At the May monthly meeting mushroom kits were distributed to all the members. There were four spawn available for your culturing enjoyment:
- Pleurotus eryngii also known as king trumpet mushroom
- Pleurotus ostreatus the oyster mushroom
- Schizophyllum commune the split gill fungus
- Agrocybe arvalis
Before the meeting began you were given a plastic shopping bag containing cottonseed hulls After the presentations everyone received two ziplock bags. The small bag contained Pleurotus eryngii (king trumpet mushroom) spawn. The larger ziplock bag contained the oyster mushroom spawn. If you have not already started the kits place the bags of spawn in the fridge. There was also a little log with the Schizophyllum commune plugs in it and Agrocybe arvalis sclerotia left over from last year.
Oyster and king trumpet preparation
We recommend using the cotton seed hulls with the king trumpet spawn and use logs or straw as the substrate for the oyster mushroom spawn.
Prepare hulls
- Put hulls in a large pot (use 2 pots if necessary)
- Add water to cover hulls Bring to a rolling boil
- Drain water off hulls Replace hulls in pot and cool with cover on to room temperature
- Mix spawn & hulls thoroughly
- Put mix in plastic bag
Spawn growth
- Incubate bag at room temp and low light for 14 days
- Watch mycelium grow from spawn over the hulls
Fruiting
- Look for white clumps Cut ½ inch holes in plastic over clumps for fruiting
- Mist the bag with water and incubate in a cool place
- Harvest mushrooms when edges are slightly curled or uncurled
Schizophyllum commune log
If you picked up a little log with the Schizophyllum commune plugs in it, you may not know what to do with it, it needs to be kept in a shady damp place. This will probably not take long to fruit, Jim Tunney put some of the grain that was on the dowels in with the sawdust from some of the drilled holes into a bag and it’s forming primordia on the sawdust already.
Agrocybe arvalis scleroti
If you picked up some of the Agrocybe arvalis sclerotia, keep it in a moist place. Last year Jim Tunney recommended fruiting it in a 12 ounce plastic cup with a few holes poked in the side for air and one on the bottom for drainage. At least three people fruited it this way. Dave Fischer suggested potting soil. Which sounded good to Jim, the sclerotia friut in the debris from chips that mycelium grew in which is very similar to potting soil.
Is it possible you Stil have Schyzophyllum commune culture or spores available? I am in Oregon and looking to find some, it’s turning out more difficult than I had anticipated.
Hey Jason, yes I have prints, the fruits from last year made some.
Cheers,
JIm
hello, I am interesting Schizophyllum commune the split gill fungus kit do you have any available for order.
Our cultivation expert Jim Tunney prepared a kit a couple of years ago. We don’t have any available for sale but I am sure he could give you some information on how he prepared the kit. The inoculated branch/log I received successfully grew Schizophyllum commune. I know that Jim collected the culture from the wild and Schizophyllum commune is easy to find. You can email Jim at [email protected] for more details.
I don’t have a culture of that now. I started that culture from spores from fruit bodies that I collected early in the year. I had previously tried cloning but didn’t have any luck. the fruit bodies persist for a long time so it’s hard to tell how fresh what you are trying to clone has been around. I’ve thought about doing this again, if I do i’ll post here.
Cheers
Jim
Will you have any of these kits available now or in the near future?
We will be giving away Oyster kits and possibly a surprise kit to all members at our May meeting. http://wpamushroomclub.org/events/monthly-meeting-4-2017-05-16/