Step-by-step process of growing mushrooms at home. Secrets of growing mushrooms in your own country house

Even experienced mushroom pickers, who know how to accurately distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones, risk getting poisoned if the conditions for mushroom germination were unfavorable (near the highway, landfills, etc.). You can be sure that everything is “clean” with the soil, the mycelium, only under one condition, when you are independently engaged in growing mushrooms. What is so environmentally friendly can be grown at home?

To the substrate, it is unpretentious, grows quickly. Of course, you need high-quality planting material - mycelium, which is best purchased at specialized points of sale.

There is also a choice in the method of growing oyster mushrooms. Can go intensive way: fit different substrate, it is not difficult to prepare compost, the fouling rate is high, the production is almost waste-free - the substrate is then used as organic fertilizer(perhaps this is a topic for a separate discussion).

For extensive method you will need stumps and plots of land. Such mushroom plots can bear fruit for more than 4 years (depending on the wood, the size of the stumps).

  1. we take fresh stumps, with a diameter of 20-40 cm, up to 50 cm long;
  2. drill holes up to 2 cm in diameter, up to 7 cm deep, on both sides;
  3. scald the workpiece with boiling water or boil it to disinfect;
  4. we apply mycelium on the entire cut, fill the drilled holes with it, cover plastic bag; we do the same, on the other hand;
  5. we place the logs in a dark place, where the temperature is 17 ... 22 ° C;
  6. in a few months, when the mycelium sprouts on the workpiece, you will need to plant them on the garden bed: dig holes up to 20 cm deep, place the workpieces with either end in them and bury them.

With this method, the crop can be obtained in the year of planting, best planted in august.

This is tasty and high-calorie mushroom which lends itself well to pickling.

  1. from early autumn to mid-spring, you can plant mycelium at home in containers with a substrate: make holes in the substrate, put mycelium in them, fall asleep;
  2. in May, the germinated mycelium must be transferred to the ground;
  3. the first mushrooms will appear the next year after sowing; when the mycelium is well accustomed to the soil, the yield will double, fruiting will continue up to 5 years.

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3. Winter mushroom

A fairly common mushroom in natural conditions, which is also cultivated.

  1. you need to prepare a substrate, you will need: wood, both coniferous and hardwood are suitable, sawdust and shavings, bran; organic additives, ashes, bone meal. Organic additives should be 30%, the rest - wood chips(sawdust). The components are poured with water while stirring. It is necessary to achieve a substrate moisture content of about 60%;
  2. the resulting mixture is half filled with ordinary glass jars(usually liter), cover with lids and steam sterilize for 5 hours; after a day, repeat sterilization;
  3. mycelium with a sterile instrument thin layer(2-4 mm) is applied to the substrate, such an operation must be carried out quickly so as not to bring anything into a sterile environment, quickly close the lid;
  4. so that the mycelium germinates well indoors temperature should be maintained at 20-25 o C;
  5. when the mycelium germinates on 90% of the entire substrate, the covers can be removed; move the jars to a dark room, where the temperature will not be higher than 14 ° C, humidity is about 85%;
  6. after 2 weeks, the rudiments of fruiting bodies should appear, the temperature will now need to be maintained at the level of 9-12 ° C, the humidity is still 80-85%, you will need artificial lighting(50 lux), good ventilation;
  7. to keep the mushrooms upright (they have thin and long legs), “funnels” are made of thick paper around the neck of the jar.

Usually, the yield from one "sowing" includes two or three waves. After that, the banks are released and washed, then the process is repeated again.

Thus, you can grow various mushrooms, which you like best. Each technology has its own characteristics and difficulties, however, your efforts will be rewarded with a good and environmentally friendly harvest of delicious mushrooms.

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See also an interesting video - everything you need to know about mushrooms

Do you love mushrooms, but don't have time to pick them? It's not scary, start growing mushrooms in the country on your own. The main thing is to know how to do it correctly in order to get a guaranteed harvest.

Growing mushrooms in the country is convenient because you can control this process, creating the most favorable conditions for their growth. And what about in the forest: it was a dry summer, and then early frosts soil and everything - harvest forest mushrooms will not! If you do not want to depend on the vagaries of nature, feel free to try growing mushroom plantations on your site.

White mushroom (boletus)

This handsome man, the king of all mushrooms, can be safely relocated from the forest to your site, and with a favorable outcome, next year you will get an impressive harvest.
There are several ways to breed forest boletus.

Mycelium transplant

Few resort to this method, since the outcome of the operation depends on the careful observance of the technology. Judge for yourself, it is quite difficult to dig up a mycelium and transfer it to your site without damaging it. Nevertheless, many succeeded, it is worth a try for you.

