It is a wonderful idea to plant portobello mushrooms at home instead of going out to buy them from the market. If you also thought of growing portobello but are confused about how to grow portobello mushrooms. You need to know everything about growing portobello mushrooms to ensure their efficient growth.
Portobello mushrooms are edible plants rich in Vitamin B, copper, potassium, Vitamin C, selenium, Vitamin B6, phosphorus, and antioxidants that are very useful for our body. They are easy to grow at home or on your lawn and you only need to remember their growing tips and weather requirements for their efficient growth. Let’s dive into the details!
How Can You Grow Portobello Mushrooms at Home
Doing all the work and growing the portobello mushrooms at home is not as tricky as you thought. You have to follow a few steps that are as follows:
1. Collect the Tools That You Need
If you do not have a mushroom kit at home, then it is a must buy the tools that you need for the mushroom plant:
Mushroom spores: There are many online stores and gardening shops where you can find portobello mushroom spores. Spores are very little like seeds; they do not look alive.
Compost: The most nutritious compost, like manure-based compost, is the best choice for planting and growing the portobello mushroom plant. However, you can use any finished compost; it will suit well with the mushroom plant.
Peat moss: It is a must to keep the soil moist for the mushroom plant, so it will be good if you get peat moss to maintain the moisture level for the portobello mushroom.
Nails, hammer, and wood: You will need these tools to make a perfect bed for the plant.
Newspaper: To maintain consistent moisture in the soil, gardeners or mushroom growers also use newspapers.
Rubber gloves: To prevent your hands from dust and dirt, you need to get rubber gloves to cover your hands.
Thermometer: To check the temperature of the substrate and atmosphere weather, you will need a thermometer to check if the temperature is appropriate according to the mushroom plant.
2. Build a Planting Bed for the Mushroom
You have to build a box that must be similar to the cuboid. The box must be 6 inches wide and 8 inches deep. You will keep the substrate and mushroom plant in this box. If you cannot find a box made of plastic or other material that does not degrade, then build a box of wood. Because wood is the only material that will degrade with time when mushrooms grow.
3. Put the Substrate Into the Bed
Now, you have to pour the compost or substrate into the box, the compost must cover the 6-inch deepness of the box. Do not worry about the smell of the compost because if you take the finished product, it will not release a foul or bad smell.
So, you prevent your plant from any smell or bad results, make sure to take a suitable compost. The bed’s upper part must be 2 inches free, you will use it to add peat moss and newspaper sheets.
4. Sterilize the Substrate
Sterilization is the best way to make your mushroom plant more efficient when growing mushrooms. If you do not sterilize your mushroom plant, many insects like microbes and other fungal insects will compete with your portobello mushroom plant and eat all of its nutrients and space. Before planting and growing mushroom plants at home or outside, make sure to sterilize all the tools or equipment you will use. It is how you will sterilize your substrate and bed:
Bake the bed: If you have a large metal barrel or pot, place the entire bed of compost into that pot or barrel and pour some water into it. Boil it for almost 1 hour, after boiling it, remove it from the flame. It is the best way to sterilize the substrate for growing mushrooms.
Use sterilization method: For the natural method of sterilization, put the cardboard on the bed and cover everything using black plastic wrap. You have to place the box under the sun for two weeks. Direct sunlight will kill the fungal diseases and harmful insects in the compost.
5. Place the Substrate In a Cool and Dark Place
Portobello mushrooms are plants that love to be in darker and cooler places. Make sure to place the mushroom plant at a temperature of 50-7- degrees Fahrenheit. You can keep the mushroom plant under the shade or at the corner of the room if you are planting and growing this plant indoors. Placing it under a tree is also preferable if you plant it outside. Ensure not to place the plant in direct sunlight because the portobello plant will stop growing in bright sunlight due to dehydration.
6. Monitor the Temperature and Other Climatic Factors
During the day, ensure not to provide temperature above 70 degrees Fahrenheit to the mushroom plant. Mushrooms also do not like temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night. The growth of the mushroom plants depends on the temperature, so monitor the temperature changes in the environment to provide a better environment for this plant.
