Tabletop Mushroom Cultivation

Alson Sears, D.V.M.
Christopher Keller
AWSEARS@HOTMAIL.COM

1. Culture plates made earlier.
2. Spore print made earlier.
3. Marking pen.
4. Knife.
5. Propane torch.
6. Fire Extinguisher

Procedure

1. Be sure to work in a clean, low traffic area to help prevent contamination.
2. 
    
3. Light the torch and keep it at a low flame.  Extreme care must be taken when working with this.  Follow manufacturer's recommendations on safety.
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5. Pass the knife over the flame until the tip becomes red-hot.
6. 
   
    
    
    
7. Allow the tip to cool, this may take a minute or two.
8. 
    
9. Gently scrape one small area of the spore print, try to just pick up the spores of the mushroom on the knife and leave the paper fiber. 
10. 
    
     
     
11. Carefully open one of the culture plates, just exposing enough of the inside of the plate to enable the knife room to smear the spores over the surface of the media. 
12. 
    
     
     
13. Promptly close the culture plate tightly to avoid contamination.
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15. Label the plate with the mushroom type and the date.
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17. Clean any excess materials off of the knife.
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19. Repeat this procedure until you have the desired number of plates.
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21. Place the plates in a warm dark location where they will not be disturbed
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23. In several days, a white, stringy growth should begin to appear on the surface of the media. This material is mushroom mycelium.
24. 
     

Home

Agar
plates

Spore print

Preparing grain

Inoculating grain

Preparing sawdust

Fruiting mushrooms

References