Description

King Stropharia, Wine Cap spore print is collected by placing a mushroom cap (grown indoors) on a piece of paper or aluminum foil and allowing the discharged spores to collect and form a print. Prints can be used to grow mycelium on a sterile petri dish.  While we take every precaution to maintain sterility we cannot guarantee prints are completely free of contaminating organisms.

Cultivation Difficulty: Easy
Type: Edible
Substrate: Pasteurized straw, wood chips, sawdust, various grains, coffee grounds, agricultural waste, newspaper and cardboard. With additional casing layer on top of substrate.
Colonization/Fruiting Temperatures: 70-75F/60-70F

These mushrooms are great for a garden bed with shade.

A large and adaptive edible species best suited for outdoor culture in the home garden. Indoor fruitings are possible but the King Stropharia requires a non-sterile casing to stimulate mushroom development and is slow fruit. These difficulties are avoided by simply inoculating a garden compost pile.

 The King Stropharia’s massive size, attractive appearance and ease of cultivation mark it as desirable for home cultivators. Very young mushrooms that do not have darkened gills from spore production are considered most desirable for eating

1. Scouting a site:

Look for a shaded, damp area sheltered from the wind. It is beneficial for the bed to receive natural rainfall even if you are able to water regularly, do not choose a site where water pools. A slope out of the wind, under a shady tree or in between rows of vegetables are suitable locations. It is extremely important to put the bed somewhere easy to see but not in the way of foot traffic. Fungal cultivation requires patience and mushrooms can appear suddenly without warning so the easier it is to check on them the better.

2. Preparing outdoor bed:

You will need 10-50 pounds organic growing medium such as hardwood chips, mulch, or straw. For smaller areas 10-30 pounds of growing medium will be required. Clear a 10-20 square foot space of any decomposing organic debris such as twigs or leaves. The bed can be on the surface or excavated a few inches deep; place a layer of cardboard or natural fabric such as burlap over the entire surface of the bed. This will act as a temporary barrier to any lurking native fungi and give your mycellium time to establish itself. On top of the barrier lay down two inches organic growing medium, water thoroughly and spread mushroom mycelium evenly over entire surface. Add another 1-2 inches of moist organic growing medium. If you have used a light weight medium such as straw use a layer of wood chips or other heavy organic material to compact the substrates and retain moisture for optimal growing.

3. Watering:

Water bed thoroughly every few days, especially when it is hot or dry. Check the bed periodically; when most of the growing medium is colonized with the white mycelium it is ready to produce mushrooms.

4. Casing

Once the bed is mostly colonized case with a mixture of 1:1 peat moss and garden soil. Simply mix peat moss with soil and evenly spread it over the entire mushroom bed. Don’t use sterilized potting soil. The organisms in the soil are necessary to induce fruiting.

5. Fruiting

Induce fruiting by watering at least once a day for 30 minutes. Within a couple weeks reddish mushroom primordia will being to poke up through the growing medium. Watch closely as the primordia mature into fully formed mushrooms. Harvest your mushrooms before the mushroom cap edges flatten and curl upward. Remove all mushrooms large and small by cutting them at their base.

Mushrooms can be cultivated in a hole or a cardboard box for indoor growing in a barn or garage. Hole or box should be approximately 1.5’x1.5′ and 2 feet deep. Layer bottom and sides of hole first with cardboard or natural fabric, moistened growing medium and place entire spawn block in the center or mix with medium. Cover with more damp medium.