If you are growing portobello mushroom plants outdoors, then rain is okay. Mushrooms love to grow in moist soil and environment, so make sure to provide a cooler environment for the mushroom plant. So, do not avoid covering the plant in the rain.
For indoor mushroom plants, you will need to water them frequently to avoid the plant from dehydration. Portobello plants love humid environments, the humidity level must be above 75 percent.
7. Introduce Your Portobello Mushroom Spores
After grabbing all the required things and the weather conditions are also suitable, it is a perfect time to introduce your mushroom spores. To do this, follow the steps:
Remove the cardboard and plastic: if you remember, we covered the entire substrate system with plastic wrap, so it is time to uncover it. Dispose of the wrap into the dustbin.
Mix your portobello spores in the substrate: Now, you must mix the mushroom spores. You only have to grow the mushroom spores 1 inch deeper in the soil, do not plant them deeper, so you can monitor your plant’s growth. Also, do not plant them too shallowly so the spores start growing quickly.
Press the compost after planting spores: After mixing the cells or spores into the compost, use your hands to press the compost and make it equal. Doing this will make the compost not lose after mixing and enable the mushroom spores to get the proper nutrients they need.
8. Cover the Compost With Newspaper and Peat Moss
After mixing spores in the compost, you have to cover the compost using peat moss and newspaper. The peat moss must be an inch layer on the compost, enabling the mushroom plant to get the moisture it needs. A good moisture level will help the mushroom not to dry out quickly.
The substrate can quickly dry, and the mushroom plant does not survive in that condition. After layering the peat moss on the compost, cover the entire pot or box with a single sheet of newspaper. The purpose of the newspaper is to prevent the mushroom plant from suddenly changing atmosphere and maintain the moisture level while the plant is growing.
9. Mist the Newspaper Daily
You have to mist the newspaper by using the spray bottle daily. If you are growing your portobello mushroom plant indoors, make sure to moisten the newspaper once a day, but if you grow it outdoors, then moist it twice a day. Always keep monitoring the newspaper and ensure that the newspaper is moist all time of the day.
Ensure that there is not a single part of the newspaper that remains dry, and moisten it with water spray whenever you notice dryness. Keep moistening the newspaper daily until you can reveal the mushroom primordia.
10. Remove the Newspaper
When two weeks pass, you will see little mushroom primordia when you remove the newspaper from the mushroom plant. They look exactly like mushrooms but way smaller. Growing little primordia ensures that you are successful in growing portobello mushroom plants, even though they are not mature yet. If no primordia are grown in the box, moist the newspaper and leave the mushroom plant for one more extra week.
Until the end of the next week, the primordia will emerge and check their growth. If there is still no primordia, check the spores to see if they have any problem. Make sure not to sterilize the mushroom spores it will damage the mushroom plant and its growth.
11. Continue the Misting
You do not have to stop misting your mushroom primordia. According to the room’s humidity, you must mist the plant for 10 days; make sure to mist it two to three times a day. Do not stop misting them even when they mature and are ready to harvest. It will keep your mushroom plant’s growth well and efficiently.
12. Collect the Mature Mushroom
With the diameter of the caps, you can identify the mature portobello mushroom plant. When the caps of the mushroom plant are around 1.6 to 2.4 inches in diameter, they are ready to harvest. If you harvest the portobello mushrooms too quickly, it means you harvest the brown criminis instead of the portobello mushrooms. Until the portobello mushroom plant caps become flat, wait till then and then harvest them.
You can harvest them from the compost by digging and pulling them off. Select the specific head of the mushroom, brush off the compost around it, and then pull it out from the substrate. You have to grow all of the portobello mushrooms just like this. Wash them with water, store them in the fridge to use whenever you need them, and crave something delicious.
