Mycelium mycelium. Types of mycelium, selection and storage

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24.04.2018

The mycelium is the vegetative body of the fungus, which has the ability to change its structure, while forming special organs that ensure reliable attachment to the substrate, nutrition and subsequent reproduction. In fact, mycelium is nothing more than the mycelium familiar to everyone. It is from this that the mushroom actually begins to grow, so taking, for example, the mycelium of a porcini mushroom or an oil dish, you can very successfully grow them in any place suitable for this purpose.

The mycelium most often looks like a kind of formation that looks like cotton wool or fluff in the form of a fluffy coating, or may have the appearance of a light film or threads woven together in the form of a fine mesh.

The branched threads of the mycelium are very thin (from 1.5 to 10 microns thick) and have a light shade. Biologists call them hyphae. A fine network of miniature lateral processes is formed on the hyphae ( haustorium). With their help, the fungus easily penetrates the internal tissues of plants, drawing nutrients and water from the substrate. It is noteworthy that the total length of hyphae in some types of fungi can reach 35 (!) kilometers in length.

Thin and branching bundles of hyphae ( rhizoids) look like the root system of plants, and they really help the fungus to securely attach even to a very hard base.

Nutrient-rich hyphae located close to each other can form thread-like branching clusters ( sclerotia), which are dense black formations and act as protective capsules. Thanks to their strong structure, they preserve mycelium during the winter cold.

With the onset of warmth, sclerotia germinate, releasing spore-forming organs.

Cords and cords can be formed from parallel and homogeneous hyphae, which represent an fused branched network of thin filaments. With their help, the fungus attaches to the substrate.

To reproduce, mushrooms use special seeds - spores.

Fungal mycelium is usually divided into two classes:

· Immersed(if the mycelium is completely immersed in the nutrient substrate)

· Air(when the mycelium only partially touches the nutrient base)

Varieties of mycelium

There are two main types of mushroom mycelium:

"Non-cellular" or coenotic(devoid of transverse partitions between cells and representing one large cell with a large number of nuclei)

"Cellular" or septate, in which intercellular partitions exist between the mycelial cells and each cell can contain a certain number of nuclei

Mushrooms are usually divided into three main groups:

Hat

This is the most common group, which in turn is divided into two types:

- Pipe mushrooms

- Lamellar mushrooms

Mold

Yeast

Preparing mycelium at home

Useful mushroom mycelium can be easily grown independently at home, such as kombucha, well known for its medicinal, nutritional and taste qualities, or traditional cultivated types of mushrooms, such as champignons, honey mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, and so on.

Mycelium for subsequent cultivation of mushrooms can be purchased at a retail chain or obtained independently from mushroom stems.

Depending on the basis of the nutrient medium, the mycelium of edible mushrooms can be divided into three types:

Grain

Substrate

Liquid

To grow mycelium at home, it first needs to create conditions for normal existence and, first of all, take care of two significant factors: sufficient humidity and ambient temperature, which should not rise above 25 ° C, otherwise the mycelium will die. Low temperature is also undesirable, as it will slow down the growth and normal development of mushrooms.

Among other conditions, the growing room must be sufficiently lit and well ventilated.

The easiest way to grow mycelium

Pour wheat grain into a large metal container and add water so that it covers the seeds a couple of centimeters above. Place the dishes on the fire and cook for half an hour, after which the grain must be strained and then dried, scattered on a flat surface.

We pour the dried grain into liter jars (two-quarters full) and sterilize them in a large container. When the jars have cooled down, you can put a little mycelium in each one.

To prevent infection of the mycelium by harmful microbes, it is advisable to carry out all manipulations under the light of a quartz lamp.

The first signs of mycelium in the form of white fluff will appear on the fourth day, and after a week the mycelium can be sown on straw and the mushroom crop can begin to be grown. The main thing in this matter is desire and patience.

You can read in more detail about how to grow champignons at home.

Interesting facts about mushrooms and mycelium

It turns out that mushrooms are, on average, 90% water.

Fungal mycelium has the ability to use even toxic substances such as oil or E. coli as a nutrient medium

Fungal DNA is different from the DNA of most plants and is closer to the formula of human DNA

In terms of amino acid content, mushrooms are ahead of plants such as peanuts, soybeans, beans and even corn.