The transferred mycelium should interact with the roots of shrubs and trees, so choose a place on the site where you grow deciduous or coniferous trees and bushes! It is extremely important to land porcini under the same tree, from under which the mycelium was dug out.

So choose on your site appropriate place and prepare the ground next to the right tree. To do this, at a distance of 0.5 m from the tree trunk, remove 20-30 cm of the topsoil. At the bottom of the hole formed, lay ready-made compost from fallen leaves and dust of trees, and sprinkle a small layer of earth on top. Now you can lay a layer of earth with mycelium, water and sprinkle with a layer of leaves. If the weather is dry in the first 14 days after planting, periodically water the mycelium.

Growing mushrooms from mycelium

One of the most popular methods among mushroom pickers. Ready-made mycelium can be bought - it is freely available in many garden stores. Before proceeding with the implementation of this method, prepare the site and soil. Choose a spot in the shade of trees where the soil is moist. At a distance of 0.5 m from the tree trunk, remove the top layer of earth to a depth of 0.5 m. Calculate the area of ​​the hole in advance, based on the amount of mycelium acquired.

This is what mushroom mycelium looks like

Prepare a substrate from dust, sawdust and leaves. Lay it on the bottom of the hole with a layer of about 20 cm. Sprinkle soil on top (about 10 cm). Next, lay a mixed layer of soil and compost. Now on top of this, you can lay the mycelium mixed with the ground. Distribute it by hand, tamping evenly. Sprinkle soil on top and pour water, cover with fallen leaves.

Ready-made substrates for planting porcini mushrooms, as well as mycelium, are sold in specialized stores. These mixtures are a great alternative to forest myceliums.
After planting the mycelium, the site must be watered regularly. If the planting of the mycelium is successful, then the crop will appear already in next year. Such a mycelium can bear fruit from 2 to 5 years.

mushroom seedling

The easiest way to grow porcini mushrooms is from mushroom seedlings. To do this, it is enough to finely chop or mince mushroom caps. Then pour the resulting substance with water and leave for a day. During this time, you can start preparing the site. Under the selected tree, dig up the earth and generously fertilize it with compost (same as in the methods described above). Pour the prepared place with mushroom infusion, and sprinkle with leaves on top.

If there are no forest trees on your site, do not despair - try planting mushrooms near wooden buildings from the shadow side. And remember that white fungus does not like fruit trees, so try to avoid such a neighborhood.

In cold winters, do not forget to sprinkle the mycelium with compost, and, if necessary, cover it with polyethylene or roofing material.

The optimal time for planting porcini mushrooms is from May to September. Mushrooms should be planted in the ground at dusk.

Boletus (redhead)

As you may have guessed from the name, this mushroom mainly grows in aspen groves. Sometimes it can be found in the mixed forest. If you undertake to grow a mushroom in the country, then the issue of choosing a site should be approached as carefully as in the case of porcini mushrooms.

Boletus, like many other forest mushrooms, belongs to mycorrhizal fungi. This means that it forms a symbiosis with the roots of trees, i.e. mutually beneficial partnership. Therefore, the site must have aspen, birch or oak. In the shade of these trees, lay your future plantation.

Aspen mushrooms can be bred using:

Spore (mushroom seedling)

Spores form on the underside of the caps of overgrown mushrooms. Here you should prepare them: pour water and leave for several hours. Pour the area you have chosen for growing mushrooms with the resulting infusion of spores in water. Hats can also be dried and used as seed. Germinating spores just form a mycelium (mycelium).

fruit bodies

Gather young boletus in the forest, chop and bury in your area in top layer soil in the shade of trees.

Mycelium

Wild mycelium can be harvested from the forest by digging along with the soil and trees. Thus, you will move the mycelium to your site, as is the case with mushrooms. Or you can buy ready-made mycelium in the store.

Establishing a mushroom plantation and care

Prepare your compost. Spread on the ground polyethylene film, lay on it layers of leaves and wood dust with manure, taken in a ratio of 9: 1. Pour a bunch warm water and leave for a week. During this time, it should warm up to a temperature of 35-40 ° C. Now it can be shoveled to a homogeneous mass and left for another 5 days.

Redheads can be planted from mid-May to September (in warmer regions - from the beginning of May).

In the selected area around the tree, dig a hole 30 cm deep and 2 sq.m. If the tree's roots are on or close to the surface of the soil, remove only the top layer.

Fill the hole with compost. If it is deep, then lay the compost to ground level, in a shallow one - lay it out in layers, alternating compost (10-12 cm) and soil (5-6 cm), until the height of the layers reaches 50 cm above ground level.

