidity (90%-95%), and maintain humidity and cool down by spraying water in the space.
7. Harvesting
The best time to pick straw mushrooms is the oval egg-shaped stage with full buds and unopened umbrellas. At this time, the meat is delicious and the stalks are short and the skin is thin. Be gentle when picking to avoid damage, and then pre-cool to 15°C to keep fresh and prevent autolysis to ensure product value.
In summary, bag cultivation of straw mushrooms not only has a low technical threshold, but also has a short cycle and high efficiency, making it an ideal choice for summer edible fungi cultivation.