In nature, there are more than 70 varieties of mushrooms that grow in complete darkness. The fact is that these types of mushrooms are capable of producing light using bioluminescence, so in ancient times people used them for lighting at night

Mushrooms, like human skin, when exposed to sunlight, are capable of producing vitamin D

More than 80% of all land plants are similar to fungi, since the roots of most crops are similar to mycelial hyphae

There is a symbiosis of plants and fungi, in which mycorrhizal endofunges penetrate directly into the roots of plants, forming a mycelium in them. Thus, mycelium helps many crops strengthen the immune system, fight pathogens of various diseases, and also absorb water, phosphorus and other nutrients from the soil.

An antibiotic called penicillin was derived from a fungus ( lat. Penicillium)

The largest mushroom on the planet is considered to be the honey mushroom in the Blue Mountains (Oregon). It covers an area of ​​about four square miles (!) and, according to some experts, is over 8,000 years old.

To grow mushrooms yourself, mushroom mycelium is most often used. Higher fungi are characterized by multicellular mycelium, while lower fungi are characterized by noncellular mycelium.

Mycelium is known to many as mycelium and is the vegetative body of a fungus and actinomycete. The mycelium differs from plant roots not only in its composition, but also in its external characteristics. The mycelium is formed by thin threads, no more than 1.5-10 microns thick. Such threads, which have numerous branches, are called hyphae. The hyphae forming a network in the substrate, as well as on its surface, can spread over several kilometers.

Main functions:

• responsible for attachment to the substrate;
• destroys cellulose with enzymes, promoting its absorption;
• facilitates adaptation to unfavorable external factors;
• preserves fungal spores;
• participates in spore production.

Thus, the main functions of the vegetative component of the fungus are not only to provide protection and nutrition, but also to reproduce.

The mycelium is formed by thin threads, no more than 1.5-10 microns thick

Types of mushroom mycelium

The mycelium can be represented in different forms, which depends on the species characteristics of the fungus:

• film mycelium is represented by dense and flat plexuses of hyphae, which vary in size, thickness and color. Responsible for attachment to the substrate and absorption of cellulose;
• cord-like mycelium is represented by fused filament hyphae, which are responsible for attachment to the substrate and the area of ​​distribution of the fungus. Hyphae may have short branching or long, rather highly branched sections;
• rhizomorphic mycelium is represented by powerful cord-like sections up to 4-5 meters long, consisting of dense, dark-colored outer thread-like hyphae and fairly loose cords of light color;
• mycelium in the form of rhizoctonia, represented by thin and airy cords, which are used for fixation in the substrate and are responsible for the spreading process;
• mycelium in the form of sclerotia, represented by very dense and well-woven hyphae containing a significant number of filamentous branches. Designed to facilitate the adaptation process in unfavorable external conditions;
• mycelium in the form of stromas, represented by flat and dense accretion, which easily combine with the tissues of the host plant and contribute to the preservation of fungal spore powder.

A fairly large part of the mycelium is represented by fruiting bodies, which contribute to the formation of sporulation.

What is mycelium (video)

The structure of mushroom mycelium

The vegetative part of almost any mushroom is quite typical and monotonous:

• the vegetative body is represented by mycelium or mycelium in the form of a system of very thin and branching, growing filamentous hyphae;
• the microscopic structure varies, so it can be unicellular or segmented, with numerous partitions;
• cells of higher fungi can be mononuclear, binuclear and multinucleate;
• colorless hyphae look like a white and fluffy formation that can darken at the stage of preparation for sporulation.

The cells completely lack plastids, and it is for this reason that fungi belong to the category of chlorophyll-free living organisms. According to the type of nutritional base, the species represented by grain, substrate and liquid mycelium are distinguished.

The vegetative part of almost any mushroom is quite typical and uniform

Methods for growing mycelium

Mushroom mycelium can be grown at home by creating optimal conditions for this:

• sufficient humidity;
• comfortable temperature at 28-30°C;
• good lighting;
• high-quality ventilation.

Most often, the grain species and mycelium from the legs are grown independently. Also You can use ready-made forms, implemented in different forms:

• royal mycelium, made in the laboratory from spore powder;
• intermediate mycelium grown from a mother culture on a nutrient medium.

