GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

14. Duration between 1st, 2nd and 3rd
flushes An important feature of any mushroom
strain is the time between "breaks" or flushes.
The shorter the period, the better. Strains characterized
by long periods of dormancy between
breaks are more susceptible to exploitation by
insects and molds. By the third flush a cultivator
should have harvested 90% of the potential
crop. The sooner these crops can be harvested,
the sooner the growing room can be rotated into
another crop cycle. The rapid cycling of
younger batches poses less risk of contamination.
15. Spore load factors Over the years, the
white Button mushroom, Agaricus brunnescens,
has been genetically selected for small
gills, thick flesh, and a short stem. In doing so,
a fat mushroom with a thick veil covering short
gills emerged, a form that greatly extended
shelf life. As a general rule, once spores have
been released in mass, the mushroom soon decomposes.
Hence, strains that are not heavy
spore producers at the time of harvest are attractive
to cultivators. Additionally, the massive
release of spores, particularly by Oyster mushrooms,
is an environmental hazard to workers
within the growing rooms and is taxing on
equipment. I have seen, on numerous occasions,
the spores from Oyster mushrooms
actually clog and stop fans running at several
hundred rpms, ruining their motors.
Another mushroom notorious for its spore
load is Reishi, Ganoderma lucidum. Within the
growing rooms, a rust-colored spore cloud
forms, causing similar, although less severe, allergic
reactions to those seen with Oyster
mushrooms. Rather than emitting spores for
just a few days, as with most fleshy mushrooms,
the woody Ganoderma generates spores for
weeks as it slowly develops.
16. Appearance: form; size; and color of
EVALUATING A MUSHROOM STRAIN 123
Figure 99. 1 photographed this unsavory package
directly after purchasing it from a major grocery
store chain. Mushrooms in this condition, if eaten,
cause extreme gastro-intestinal discord. This is the
"sajor-caju" variety of Pleurotus pulmonarius, also
known as the Phoenix Oyster mushroom, and has
been a favorite of large scale producers. Subsequent
to harvest, hundreds of primordia soon form on the
decomposing mushrooms.
the harvestable mushrooms Every cultivator
has a responsibility to present a quality
product to the marketplace. Since gourmet
mushrooms are relatively new, national standards
have yet to be set in the United States for
distinguishing grades .As gourmet mushrooms
become more common, the public is becoming
increasingly more discriminating.
What a cultivator may lose in yield from
picking young mushrooms is offset by many
benefits.Young mushrooms are more flavorful,
tighter fleshed, often more colorful, and ship
and store longer than older ones. Crop rotation,
with much less associated spore load, is like-
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