Then, at a distance of 25-30 cm, make holes 20 cm deep. Dip pieces of boletus mycelium into them and cover with soil. Immediately water the plantation with water at the rate of 20 liters per 1 sq.m and cover with a layer of fallen leaves or forest floor.

Do not forget to warm the mycelium for the winter

In order for the mycelium to take root, it is useful to feed it with a solution of sugar: 10 g of sugar per 10 liters of water. In summer, keep the soil slightly moist. Water the area periodically, especially during periods of drought. For the winter, cover it with a layer of fallen leaves, moss or spruce branches, and in the spring do not forget to remove them.

At favorable conditions fruiting of boletus begins the very next year after the laying of the plantation. The yield is 5-15 mushrooms per 1 sq.m. At proper care a mushroom clearing will delight you with a harvest for 4-5 years. After this period, the mycelium of the mushrooms must be planted again using the same method.

boletus

The next "forest dweller" beloved by many mushroom pickers is the boletus, which is also easy to grow on your own.

The boletus, like any forest mushroom, needs not a stump, but living tree. From its root system, the mycelium absorbs carbohydrates and amino acids, giving the tree moisture, mineral compounds and natural antibiotics that protect it from pests and diseases. Therefore, it is extremely important that the mushroom zone be as close as possible to the natural habitat of the fungus.

As for the cultivation methods, they are the same as for boletus and boletus.

Reproduction by spores

Finely chop the overripe mushrooms, mix with one tablespoon of flour and gelatin powder. Pour the mixture into moist soil under mature trees. The spores will germinate and form a mushroom root. In a few seasons, the first harvest can be expected.

Growing from fruiting bodies

Select young specimens of boletus, grind and bury in the top layer of soil next to the root system of the tree. Fruiting bodies form mycelium, and after a year, with good soil moisture, you can get a small crop of 2-3 mushrooms.

As an option in rainy weather you can scatter small pieces of young mushrooms under the trees and cover them with fallen leaves. The formation of mycelium will be no less effective.

Mycelium transplant

It's time consuming and not always efficient process. Find in the forest young tree with boletus under it. Carefully dig out the mycelium and transfer to your site. Lay it under a deciduous or coniferous tree.

Do not plant mushrooms next to fruit crops, since mushrooms form mycorrhiza and grow in symbiosis only with forest trees. Many mushrooms are even named after the trees next to which they live (boletus, boletus).

Oil can granular

This mushroom is just very convenient to breed by transplanting the mycelium.

If you notice a couple of small pines with constant harvest butter, you can safely transplant mushrooms to your site. Remember, butterflies prefer lime-rich soils and indirect sunlight. The mushroom picker tolerates the transplant quite comfortably and takes root well. With regular watering (you need to water it especially abundantly in dry weather), in 3-4 years the first mushrooms will appear and will delight you with abundant fruiting throughout the season - every three weeks, starting from mid-May.

Country butterflies are almost not subject to worm attacks, and the size of their hats can reach 10 cm.

Ginger

One more miraculous mushroom, which is so easy to "domesticate" - this is a saffron milk cap!

For him, as for his forest counterparts, it is also important to create right conditions as close to natural as possible. Ryzhik prefer to grow in the shade with good air circulation. The soil should be moist and contain rotting leaves and needles. It is important to ensure that with the onset of spring the site is not flooded with water, otherwise the mushrooms will die.

There are several ways to breed a plantation of mushrooms.

Mycelium sowing

As in previous cases, collect the hats, but this time of old mushrooms. Finely chop them and, after drying on a cloth, carefully lay them out on damp ground. Pack it well, cover with moss and pour warm water over it. After 2 weeks, lift the moss: if greenish-purple threads are visible under it, similar to ordinary mold, and the caps have disappeared, then the mycelium has taken root.

Spruce mushrooms should be laid under spruce trees, and pine mushrooms under pine trees.

Mycelium transfer

This method is also very effective in the case of sowing mushrooms. Carefully dig out the mycelium with a layer thickness of at least 25 cm, being careful not to damage it. Plant the mycelium as soon as possible so that it does not have time to dry out, and do not forget to regularly moisten the soil.

The first mushrooms will germinate only next year after you planted the mycelium or transferred the mycelium. You need to collect them, carefully cutting the leg and trying not to damage the root. If you do not follow this rule, then the number of mushrooms will only decrease every year.

Of course, not every summer resident can manage to independently grow a crop of forest mushrooms the first time. However, do not despair. Try to tame different "forest dwellers", look for best ways breeding, and very soon this laborious process will be rewarded with the first harvest of domestic mushrooms.