The intermediate material grown on the substrate is used for sowing on mushroom growing areas.

Mushroom mycelium can be grown at home, creating optimal conditions for this

Where to get mycelium for growing mushrooms

Grain-type mushroom mycelium is usually produced in laboratories with special equipment. Various mycorrhizal fungal substrates are quite affordable, but it is recommended to purchase them only in specialized online stores or from mushroom growing companies with positive reviews.

The special form of the material on a stick made from hardwood is very convenient for further use. It is important to purchase only completely healthy material, since any disease can cause the death of the mycelium, and its treatment at home is most often ineffective.

Growing mushroom mycelium at home

Features of the technology for self-growing grains are quite popular among mushroom pickers and are extremely simple:

• pour the grain into a sufficiently large container;
• pour water over the grain, covering it by about 20-30mm;
• simmer for half an hour over medium heat;
• strain and dry the grain;
• pour the grain into glass containers, filling them halfway;
• sterilize glass containers;
• Cool the grain substrate in the jars and spread out a small amount of mycelium.

If the technology is followed, activation of growth processes is observed approximately on the third or fourth day. After about ten days, the finished mycelium is disinfected under UV rays, after which it is sown on a straw bed.

How to grow champignons in the country (video)

Features of the technology for growing from legs on a corrugated cardboard base:

• cut corrugated cardboard into pieces;
• soak the finished cardboard pieces for about an hour and a half in water at room temperature;
• separate the mushroom into individual fibers using a sharp and clean knife or a disinfected blade;
• prepare containers with drainage holes;
• Carefully remove the top part from the cardboard pieces;
• place mushroom fibers on the bottom of the cardboard and cover with the top;
• place cardboard blanks in prepared containers;
• cover containers with plastic wrap.

Despite the creation of a greenhouse effect, cardboard plantings must be periodically moistened with sufficiently warm water from a household spray bottle. The material must be ventilated daily, and it is transplanted into a nutrient substrate after about a couple of weeks.

The special form of the material on a stick made from hardwood is very convenient for further use.

Substrate selection and processing

The nutrient substrate must correspond to the type of mushroom being grown. The most commonly used types of substrate are:

• straw;
• based on sawdust;
• based on sunflower husks.

Additional substrate elements can be presented:

• nutritional supplements that optimize the amount of nitrogen. For this purpose, you can use malt sprouts, brewer's grains, soy or feather flour, wheat bran;
• mineral additives that improve structural characteristics and optimize acidity indicators. For this purpose, you can use gypsum or alabaster, as well as slaked lime or soda ash.

Purified drinking water is used for production. Cooking involves processes such as chopping, mixing and moistening. Treatment of the nutrient medium is most often carried out by chemical, radiation and thermal methods, as well as by microwave radiation.

The nutrient substrate must correspond to the type of mushroom being grown

How to plant mycelium correctly

The basic rules for the technology of self-planting mycelium are as follows:

• spores are introduced into the nutrient substrate at a temperature of 20-30°C;
• inoculation is not carried out when the substrate is too warm, which can provoke the death of fungal spores;
• the acidity of the substrate should be in the range of 6.5-6.8 pH with a humidity level of 60-75%;
• the seed mycelium is pre-kneaded with clean, gloved hands.

Spore material is usually added layer by layer, but can also simply be mixed with the top layer of the nutrient medium. The standard application rate may vary and is determined by the mycelium manufacturer. As practice shows, manual inoculation of the mycelium allows for a more uniform distribution over the nutrient substrate. For full growth and development, it is necessary to provide optimal conditions, represented by a temperature regime of 24-26 ° C and humidity in the range of 75-90%.

How to grow champignon mycelium at home (video)

In this article we will talk about growing mushrooms from mycelium applied to sticks.

So let's get started. To plant mycelium you will need:

1. Mycelium - 1 package.

2. A log or stick of deciduous species (beech, hornbeam, alder, aspen, ash, maple, birch, poplar, willow, chestnut, oak) without signs of rot, not fresher than 1 month after felling. Wood moisture content should be at least 40%. Diameter - 15-30 cm, length 30-50 cm, with bark (without branches).

