Easy Mushroom Farming at Home in Pakistan -Step by Step Guide

What are Mushrooms? – Importance and Benefits

Mushrooms are kind of fungus that is edible. Not all fungi are edible, in fact it is important to acknowledge that majority of them are poisonous even causing death. However, the edible kind of fungi is a popular ingredient for food ass used in pizzas, pasta etc. but it also provides great health benefits and is used as medicine.

Mushrooms can benefit our health in many ways as they are low calorie, very low fat food that is good for the immune system due to its high selenium content. It is also good for neurological development in kids and keeping the brain healthy. They are also rich in vitamins. They can easily be grown at home with only a few key necessary things while allowing you to reuse your plastic bottles or bags!

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It is possible to grow most types of mushrooms that grow in the wild at home as well, with the exception of morels as they only grow in nature. One of the benefits of growing your own mushroom varieties instead of wild-harvesting them is that you can be sure you’re not picking a poisonous mushroom. But each type has specific growing needs. For example, white button mushrooms need to be grown on composted manure, shiitakes on wood or hardwood sawdust, and oyster mushrooms can make it work on both sawdust but ideally on straw. Button mushrooms and oyster mushrooms are easier to grow at home.

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Mushroom Farming Requirements:

Mushroom farming simply means that you can grow your own mushrooms at home easily and organically. Mushrooms can be a great addition to your home gardens. You can grow a variety of mushrooms like oyster mushrooms or even shiitake (Japanese mushroom) using only few things, in the right conditions and the right temperature. You will need the following things:

1. Mushroom spawn (seeds)- this is the stuff that will be used to grow mushrooms. In Pakistan, only 3 types of mushrooms are cultivated commercially- Button, Oyster and Straw mushrooms. So the choice of growing any other variety at home is a bit restricted since we would need mushroom spawn of that specific variety.
   
   In Pakistan you can easily get the above mentioned mushroom spawn from any Farmer’s market. Or, you can even grow your own spawn at home but for that you would first need to grow or obtain mushrooms. You can then use the stem butt method. Cut the stems of those mushrooms, take and place them on a damp plain cardboard/straws/logs in a container (However, this has low nutrients as compared to grown on grain which is perfect for growing mushrooms).
   
   In a few weeks you will have your own mushroom spawn/seeds. However, this is a step that is not recommended since it is time consuming and also might not give the desired results so it is better to source spawn from markets or buy mushrooms from supermarkets that are fresh enough that there will be a possibility for the stem to still be alive to propagate mycelium.
   
2. Ideally a dark place like a storage room or basement. Mushrooms need a moist and humid environment for growing and a low temperature typically in the range of 19-21 degree celsius. Growing mushrooms is a good project for the winter, because many basements/store will get too warm in the summer for ideal conditions.
   
3. Sawdust, grain, straw, compost or wood chips for nourishment as soil is not necessary for growing mushrooms. Mushrooms can easily be grown on these media depending on their type in the above mentioned environment. This is the growing medium for mushrooms.
   
   Related: Hydroponics – The Future of Agriculture?
   

Steps to Grow Mushrooms at Home:

Step 1: Fill plastic containers or trays with compost and sprinkle button mushroom spawn on top of it generously- this is important in order to eliminate competition from other wild spores or yeasts/molds floating around.

Step 2: Make sure the temperature of the room or soil is around 12 to 15 degree Celsius.

Step 3: Cover the spawn with an inch of potting soil and cover with a damp cloth.

Step 4: Keep spritzing water on the cloth to prevent it from turning dry.

Step 5: Harvest the mushrooms after 11-12 days when the caps are opened and the stalks can be cut with a sharp knife from the stems.

This will provide you with a steady mushroom supply for a couple of months until you would eventually have to add more spawn. But, in the meantime just make sure the cloth remains damp in order to maintain the growth of the mushrooms being harvested. Do not ever pull the mushrooms as it can damage the mycelium network in which other mushrooms are growing. You can use these mushrooms in your food as most will only last a few days in the fridge

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Conclusion:

Not only is this mushroom farming providing means to grow your own mushrooms at home at a relatively cheap cost but it also allows you to utilize your plastic bottles that can be cut to make flat containers/ trays. This is a great way to reuse plastic at home while also getting organic food.

Also check out: 7 Easy Vegetables To Farm At Home In Pakistan

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