The mushroom is in the top three favorite mushrooms of Russians, and deservedly so. Mushrooms are generally an indispensable dish in Russian cuisine, especially during long fasts. The centuries-old tradition of collecting and harvesting mushrooms for the winter is alive to this day. Moreover, more and more young people are joining it. Someone likes to just walk and take pictures of autumn nature, someone feels a real passion for hunting in search of mushrooms, for some this is a real family custom.

When the summer heat begins to recede, it becomes cool at night, and in the morning dew lies on the grass, the first autumn mushrooms appear in the forests and plantings - milk mushrooms. The growth of mushrooms is facilitated by autumn rains. Depending on the temperature regime, their appearance should be expected from late July to early October. On average, the cargo season lasts only 2 months a year - August and September. During this time, experienced mushroom pickers manage to collect and pickle a large crop.

Where do milk mushrooms grow in Russia

In our country, milk mushrooms are found in almost all areas, with the exception of the northernmost outskirts. Center, Ural, Siberia - these are places where you can collect a lot of milk mushrooms in a season.

About 20 species of these mushrooms grow in Russia, and in different areas - their own varieties. Taste different varieties mushrooms are also different. From pleasant to bitter. It is curious that some do not consider bitter mushrooms to be edible mushrooms. But in those places where only they grow, they are successfully soaked from bitterness for 4-5 days, constantly changing the water, then cooked according to recipes.

Attention! Nobody canceled the golden rule - you can not take a mushroom if it is unfamiliar or in doubt.

Which forest to go for mushrooms

It is curious that in the same area two forests can be located side by side, while one of them will be full of mushrooms, and in the other there will not even be a toadstool. Right choice forests or plantings are 70% of success in the mushroom business.

The forest in which you can find milk mushrooms will look like this:

  • not young and not old (in a too young forest or planting, the mycelium has not yet had time to appear and grow. The old forest can be overgrown, the layer of annually falling leaves is thick);
  • trees are surrounded by low grass, or there is practically none (mushrooms are extremely rare in tall grass);
  • fallen leaves do not rustle from dryness, they are wet (in order for the mycelium to become active and begin to grow, there must be certain humidity, not necessarily from the rain. In some cases, abundant morning dew is enough);
  • there is a mushroom smell in the forest (in the place where milk mushrooms grow, there will always be an aroma of mushrooms and moisture).

Milk mushrooms can be found in a variety of forests: birch, alder, coniferous, oak, mixed, the main thing is that the above conditions are met.

How to search for milk mushrooms

For convenience, the entire process of searching and collecting milk mushrooms can be divided into several stages:

  1. Find a strong long stick that will be comfortable to hold in your hand and pry off the tubercles of fallen leaves with it.
  2. Starting from the last row, moving deeper into the planting, check all the "suspicious" piles of leaves around the tree trunks.
  3. Remember that there will be a group of small mushrooms around the large mushroom found, which are of the greatest interest to real mushroom hunters.
  4. Put the found mushrooms in a basket on their side so that their plates are not clogged with sand and small debris.

Advice. When going to the forest for mushrooms, take gloves with you. The mushroom belongs to the group of mushrooms that secrete milky juice. In addition, his hat is most often wet. Searching and picking mushrooms with gloves will keep your hands clean.

Milk mushrooms grow in families, hiding under a layer of old fallen leaves, so all the attention of the mushroom picker should be focused on any rounded small hills on the ground around the trees (starting from 20-30 cm from the trunk), along the edges of the edges. When the first mushroom is found, you need to rake a little leaves and earth around it to find its "family". Whole paths of mushrooms can be found.

In fact, it is very easy to find milk mushrooms, if they exist at all in the selected forest. Beautiful, white or black, not wormy, they quickly fill the mushroom picker's basket, awakening the excitement of hunting in him. Having learned to find milk mushrooms, you will not return from the forest with an empty basket in the fall!

How to look for milk mushrooms in the forest - video

: salted milk mushrooms, fried chanterelles, soup with dried porcini ... Mushroom "quiet hunting" is a special pleasure, but even more pleasant when mushrooms grow right on your site. In this article, we will talk about proven methods for growing any mushrooms at home - from unpretentious oyster mushrooms to capricious porcini and boletus.

How to grow oyster mushrooms

FORUMHOUSE user _ JG_ infected poplar, aspen, birch and maple near the house with grain mycelium of oyster mushroom. In the first year best harvest received from maple and aspen, the worst - from birch. home growing oyster mushrooms, in his experience, has the following feature:

JG_ FORUMHOUSE user

The yield will be proportionately larger due to high density wood ( more lignin, which feeds on the mycelium). The peak of the harvest is in the 2nd year, so I'll look at the results.