3. Drill.

Growing method

The favorable time for planting mushroom cultures on a woody base in natural conditions is from April to October, indoors - all year round at temperatures from 10 to 27 ° C.

1. It is better to use healthy wood with high humidity. When using dry wood, soak in water for 2-3 days before use. Excess water should drain off, and the water-soaked wood should be placed in a ventilated, shaded place for several days.

2. In the prepared wood, drill holes with a diameter of 0.8 cm and a length of 4 cm in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of about 20 cm from each other. The more mycelium sticks are used per log, the faster it will germinate with mycelium and begin to bear fruit.

3. Insert the mycelium sticks into the holes until they stop, then close them with wooden plugs or wax to prevent the penetration of bacteria and mold fungi.

4. Place the wood in a shaded, well-ventilated place, maintain the moisture of the wood - water it 2-3 times a week for 10-15 minutes. If it is impossible to constantly monitor the mycelium, it is recommended to bury it 1/3 of the way into the ground to retain moisture for a longer period, but it is worth considering that this will shorten the service life of the wood.

The optimal air temperature for mycelium germination is from 14 to 18°C. Log growth takes 2-4 months, depending on conditions. The wood is overgrown if white mycelium is visible at the infection sites and at the ends.

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The mycelium of a wide variety of mushrooms, even porcini and truffles, is found on sale. Is it really possible to get a harvest from this mycelium? How to choose good mycelium to grow mushrooms in your garden?

Range

Most often, grain, wood or other substrate with mycelium goes on sale. After complete development of the substrate, mushrooms form.

Sterile grain mycelium

Boiled and sterilized grain, mastered by the mycelium, is suitable for growing most cultivated mushrooms. The mycelium of oyster mushrooms, shiitake, honey mushrooms and other tree mushrooms is produced on wheat and millet grains. On rye grain - champignon and ringweed. The grain provides the mycelium with nutrition at the initial stage of development and gives it an advantage over molds and tinder fungi, which are always present in stumps and logs. (For example, on a birch stump, instead of oyster mushrooms, the birch tinder fungus, Poliporus betulinus, can grow.)

You can order grain mycelium of oyster mushrooms, shiitake and other mushrooms in a 16-kilogram box from a dealer of the American company Sylvan.

It comes with two bags of filters weighing 8 kg each. The company guarantees the cultivation of the mushroom indicated on the package.

Grain mycelium is also on sale in small packages of 200 g. This is either self-packaged foreign raw material or a copy of it made in Ukraine. The first reseeding copy is as good as the mother mycelium. During long-term storage, you can see how mushrooms begin to form inside the bag.

The main risk is that when inoculating a non-sterile substrate, bacterial contamination is possible. Another drawback is loss of quality during freezing and long-term storage at temperatures above +4 °C.

Sterile mycelium on wooden sticks and “chopics”

The mycelium of woody mushrooms on wooden sticks or wooden dowels for furniture (“chopics”) requires very careful heat treatment of the substrate. It stores well and tolerates freezing, but does not provide such favorable starting conditions as grain.

Compost mycelium

The mycelium of champignon, ringworm and other humus and bedding mushrooms can be sold on champignon compost, as a carrier of the mycelium. It looks like soft brown straw and is rarely found on sale. Sometimes sold in plastic bags of 2-3 liters, previously found in two-liter jars.

Non-sterile substrate mycelium of oyster mushroom

Oyster mushroom mycelium can be produced from ground wood chips that have not been subjected to heat treatment. It can only be used for growing oyster mushrooms on the same wood chips using special non-sterile technology. It is the future - it can be stored for years and can withstand freezing in winter.

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Which packaging is better?

It is better to choose completely transparent packaging or with a transparent window through which grains or other substrate overgrown with mycelium can be seen. The grains should be evenly covered with white thin threads of mycelium or a dense white carpet of mycelium. The mycelium should not be wet or have any wet areas sticking to the bag.

On the surface of the “chopiks” the mycelium should be visible in the form of the finest white threads and there should be no green mold or other signs of disease.

The mycelium on the compost should be visible between the straws - like white threads or pieces of cotton wool. There should be no green or dark spots on the contents of the bag; they also indicate infection of the mycelium with mold.