13. Repeat the Process for More Portobello Mushrooms
After planting and growing some portobello mushrooms, you must want to harvest some more. If you want to grow more, you can follow the same procedure. You have to follow the procedure from step eight cover the substrate using newspaper and mist it. After two weeks, you will see some new portobello heads emerge from the soil.
If you want to make the substrate richer in nutrients, add more compost or rotted manure for the fast and efficient growth of the mushrooms. Remember that temperature changes and environmental conditions can affect the development process of the portobello mushrooms. If you understand how you can plant and grow portobello mushrooms at home or outdoors, you can harvest hundreds of the mushrooms with little effort.
Things to Remember
After reading the article, some points must still be unfamiliar to you. So, to make it understand you, here are a few tips and instructions that you must consider while growing the portobello mushroom plant:
Mycelium: Portobello mushroom mycelium is the mushroom spore that grows inside the compost. They look and act like the plant’s roots, so you can consider them the roots of the portobello mushroom.
Spawn Run: When the mycelia start growing inside the soil, that is when the spawn run happens on the compost surface.
Primordium: It is the immature head or cap of the mushroom that just formed randomly.
Fruiting: When the mushroom becomes mature, the fruiting starts. Fruiting refers to the development of the mushroom head.
Decomposition: Mushrooms get the nutrients they need from the decomposed substrate rich in nutrients.
How Long Do Portobello Mushrooms Take to Grow
Portobello mushrooms usually do not take longer time to sprout. After spawning them, they are ready to harvest after just 12-15 days. But if you harvest them before letting them become mature mushrooms, remember that they are just criminis; they are not mature mushrooms. They taste the same but are not as chewy as mature mushrooms.
If you like criminis or growing mushrooms, then harvest them before turning them into mature mushrooms. However, if you like chewy and delicious mushrooms, you must harvest them when their head crosses the diameter of 1.6. Wait for a few weeks, they become ready within a few weeks with a proper size. It is said that the mushrooms can grow double times larger than their size within 24 hours.
So, if you are wondering when your portobello mushroom plant will be able to eat, wait for almost 4 months; they will mature mushrooms after 4 weeks. The cultivation time depends on how large you want them to grow. When you are satisfied with the size of the mushroom, harvest them. After 6 weeks, you can harvest portobello mushrooms whenever you want.
(Expert-Tip: Although the portobello mushrooms can quickly grow and be ready for harvest, but it depends on different factors like temperature and humidity, etc. So, you need to provide your plantation with the optimal conditions to obtain their thriving growth.)
Conclusion
If you are interested in growing the portobello mushroom plant indoors or outdoors, then I hope reading the article will help you. You must consider following the given tips before growing the mushroom at home. Planting and growing this mushroom plant will enable you to enjoy fresh mushrooms all around the year; make sure to grow them properly by providing suitable and proper temperatures. Must follow the steps you read in the article to have efficient growth of the portobello mushroom!
FAQs
1. Are Portobello Mushrooms Hard to Grow?
No, growing portobello mushrooms are not as difficult as you think. If you want to make the process as simple as possible, grab a growing kit, assemble the bed for the portobello plant, and mix in the mushroom spores. Make sure to keep the soil damp and at the appropriate temperature, whether you plant the mushroom indoors or outdoors. Care and maintenance will make your mushroom’s growth better and more efficient.
2. Is It Possible to Grow Portobello Mushrooms From Store-Bought?
Planting and growing the store-bought mushrooms is quite easier than the others; you only have to get the fungi from an organic source. Propagating the portobello mushrooms from the store requires a good fruiting medium, a proper growing environment, and a suitable moisture level. If you do not know how to grow store-bought or other portobello mushroom spores, then read the article and follow the steps carefully.
3. Do Portobello Mushrooms Need Sunlight?
Unlike other plants, portobello mushrooms lack chlorophyll, which they are non-green plants. Lack of chlorophyll means they do not need to make their own food, so they do not need sunlight. Mushrooms love to grow in dark and cooler places, so you must place the mushroom plants in shady and dark places to provide them with the environment and conditions they need.