Before infecting the stump with oyster mushroom mycelium, experts advise to prepare: steam the wood to kill all pathogenic flora and fauna. To a greater extent, this applies to old stumps and dry logs. If you infect stumps and chocks of freshly cut trees (literally: cut down a tree and immediately infected), then, according to the experience of FORUMYOUSE users, in nine cases out of ten the result of this process will be successful. That's how it does _JG_:

  • chocks are taken no longer than a meter, diameter - from 20 centimeters;
  • a dozen hollows are drilled in a chock;
  • the holes are clogged with mycelium and covered with plasticine on top;
  • after the chock is evenly covered with aerial mycelium over the entire surface of the cuts (a white film, similar to mold), it is ready for planting;
  • the chock is planted in the garden in the most shaded and humid place, in the heat the hemp is watered, that's all the care. In the first year, a bucket of mushrooms gives 4-5 stumps, in the second year a bucket can be collected already from one or two stumps.

If we are talking about very small proportions, like “I want to try growing oyster mushrooms at home, in a bag on the balcony”, you don’t need to be smart with stumps. the optimal substrate would be the straw of any cereal or a bag of husks from sunflower seeds. Experts say that there may be fewer mushrooms on a homogeneous substrate than on a multi-component one, but it's easier to adapt to the technology.

Everyone who grew oyster mushrooms notes that homemade mushrooms are tastier than store-bought ones - the taste depends on the quality of the substrate. More about how to grow oyster mushrooms: they taste better on stumps than on straw or sunflower seed husks. Some people don't like the mustard flavor that these mushrooms have, and you can get rid of that by roasting them until the moisture has evaporated before cooking.

Garry he grew oyster mushrooms on short poplar logs and soaked them in a barrel of water for three days before infection with mycelium. After such a water treatment, he put hemp one on top of the other, it turned out three meter pyramids, three chocks in each. To prevent the pyramids from falling apart, sticks were hammered along the edges.

The pyramids were installed in the dampest part of the site, under the brambles behind the barn. Garry he came to the dacha only on weekends, therefore, in order to avoid drying out, each pyramid was wrapped in a film, and near it, at the foot of the pyramid, they put a jar of water. The film was shot in wet weather. In the fall, the film was filmed completely. These pyramids bore fruit for five years, of which three years were abundant.

Forest mushrooms on the site

Everyone probably had to grind with their hands dried mushrooms and scatter around the site, in the hope that the fungi reproduce by spores. Sometimes the result, indeed, was, and several mushrooms grew. But in general, porcini and other "noble" mushrooms are bred in the home in three ways. The main thing is to create conditions on the site that are as close to natural as possible, and for planting material you can use mycelium, and hats, and legs of overripe cut mushrooms, and chopped dried mushrooms. plant mushrooms better in autumn- this greatly increases the likelihood of a good harvest.

The first way: mushrooms under the leaves

For this method, it is ideal if there is a small grove (5-7 trees together) of birches, aspens, oaks, hazels, pines or fir trees on the site. In autumn, in this grove, leaves and branches should be raked into a pile and pieces of mushroom caps should be planted under them.

The second way: mushrooms in pockets

  • take mature mushrooms of a week old;
  • separate the tubular part with spores;
  • chop it into pieces up to two centimeters in size;
  • dry for a couple of hours in the sun under a gauze awning - do not skip this step;
  • at this time, make pockets in the turf;
  • put two or three pieces of mushroom in each pocket.

You can go to pick mushrooms in this place in the second or third year.

The third way: mushrooms in the nutrient mixture

  • Preparing the nutrient mixture: collecting the fallen oak leaves, rotten oak wood, horse dung(clean, no bedding). The proportions are: 90% leaves, 5% wood, 5% manure.
  • We lay out all the components in layers on a flat area: sprinkle a layer of leaves 20 cm high with wood and manure, pour it with a 1% solution ammonium nitrate. We do the same for the second, third and subsequent layers.
  • Leave the mixture for a week or 10 days. During this period of time, it should warm up to 25-40 degrees. Then we shovel it to a homogeneous mass.
  • We are preparing a recess for laying the mixture. In a shaded area, we remove a layer of earth up to 2 m wide and up to 30 cm deep.
  • We put the finished nutrient mixture in the recess with a layer of 10-12 cm, on top of 6-8 cm of earth from the garden, we also make subsequent layers. The total height of all layers should not exceed half a meter. In the center, the mushroom bed should be slightly higher than at the edges: this will ensure the flow of water and help avoid waterlogging.

