What is the use of incubator in mushroom cultivation?

After inoculation with grain spawn, the mushroom blocks are transferred to the incubator.

Why do you need an incubator for oyster mushrooms?

Let's look at how the microclimate difference between incubation and growing mushrooms:

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Conditions for development and fruiting

incubator with blocks of different ages 

Cultivation

Room temperature 

20-220С

14-160С

Humidity

80-82%

87-89%

Carbon dioxide

No less 1500 – 2000 ррм

No more 1000 ррм

ventilation

Only when overheated

Constantly

 

As you can see, none of the parameters match.

At low temperatures, the substrate overgrows slowly and may turn white on days 20-25, when the overgrown mycelium is already weakened. In such batches, the mushroom yield is very low.

At high humidity, the developing mycelium will not be able to evaporate the amount of moisture that is necessary, gas exchange in the substrate is disrupted, and the bags will become overgrown with spots.

With a low level of carbon dioxide during incubation, oyster mushroom clusters subsequently form loose, with a small number of mushroom primordia.

When making blocks every day or every other day in small batches - 15-20 bags, it will not be possible to create a separate microclimate for them that corresponds to the incubation period.

Is it possible to incubate mushroom blocks in a grow room?

можно ли мешки вешенки прислонять друг к другу

Some amateurs place a batch of blocks for incubation, leaning one bag tightly against the other.

Thus, the bags should heat themselves, and overgrowing will take place quickly even at low temperatures in the chamber.

In fact, a tight fit does cause heating of the substrate, but it is uncontrollable, and most often turns into local overheating under the film.

Water condenses under the polyethylene and bacteria develop in it.

The overgrowth of the substrate is uneven: on the one hand, yellow, soaked spots of condensation appear, where the mycelium hyphae do not grow.

In other places, stroma appears - the mycelium, trying to protect itself from overheating, is transformed into a dense cotton-like mass of white color.

If you are making the substrate in small batches, it would be better to fence off part of the room with film from the rest of the room and create conditions there that are favorable specifically for the incubation period.

If you make a lot of bags at once, but once a week, or every 10 days, then in the growing room itself you can make hanging curtains from plastic film. After the bags are brought in, these curtains are closed to isolate the batch from the general area.

обогрев инкубатора вешенки батареями

If the temperature in the fenced-off part does not rise to 20 degrees on its own, then an oil heater or fan heater is installed in the compartment. Do not forget about safety rules - do not leave switched on devices unattended.

In this case, you can also run heating radiators along the walls, which work only in the compartment where the substrate is overgrowing right now. All other batteries are switched off at this time.

Where fruiting is in progress, it is impossible to heat the room with radiators - they uncontrollably dry the air and create additional movement, which, by the way, is also uncontrolled.

But, as for me, it is much easier to make a separate incubator.

The incubator must be insulated from the outside

Then, by heating it once, you will also warm up the walls, but the heat will not escape outside. Heated walls are a thermal buffer for the room - in the event of a sudden cold snap, they will give off heat for some time.

The incubator area can be calculated based on the incubation period. The calculation criterion is the number of bags that will be there at the same time. At a temperature of 20-22 degrees, the overgrowth of the husk substrate takes 12-16 days, then primordia appear. The straw substrate matures 2-3 days longer. The number of days of overgrowth should be checked with mycelium suppliers - it depends on the dose of mycelium and the strain of oyster mushroom.

On average, the incubator should hold as many bags as you make in 15 -17 days.

The blocks must not touch each other in the incubator!

There should be a gap of at least 2-3 cm between them.

Read how to arrange blocks for incubation here.

If you load the incubator once every two to three days, then it is quite possible that it will itself maintain the required temperature and humidity - due to the close proximity of the blocks and small area. In winter, heat generation from the substrate may not be enough.

Как согреть блоки вешенки на инкубации

Then the incubator can be warmed up using the methods described above (using electrical appliances or radiators).

Do not cover the blocks with oilcloth or film to warm them. They may begin to overheat uncontrollably.

But, if there is no other choice - for example, you have just started working, and you are unable to warm the room to 20 degrees. You can arrange the batch so that the bags do not touch each other, but are closely spaced.

In the photo they touch each other only with their upper parts, each leaning lightly on the other.

If the blocks are laid out in stacks and covered on top, then the inner bags will overheat so much that the mycelium in them will die, and the outer ones will freeze and the development of mycelium will not occur.

Therefore, start making the substrate only when you are sure that you can create and monitor the temperature of 20-22 degrees, and humidity of 80-85%, necessary for the development of oyster mushroom mycelium.

Ventilation in the incubator

There is no need to ventilate the incubation room (that is, let fresh air in there). On the contrary, the more stable all the conditions there are, the better. Your task is to ensure that these conditions are met (see the table at the beginning of the article).

If the blocks overheat, it is necessary to ventilate the incubator room. To do this, turn on a fan that will mix the air in the room itself.

This can be a regular household fan. You can also hang a ceiling fan with blades in the middle of the ceiling. Or place a low-power axial fan under the ceiling.

When mixing air, without adding outside air, heat is removed from the surface of the film by fairly warm room air, so the bags cool slowly.

If you cool the blocks sharply using cold fresh air, the substrate under the film cools faster than the center of the substrate. Because of this, water escapes under the polyethylene in the form of condensation, which causes problems. Read more.

How blocks develop day by day

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