The bag should have an air filter or a cotton (paper) plug in the neck for the mycelium to breathe. Sooner or later mold spores will get into bags with perforations - it’s better not to buy them. Sealed bags without perforation and filters are completely unacceptable. The mycelium in them will quickly turn sour.

If you press on a bag or open one of them to try, you can smell it. It must be mushroom. The sour smell of silage, yeast or hydrogen sulfide is unacceptable.

Very small, beautiful bags of mycelium, which are sold in flower shops, can be of questionable quality - be careful when purchasing.

Checking the viability of mycelium

Prepare the solution: stir a teaspoon of sugar in a glass of cooled boiled water. Generously dampen a sterile cotton pad or a folded square of toilet paper (fresh from the package). Wring it out and place it on a clean saucer (you can use a Petri dish).

Place several grains of grain mycelium, a “chopik” or a piece of substrate on the disk and cover with a glass. The rest can be put in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. At room temperature, after a week, a white edge from the growing mycelium should appear on the grains. There should be no colored spots.

What mushrooms to buy

Bags with grain mycelium of various types of oyster mushrooms, shiitake or champignon, as a rule, contain the mushroom indicated on the package. You just need to check the viability of the mycelium, as described above. The same can be said about “chopiks” with oyster mushrooms, shiitake, maitake and reishi.

Another thing is the mycelium with forest mycorrhizal mushrooms (ceps, chanterelles, white milk mushrooms, butterflies, boletus mushrooms, truffles, etc.). First of all, take a close look at the photographs and compare them with the names of the mushrooms. Sometimes it happens that under the image of a dry milk mushroom (Russula delica) a real milk mushroom (Lactarius resimus) is sold. A granular oiler (Suillus granulates) was photographed, but it is sold as a real oiler (Suillus luteus). There is a possibility that the photo was taken from other sources, and you need to treat such sellers with caution. When purchasing, keep the receipt - if the germination test is negative, the mycelium must be returned to the store. Reliable information about the successful cultivation of mycorrhizal mushrooms from mycelium has not yet been received, so refrain from purchasing porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, truffles, milk mushrooms, boletus and boletus mushrooms. It is better to collect porcini mushrooms from the forest and sow your garden plot with their caps.

Brothers sitting on a stump

All covered in freckles, naughty girls.

These friendly guys

They are called... Honey mushrooms!

Honey mushrooms really never grow alone and always grow in large colonies on fallen trees or stumps. These mushrooms lend themselves perfectly to artificial cultivation and in order to create your own mushroom “bed” you simply need to prepare a suitable environment for growth.

What you need to know about growing honey mushrooms from mycelium

Those who plan to grow honey mushrooms on their plot need, first of all, to pay attention to the garden itself or the plot on which their colonies will grow.

Honey mushrooms are relatively unpretentious mushrooms, although artificial germination requires some effort. But it must be taken into account that after the nutrient medium has exhausted its resources (we are talking about the tree stump on which they are planted), then the mycelium can subsequently move to nearby trees. How to prevent this:

1. Place the logs with future colonies of honey mushrooms as far as possible from cultivated trees or fence them off with a partition, preferably not a wooden one, since it too will soon “bloom.”
2. You should harvest on time (remove the most mature honey mushrooms from the stumps, the caps of which have begun to straighten like an umbrella) before the spores fly.
3. Dig a small ditch around the future plantation, although this is also only conditional protection.

According to those whose yard is naturally infested with these mushrooms, they do not cause much harm to the trees. People simply harvest and use mushrooms for their intended purpose.

The second condition is that it is desirable that the groundwater in the area flows relatively high. In this case, the lower edges of artificial stumps with honey mushroom colonies will be constantly fed with dampness, which will greatly accelerate their growth. Otherwise, you will constantly have to shed the soil manually.

Wood for laying honey mushroom mycelium

Most of all, the mycelium likes old trees, already dead, but not rotten. They also grow with pleasure on recumbent trunks. It would be best to, armed with a chainsaw, drive into the forest and cut small logs of fallen aspen or birch trees. Honey mushrooms favor them most of all. Just pay attention to:

• the wood has not been eaten by bark beetles;
• there were no myceliums of other mushrooms on it (there were no whitish fibers under the bark);
• it was free from moss and lichen;
• it was soaked with moisture.