Seedlings will be pieces of mycelium that we bring from the forest. For this we:

  • we go into the forest, we find a white mushroom;
  • shovel or sharp knife cut out a rectangle of earth around the mushroom: side length - 20-30 cm, height - 10-15 cm;
  • cut the rectangle into 5-10 identical pieces and plant them in the holes prepared in the mushroom bed; at the bottom of the hole above a piece of wood there should be a layer of earth 5-7 cm high;
  • the pits should be staggered, at a distance of at least 30 cm from each other;
  • beds with mushroom seedlings are moderately moistened and covered with leaves to maintain a constant level of humidity.

Hope Afan grows boletus on his plot in a nutrient mixture of starch and gelatin.

Mixture recipe: 10 liters of water, 2 tablespoons of starch, a bag of gelatin, 5 old boletus. Chop the boletus, combine with the rest of the ingredients, leave for three days. Pour 3 liters of the old mixture (this is important point) birch.

Mushrooms from the box

Most types of mushroom growing technologies are designed for large volumes that are not suitable even for an amateur mini-farm. It is necessary to properly prepare and pasteurize compost, grow mycelium, a room with the appropriate temperature, lighting, more suitable air humidity and other conditions. Many online stores sell mini-gardens for growing mushrooms. You can buy, grow quickly, enjoy yourself and please your children. This is nothing more than a toy, it will not work to collect kilograms of crops, but it is very interesting. Such a mini-garden grew in Katya2013.

Katya2013


Since I spend most of my time at work, mushrooms grew in the office. The key is humidity and temperature regime withstand and follow the instructions, then there will be a result, as in the photo.

Representative of the russula family, genus lactic. This mushroom is very popular among Russian mushroom pickers and lovers of delicious, gourmet dishes. Milk mushrooms easy to know by milky color pubescent cap and yellowish mycelium. Milk mushrooms are usually found in whole families. Successfully hitting a clearing with these mushrooms, you can immediately pick up a whole basket.

Finding them is not easy. They are almost invisible under a cover of fallen leaves or needles. Most often, milk mushrooms grow in symbiosis with birch, so you need to look for them under these trees. Several common types of mushrooms are known.

Varieties of mushrooms

real breast

Real milk mushroom (wet, white, raw). edible mushroom belonging to the first category. You can meet him in Siberia or the Urals. Grows in young birch groves or plantings. Fruiting from July to October. A large view with a cap diameter of 20 cm. It is flat in shape, becomes funnel-shaped with a curved edge with age, covered with mucous, wet skin of cream or yellow color. Because of this, the real breast is sometimes called raw. Concentric watery zones are visible on the surface of the cap.

The leg is from three to seven centimeters in height and up to five in diameter, smooth, yellowish, hollow, cylindrical in shape.

Brittle, firm flesh white color has a characteristic fruity odour. It contains white, pungent juice.

The plates of this fungus slightly descend on the leg, frequent, wide.

Black breast

Black breast (chernysh, gypsy). Conditionally edible mushroom belonging to the second category. Grows in places where there is access to sun rays, in mixed forests with a predominance of birches.

The hat grows up to 18–20 cm. The shape, like that of other mushrooms, is funnel-shaped with tucked edges. The color of the cap varies from olive to brown. The color is darker in the center than at the edges.

The flesh, although dense, breaks easily, at a break it acquires a grayish tint. Milky juice with a pungent taste stands out inside. The plates are descending mushroom leg, thin, frequent.

The leg is long, about 8 cm and thick - about 3 cm in girth. In color, it matches the cap, smooth to the touch, with a sticky coating. In old mushrooms, the leg is loose, hollow.

Pepper

Pepper milkweed (pepper milkweed). This species is widely distributed in the temperate and forest-steppe zone of Russia. Grows near oaks, firs and birches in deciduous and mixed forests. The fruits are harvested from July to October.

A young mushroom has a white cap that turns yellow with age, brown spots appear on it. The shape is flat, with time a recess appears on it. Outwardly fleshy, dense, matte. Dry to the touch.

The pulp of the pepper mushroom is dense, rough, with a pungent taste of pepper and the smell of rye bread, in its normal state it is white, it becomes light blue when broken. Exudes a lot of milky juice with a burning taste.

The smooth, dense, white stem grows up to 8 cm high and 1.5–2.5 cm wide. Records cream color, frequent and narrow.

