GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

MATERIALS FOR FORMULATING A FRUITING SUBSTRATE 55
pasteurized for several hours. Because peanut
shells form subterraneously and are in ground
contact, they should be thoroughly washed before
pasteurization. Sterilization may be
required if pasteurization is insufficient. The addition
of 5% gypsum (calcium sulfate) helps keep
the substrate loose and aerated. Oyster mushrooms,
in particular, thrive on this material.
Soybean roughage (Okara) Okara is the
main by-product of tofu and tempeh production.
Essentially the extracted roughage of
boiled soybean mash, Okara is perfectly suited
for quick colonization by a wide variety of
mushrooms, from the Pleurotus species to
Ganoderma lucidum, even Morels. Several
companies currently use Okara for generating
mycelium for extraction and/or for flavorings.
All of the above-mentioned materials can be
used to construct abase for mushroom production,
outdoors or indoors. A more expansive list could
include every primary by-product from agricultural
and forestry practices. To the imaginative cultivator,
the resoumes seem almost limitless.
Supplements
Supplementing the substrate can boost yields.
A wide variety of protein-rich (nitrogenous)
materials can be used to enhance the base substrate.
Many of these are grains or their
derivatives, like rice, wheat or oat bran, ground
corn, etc. Supplementing a substrate, such as
straw or sawdust, changes the number and the
type of organisms that can be supported. Most of
the raw materials used for growing the mushrooms
listed in this book favor mushroom
mycelium and are nitrogen-poor. Semi-selectivity
is lost after nitrogen supplements are added,
but ultimately mushroom yields improve. Therefore,
when supplements are used, extra care is
required to discourage contamination and insure
success. Here good hygiene and good flow pat-
terns to, from and within the growing rooms are
crucial. Supplementation of outdoor beds risks
competition from contaminants and insects.
If supplementing a substrate, the sterilization
cycle should be prolonged. Sterilization must
be extended from 2 hours for plain sawdust at
15 psi to 4 hours for the same sawdust supplemented
with 20% rice bran.
Supplemented sawdust, straw and compost
substrates undergo the rmo genesis, a spontaneous
temperature increase as the mycelium and
other organisms grow. If this naturally occurring
biological combustion is not held in check, a
plethora of molds awaken as the substrate temperature
approaches 100°F (38°C.). Below this
threshold level, these organisms remain dormant,
soon being consumed by the mushroom mycehum.
Although true sterilization has not been
achieved, full colonization is often times successful
because the cultivator offsets the upward
spiral of temperature. Simply spacing spawn
bags or jars apart from one another, and lowering
spawn room temperatures as thermogenesis
begins, can stop this catalytic climb. For many
of the gourmet wood decomposers, a temperature
plateau of 75-85°F. (24-29° C.) is ideal.
The following supplements can be added at
various percentages of total dry mass of the bulk
substrate to enhance yields.
corn meal
cottonseed meal or flour
oat bran, oat meal
rice bran
rye grain
soybean meal & oil
spent grains from beer fermentation
(barley & wheat)
vegetable oils
wheat grain, wheat bran
nutritional yeast
The nutritional composition of these supple-
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