Logs of freshly cut trees will also work, but they will first have to be artificially soaked for a long time in a container of water. In addition, once a tree has been soaked and has slightly begun to warm up, when moisture gets on it, it absorbs it very well, which cannot be said about fresh logs. They will have to be irrigated many times longer.

Preparation of logs

The logs for replanting honey mushroom mycelium should be sawed off to a length of no more than 60 cm. Until the middle of such a low column, moisture will be easily absorbed from below from the soil. From above, the log will receive moisture from irrigation and from a special hole, which will be discussed later. It is advisable to choose trunks with a diameter of at least 20 cm, but in general, the larger the better.

Next, you should prepare the holes for sealing. They are drilled on each log in a checkerboard pattern; on average, the distance between the holes along the length of the log should be at least 15 cm, around the circumference - at least 10. Here, too, the more, the better. Sometimes colonies can grow to such an extent that they begin to interfere with each other.

The drill should have a diameter slightly larger than the stick with mycelium, and the depth of the hole should be 1 cm longer than it. Afterwards, these holes need to be strengthened - extended with a thinner drill (so that the stick with mycelium does not pass into it), almost to the center of the log. This will speed up the growth of the mycelium. When drilling holes, it should be taken into account that each log will be buried in the ground to a depth of at least 15-20 cm. There should be no holes with mycelium in the ground.

Laying sticks infected with honey fungus mycelium

The bookmarking process looks like this:

• Place the logs prepared for planting on a clean surface (polyethylene or clean concrete floor) so that no dirt gets into the holes during the planting process.
• Before handling chopsticks, you should wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
• Place the sticks with mycelium in the holes until they stop.
• Pour a teaspoon of potato starch diluted in water into each hole, prepared at the rate of 40 g of starch per 1 liter of water - this will stimulate the development of the mycelium.
• The hole should then be immediately sealed with wooden pegs specially prepared for this purpose. Some gardeners advise covering them with garden varnish.

Now the logs with embedded mycelium are ready to be installed in the garden plot.

Laying logs infected with honey mushroom mycelium

The logs are buried into the ground to a depth of at least 15 cm so that moisture from the ground is more effectively absorbed into the tree. After installation in the upper plane in the center, a hole should be drilled with a drill 10 - 20 mm wide to a depth of 10 - 20 cm. Through the hole across the top of the log, 5 - 6 diametric cuts should be made with a grinder and a wood saw. In this way, water poured into the hole will be absorbed faster and better into the upper part of the block.

How to care for a mushroom bed

To prevent moisture from evaporating from the soil and eroding from the logs so quickly, you can cover the “plot” with a layer of straw. The unique greenhouse effect created from this will have a beneficial effect on the development of the mycelium. You just need to keep the straw condition under control. It is advisable not to let it rot, and as soon as traces of mold appear on it, it should be replaced with a new one.

Maintenance mainly consists of watering the soil and sprinkling the pillars. The fact that the logs are starting to dry out can be seen visually. But you shouldn’t get them too wet either. Excess moisture can cause the mycelium to develop less efficiently and yields to be low. You should find a golden mean for yourself and strictly adhere to it.

It is also worth remembering that the “mushroom plantation” should be in a shaded place. Experienced gardeners advise observing how honey mushrooms ripen in natural conditions. Then it won’t be difficult for you to create a similar atmosphere for them.

As soon as the first whitish signs of mycelium appear, you can remove the straw, but you should monitor the moisture all the time, even during the period of mushroom ripening. Sprinkling is carried out mainly in the period from 12 to 17:00, but with the condition that by evening the upper parts of the logs, with the exception of the hole with water and the cuts, are dry.

Conclusion

If everything is done correctly, the mycelium will definitely grow, and next summer will be a real mushroom one for you. Although some varieties of honey mushrooms, unlike, for example, autumn honey mushrooms, can develop much faster.

All that remains is to say a few words about the time of planting honey mushrooms in open ground. Experts advise producing it in the spring, when nature wakes up from winter. It is at this time that tree trunks are most suitable for planting. They are saturated with moisture and nutrients. Pests have not yet woken up, pathogenic bacteria are not so active. All this greatly increases the chances of healthy and rapid development of the mycelium.

Have a pleasant and abundant harvest!