Blue breast

Breast blue (dog, golden yellow). Distributed throughout the Arctic and temperate zone of Russia, in places with a damp climate. Mycorrhiza most often forms with the roots of birch, willow and spruce. The most high yield observed from mid-July to early October.

This mushroom has a 7-20 cm cap, thick, fleshy, flat with a depression in the middle. The color is usually light yellow with a barely noticeable concentric pattern. The surface is covered with hairs, the edge is pubescent. In rainy weather, a mucous layer appears on the hat, in places of pressure it changes color to purple. The milky juice, which stands out from the white, dense, bitter pulp, acquires the same color. Narrow, frequent plates are covered with dark spots when pressed.

The common dimensions of the stem are 10 cm x 3 cm. The color is usually yellow, with dark spots. In structure, it is loose, it turns blue when touched.

The use of mushrooms in medicine

Beneficial features present milk mushrooms make it possible to use it for stomach problems. It is necessary to collect young mushrooms and boil them without salt. The milky juice of the milk mushroom helps to cure acute purulent inflammation of the eyes (blennorrhea).

An extract exhibiting an antitumor effect is obtained from the pepper millet. The methanol extract isolated from fresh mushrooms has an antibacterial and antifungal effect. These properties of the fungus make it possible to use it for the treatment of tuberculosis, diabetes, emphysema. To receive medicinal product only juveniles are suitable. The antioxidant activity of these mushrooms is also high. In Chinese medicine, with the help of mushrooms, muscles relax and relieve muscle cramps. In Russia, healers used it to remove warts and remove stones from the kidneys and gallbladder.

Be very careful when eating these mushrooms! Before pickling and salting, they must be boiled well. The resulting mushroom broth can not be used. Thoroughly clean and rinse milk mushrooms before canning. If this is not done, then anaerobes are formed and intensively develop in hermetically sealed jars. Once in the human body, they provoke botulism. This is a dangerous disease that often leads to death.

Use in cooking

In Russia and countries post-Soviet space mushrooms are classified as conditionally edible mushrooms. In a number of Western countries, they are considered inedible, and sometimes poisonous.

For those who love salted and pickled mushrooms, mushrooms are perfect choice. Milk mushrooms prepared in this way will decorate any table and will be appreciated by sophisticated gourmets and just lovers of delicious food.

There is important rules, requiring compliance with the conservation of milk mushrooms:

- a prerequisite for the preparation of milk mushrooms is their soaking. In order for the unpleasant bitterness to go away from the mushrooms, they must be kept in water for up to three days, changing the water from time to time. To understand if the mushrooms are soaked enough, you need to do the following: try a small piece of pulp (just chew, do not swallow). If you do not feel a bitter aftertaste, then you can start cooking;

- it is not recommended to harvest old mushrooms on which stains similar to rust are visible. They acquire an unpleasant rigidity, which does not go away even after long processing. In addition, old mushrooms contain a lot harmful substances absorbed by milk mushrooms from environment;

- wormy or insect-infested milk mushrooms are not suitable for salting;

- dirt and dust are deeply eaten into the pulp of these mushrooms. Therefore, they must be washed thoroughly with a hard sponge or toothbrush under running water;

- the container for salting can be glass, enamelled, ceramic or wooden. It should not have cracks and rust;

- do not hermetically close dishes with salted or pickled mushrooms. This will help reduce the risk of botulism;

- salted milk mushrooms can be stored for no more than six months. Pickled ones keep longer.

Marinating milk mushrooms

Products:

  • A kilogram of mushrooms
  • litere of water,
  • 110 g of nine percent vinegar,
  • 50 g of salt and the same amount of sugar.

Cooking:

After thorough cleaning and soaking milk mushrooms, pour water with spices and cook after boiling for ten minutes. Place in jars and close with lids.

More winter recipes

Milk mushrooms spicy

Products:

  • Mushrooms,
  • currant or cherry leaves,
  • a few cloves of garlic.

For marinade per liter of water is taken:

  • 2 tbsp. l. salt,
  • 25 g sugar
  • spices ( Bay leaf, pepper).

Cooking:

Boil prepared milk mushrooms for about 10 minutes. Then drain the water and rinse the mushrooms again. Mix the products that make up the marinade and bring to a boil. Dip the mushrooms into the hot marinade and boil for 15 minutes. Put cherry and currant leaves, chopped garlic, mushrooms in sterile jars. Pour a teaspoon of 9% vinegar into each jar. Pour boiling marinade over mushrooms. Close the jars with sterile lids, wrap with a blanket and let cool. Store mushrooms in a cool place.

