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Mushroom |
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Button Mushroom |
Portobello Mushroom |
Mushroom: While the mushroom is not a garden
crop, strictly speaking, still it is one of the most
delicious of all vegetables for the home table, and
though space does not permit a long description of the
several details of its culture, I shall try to include
all the essential points as succinctly as possible,
(1) The place for the bed may be found in any sheltered,
dry spot--cellar, shed or greenhouse--where an even
temperature of 53 to 58 degrees can be maintained and
direct sunlight excluded. (Complete darkness is "not"
necessary; it is frequently so considered, but only
because in dark places the temperature and moisture are
apt to remain more even.)
(2) The material is fresh horse-manure, from which the
roughest of the straw has been shaken out. This is
stacked in a compact pile and trampled--wetting down if
at all dry--to induce fermentation. This process must be
repeated four or five times, care being required never
to let the heap dry out and burn; time for re-stacking
being indicated by the heap's steaming. At the second or
third turning, add about one-fifth, in bulk, of light
loam.
(3) When the heat of the pile no longer rises above 100
to 125 degrees (as indicated by a thermometer) put into
the beds, tramping or beating very firmly, until about
ten inches deep. When the temperature recedes to 90
degrees, put in the spawn. Each brick will make a dozen
or so pieces. Put these in three inches deep, and twelve
by nine inches apart, covering lightly. Then beat down
the surface evenly. After eight days, cover with two
inches of light loam, firmly compacted. This may be
covered with a layer of straw or other light material to
help maintain an even degree of moisture, but should be
removed as soon as the mushrooms begin to appear. Water
only when the soil is very dry; better if water is
warmed to about 60 degrees. When gathering never leave
stems in the bed as they are likely to breed maggots.
The crop should appear in six to eight weeks after
spawning the bed. |
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