In this article I will mainly talk about combining different types of raw materials for oyster mushroom substrates. If you grow other types of wood-decay mushrooms - in point 4 of this article there is interesting information for you too.
Content of the article
In this case, in addition to increasing the nutritional value of the composition, its physical structure also improves - this contributes to normal gas exchange in the mushroom block.
The nutritional value of the substrate is determined by the presence of both the main mineral elements and microelements.
In most cases, mushroom growers monitor only the nitrogen content, which should be at least 0.7 - 0.9. Although the successful assimilation of nutrients by the mycelium is also associated with the presence of a certain amount of phosphorus, the ratio of C/N content, and the presence of many trace elements.
Therefore, by making a substrate composition from plants of different botanical species, you provide higher quality nutrition for mushrooms.
No, since even the same plant species that grows in different conditions can have different composition and C/N ratio.
You can study scientific articles that are freely available on the Internet.
For example, in the article "Cultivation of Mushrooms and Their Lignocellulolytic Enzyme Production Through the Utilization of Agro-Industrial Waste" there is a table of carbon/nitrogen ratios for different types of agricultural waste.
I have come across articles that describe the results of experiments with various agricultural waste, where they studied the yield when mixing different types of raw materials.
It is necessary to take into account the amount of nitrogen of each component and the hardness of the plant material.
For example, alfalfa straw is quite tough. It can be combined with soft barley straw. Hay is best used with wheat and rye straw.
The husk can be added to any composition, gradually increasing the percentage of its application and observing overgrowth and yield.
When I say "observing" I mean "recording the results of each batch of blocks."
The substrate mixture largely depends on the method of heat treatment.
When steaming raw materials in water (this method is called hydrothermy or hot water pasteurization), it is not recommended to experiment with multicomponent mixtures.
Each type of vegetable raw material needs a different steaming time. If you are making mixtures, one type of raw material may pick up too much moisture, while another will not have enough time for high-quality heat treatment.
For this reason, the mycelium overgrows with problems.
If you process raw materials by xerothermy (treatment of dry raw materials with steam) or pasteurization in a tunnel, the use of mixtures is welcome.
When pasteurizing a substrate in a tunnel, the best additive is legume hay. It contains many nutrients and perfectly heats the raw materials in preparation for pasteurization.
Various additives are added to the substrate in order to improve productivity.
Experienced technologists often mix different types of raw materials to improve gas exchange in the block, but I mentioned this above.
Additives to the mushroom substrate depend on the method of processing the raw materials.
If you fill the substrate with hot water or disinfect the raw material with lime, any additives can cause mold spots to appear when the mycelium overgrows. You can try adding any legume hay, but not more than 10%.
However, I categorically do not recommend bran for such methods of processing raw materials.
Read about bran here
If you are growing mushrooms just as a hobby and making very little substrate, you can try pouring boiling water over a grain of wheat, barley, rice or millet and letting it sit until it cools. The container with grain should be well insulated; you can, for example, wrap it in a blanket so that the water cools slowly.
This cooled grain can be mixed with grain spawn and added to the substrate you are using. You determine the amount of grain yourself. Add 10% grain to one serving, 15% to another, and 20% to a third. And watch the yield.
Some hobbyists simply mix 5% mycelium with the grain and add nothing else.
However, these mushrooms will be too expensive, because grain is not cheap. In addition, such a substrate may deteriorate. If there are too many nutrients in it, the bacteria will occupy it before the mycelium.
Some articles suggest sawdust as a nutritional supplement.
This is mistake!
Sawdust and shavings contain very little nitrogen. Sawdust is used for substrates that are sterilized, but such mixtures are always supplemented with nutritional supplements that contain a lot of nitrogen. In such substrates, the balance of nutrients and physical properties is important.
What is the cheapest way to sterilize mushroom substrate?
If you grow mushrooms as a hobby, you can try different methods of substrate disinfection.
But if mushroom growing is your business and you have a small mushroom farm for sale, you need to find the best way to process the raw materials for better productivity.
Not all mushroom growers have the opportunity to buy an autoclave. However, there is a fairly inexpensive way to sterilize raw materials from pellets at atmospheric pressure.
Different types of mushrooms require different types of pellets. They are used to make mixtures.
For example, shiitake has different taste depending on the composition of the substrate. Some mushrooms, such as Cyclocybe aegerita, need more nitrogen, others, such as oyster mushrooms, less.
My friend, a highly qualified technologist with extensive experience in growing many types of wood mushrooms, together with his wife, also a mushroom technologist, wrote a book in which they described step by step how to create a small home farm.
He described in detail the method of sterilizing the substrate with steam in small containers (200 liters) at atmospheric pressure.
There is also information about blends for different types of mushrooms (% ratio of different types of pellets) and the conditions for growing them are described.
You can read the table of contents of this book to find out what it is about and buy it at this link.