Cold pickling option

Products:

  • on the 5 kg mushrooms necessary:
  • 2 cups coarse salt
  • cherry leaves,
  • currants,
  • horseradish root and leaves,
  • dill stalks,
  • a few cloves of garlic.

Cooking:

Mushrooms clean, wash and put in suitable capacity. Fill completely cold water. Place oppression on top. Leave the mushrooms for three days in a cool place. The water needs to be changed three times a day. After three days, remove the mushrooms from the water, rub with salt one at a time and put in a bowl for salting in layers, alternating with spices. Cover with gauze folded several times, on which put horseradish leaves, currants and cherries. Again put oppression on top. After a few days, milk mushrooms will release juice, which should completely cover them. We clean the prepared container for a month in a cool room. Make sure that the mushrooms are always in the brine. If necessary, you can add salted water. After a month, transfer the mushrooms to sterile jars and cork. You can store in the refrigerator or cellar.

Many tasty and healthy dishes can be prepared from salted and pickled mushrooms.

Sauce from salted mushrooms

Products:

  • salted mushrooms,
  • onion head,
  • sour cream,
  • butter,
  • a little flour
  • vegetable oil.

Cooking:

Mushrooms and onion crushed and lightly fried sunflower oil. Add water and simmer for ten minutes. The next step is to add sour cream. And after it boils, flour. Boil again. When the sauce is ready, add butter to it. Perfect for vegetable and meat dishes.

Pie with milk mushrooms

Products:

Dough:

  • 1 kg flour
  • 200 g of water
  • 60 gr. sunflower oil,
  • 25 g sugar
  • 10 g salt
  • 25 g yeast.

Filling:

  • 900 g salted mushrooms,
  • 2 bulbs
  • 3–4 tbsp. l. sunflower oil.

Cooking:

Filling for the pie: finely chop the onion, and lightly sauté it in butter. Cut the mushrooms, add to the onion and fry for a while, cool. From the proposed ingredients, prepare a yeast dough, roll it thinly and put it on a baking sheet lightly sprinkled with flour. On top of it, evenly distribute the mushroom filling, pinch the edges and put in an oven preheated to 180⁰C. Bake until dough is done.

cultivation

At home, milk mushrooms can be grown in two ways:

- first option attractive for its low cost. Spores from mature mushrooms are collected on their own. Then mycelium is grown from them. The problem is that it is almost impossible to predict the development of seeds. This method can only be used by experienced mushroom growers;

- the second way more expensive but more reliable. The finished mushroom mycelium is bought in a specialized store and placed in the substrate.

Growing mushrooms consists of several important steps:

Site preparation

The site chosen for planting should be well fertilized with peat. Young deciduous trees must grow on the site. Their age should not exceed four years. You can use birch, poplar, willow and other hardwoods. The soil is disinfected with lime mortar;

sowing

The best time to plant mycelium outdoors is from May to September. If you have a heated greenhouse, then you can plant seeds at any time of the year;

Mycelium preparation

For sowing mushrooms, you need to prepare the substrate. For him, sterilized sawdust deciduous trees mixed with disinfected soil. Forest moss is added to them from those places where milk mushrooms, fallen leaves, straw and husks of sunflower seeds grow;

Sowing

If you plan to grow mushrooms on the street, you need to prepare holes for the mycelium. They are dug close to the root system of patron trees and half filled with substrate. Mycelium is placed on top. And again the substrate to the edge of the hole. Then the soil must be compacted and covered with pieces of moss and leaves.

For indoor cultivation, mushroom mycelium is planted in plastic bag filled with substrate. Small cuts are made in a checkerboard pattern in the bag;

Care

To receive high yield it is necessary to constantly water the mycelium and the trees under which it is located. In dry weather, at least 30 liters of water per week should be poured under each tree. Measures must be taken to protect the plantation from direct sunlight. On the winter period the mycelium must be covered with foliage and moss. Mycelium bags should be kept in certain conditions. Before the formation of fruiting bodies, the temperature should be maintained within 18 - 20 degrees. When mushroom sprouts appear, it must be reduced to 15 ° C, ensure optimal level lighting and humidity;

Harvest

Already a week after the formation of fruiting bodies, milk mushrooms gain their usual weight. You can start harvesting in July and pick mushrooms until the end of August. They need to be carefully unscrewed from the mycelium or cut with a knife at the root. Properly planted mycelium with proper care bears fruit for about five years.

Despite the peculiarities of taste and subtlety of preparation, milk mushrooms have been revered in Russia since ancient times. Having prepared it according to all the rules, you will get an excellent appetizer, a side dish, and fragrant pastries. This mushroom deserves to be in your kitchen.

Milk mushrooms: photo