Connecticut western news., 1911-06-15
GROWING MUSHROOMS.

ing of mushrooms. Since there may be other readers who are interested in this subject we give the following general directions relative to growing them. Mushrooms may be grown in any place where conditions of temper ature and moisture are favorable. The proper temperature ranges from 5 to 60 degrees F., with the most favorable at from 55 to 5S degrees. Experience has demonstrated that it is unsafe to attempt to grow them on a commer- cial scale where the temperature will be much less than 50 or more than 63 degrees. It will be seen that the con- ditions here named will be found in caves, warm cellars, basement stables and greenhouses, while during the spring and fall they could be grown in sheds or under other shelters where right temperatures could be maintain. ed. The next requisite is the bed. This Is usually made of horse manure from well bedded stables containing moderate amount of straw or other lit ter, first treating it by putting 1t un- der cover in broad piles three or four feet deep and allowing to cure for from twelve to eighteen days. At in- tervals of two or three days the ma nure should be forked over and made into a new pile to prevent excessive heating. If 1t gets too hot, indicated by turning white, or too dry water should be sprinkled on to make 1t moist, but not wet. When the tenn perature of the pile has gone down to 100 degrees 1t is ready for use. After selecting the place for the bed a, layer of the coarsest of the manure should be spread and firmly tramped down. Succeeding layers should be added and tramped in the same manner until the bed is from twelve to fourteen inches thick. The wall of the building will furnish a retainer for the rear of the bed, and board of the desired width will do for the front, with the wall or boards for the ends. Sometimes one part of rich soil is used with four or five parts of manure, some of the soil being added with each layer of ma nure, but this is not essential. The bed will heat and later cool, and when a thermometer inserted to a depth of several inches shows a temperature of 75 degrees the spawn may be planted. | This is got in the shape of dried ma nure bricks from leading seed houses. Before being used the bricks should be broken into pieces about two inches in diameter and these planted at a depth of two inches in holes from i eight to ten inches apart each way, the pieces of spawn being pressed firmly into place. These holes should be filled and the manure and soil 1 packed down firmly. For about a week after planting the spawn the bed should be given a loose covering of excelsior or straw. This Is then re- moved and the bed covered evenly with a layer of about an inch and a l half of rich soil, which serves as i" blanket to retain the moisture of the bed and gives a cleaner place in which the mushrooms may form. If the spawn is good and bed has been care fully made mushrooms should begin to appear in the. course of five or six weeks. They are' ready to pick when the gills beneath the umbrella are a bright pink color, and they continue in l an edible condition until the gills have turned to. dark brown or black. The bed should be kept moist with light sprinkling a couple of times a week. 4 bed will continue productive for from five weeks to as many months, and the yield per square foot of bed ranges from one-half to two pounds. Mushrooms will net the producer all the way from 35 to 75 cents a pound. depending upon quality, demand, etc. As soon as a bed is done fruiting it is worthless for future use, and all the manure and earth should be removed and entirely new material provided for the next crop. While there are good returns in the growing of mushrooms, there are also risks, which must be taken into account, and it is well for those planning to go into the business to try 1t at first on a small scale. Those planning to raise mushrooms would do well to send to the depart ment of agriculture at Washington for farmers bulletin No. 204, which goes into the subject in detail.