I understand that mushrooms should be grown in a dark place, like a cellar. I have a cold frame with no glass in it. If I planted mushrooms and covered the coldframe with black plastic, would they grow??
Agaricus bisporus (button mushrooms) are the only mushrooms you have to grow in the dark. They should grow in a cold frame covered with black plastic but it would be too cold at the moment so you would have to wait until the weather warms up. If you are using a kit then you will find most are small enough to put in a cupboard.
We grew some button mushrooms from a kit a couple of years ago.
The kit comprises of a polystyrene box with a lid, which the mushrooms grow in. As long as the cold-frame shelters the wind and stops the lid blowing off you should be fine, but they would grow just as well if you kept the box in a shed or similar.
They need a constant warm temperature to get them started... a friend did this for us cos our un-central heated flat wasn't constantly warm enough! Then we moved them into our coal shed. It was great going out in the morning and picking a few bulbous shrooms for breakfast :)
I didn't have much luck when I tried but maybe it was a bit cold in our garage for them.
I tried a kit indoors, got quite a lot of mushrooms once it got going, but also loads of little fruit flies....friend of mine had the same problem too; ? had we kept them too warm?
Growing mushrooms was discussed fairly recently in this thread.
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,72/topic,26874.0
yuk i'm not trying again in doors then if you get flies.
I made the mistake of opening my food waste bin that the council collect near my kitchen door last year and hundreds of tiny flies flew in. It took ages to get rid of them.
I had them flies for months Rosy a real pain in the ar#. >:( ;D ;D ;D
read somewhere, put paper and ripped up cardboard in the bin, it discourages the flies..I've read somewhere,as well, the mushroom composts too wet if there are flies in it :)
Hi all,
I wrapped my first attempt at mushroom growing completely in fine mesh. (The entire tray)
I`ve forgotten to do it it this time around although they are covered in dark plastic at the top. I haven`t poked them so I have no idea whats going on with them. They are in my potting shed which is toasty.
I think I read somewhere that professional growers use a mesh surround and sterilise trays in milton to keep out bugs and unwanted fungal growth.
Col
If you get flies then the soil is too wet allow it to dry out a bit & they go.
There is no need for a mesh surround with a mushroom kit, grain spawn or dowels. If you started by inoculating an agar solution then that is a different matter entirely & everything would need to be clean, sterile & protected from possible sources of contamination.
Hi all,
I had a look today for the first time at my tray of "spent" mushroom compost
and it has loads of the white hairy stuff (mycelium - I looked it up) and no black flies.
Its mostly covered in plastic but has some ventialtion through the handle holes of the tray.
Col