Mushroom Growing Equipment

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Mushroom Growing Equipment

There are several pieces of kit needed when growing mushrooms at home, depending on the method that you will be using to grow them and depending on how far you want to develop your growing "hobby". There are a few pieces of equipment that every mushroom grower will require at somepoint, such as a pressure cooker.

 

Equipment For Sterile Procedures

When growing mushrooms it is important that everything used in the preparation and growing of the mushrooms is clean - although mushrooms will probably out-compete many types of bacteria, it is highly recommended that you sterilize all equipment used so that you give the mushrooms a head start.

Pressure Cooker: A pressure cooker can be used to sterilize equipment that will be used to grow mushrooms. This is an item that all mushroom growers will require, and is unfortunately quite tricky to purchase in the UK. You can however buy it online from a site like Ebay.com and will have to pay the extra postage to send the item overseas. For some reason the UK pressure cookers all seem to be very small and inferior in quality to some of the American ones. All American is a highly recommended brand for a pressure cooker.

Rubbing Alcohol: Rubbing alcohol is a must for any mushroom grower as it is used to keep various pieces of equipment clean and to prevent the spread of contaminants. You use it on your latex gloves/work surfaces/laboratory equipment. Rubbing alcohol is also known as Isopropyl alcohol (70%).

Hand Disinfectant: This is obviously needed to keep your hands clean and must be used regularly (every 10minutes or so) when preparing your mushroom grow set-up.

Workspace Disinfectant: Again this is needed to keep things clean and to prevent bacteria from spoiling your mushroom grow.

Latex Gloves: Latex gloves are required when it comes to performing various mushroom grows, such as cloning a mushroom or growing from spores on agar media. Again this is simply to keep things clean and prevent bacteria from your body entering the growing environment.

Hairnet/Mask: A hairnet and mask is recommended by some people for when laboratory-style tasks are being performed, simply to prevent bacteria from your body ruining your mushroom grow.

 

Growing Mushrooms In A "Lab" Environment

When growing mushrooms from spores or from a clone then you will need to be in a very clean, sterile environment - a laboratory would be ideal, but as someone that grows mushrooms from home then this is hardly going to be possible. Although a Laminar Flow Hood is ideal, one of the next best and cheapest available options is to build your own "glovebox". This is simply a box with holes cut in, which you put your hands in before doing any work. The glovebox should be clean inside, and so in effect you are creating your own mini-laboratory to use. For full instructions on constructing your own glovebox, purchase the excellent mushroom growing DVD "Lets Grow Mushrooms". You will also need items like a syringe to use with the mushroom spores, a scalpel to use when transferring mycelium from agar to grain, etc.

Laminar Flow Hood: A Laminar Flow Hood allows you to work in an extremely clean environment, which is of utmost importance when peforming specific mushroom growing operations. Although very expensive, it provides a %99.9 air filter and would easily pay for itself if you decided to grow mushrooms on a commercial basis. Alternatively you can create your own basic "glovebox".

Spore Syringe: A syringe is essential when it comes to preparing water-based spawns. It is used to transfer the water/spore solution onto the substrate used for the grow.

Agar: Agar is a type of gel made from seaweed which is used to grow mushrooms on directly from spores in a petri-dish. Once the mycelium has formed it is then transferred to other media (such as grain) to create more spawn.

Alcohol Lamp: It is important to keep equipment sterile and sometimes the best, quickest way of doing this is by burning the metal instruments for a few seconds until red, hence the need for an alcohol lamp.

Scalpel: A scalpel is used when transferring the mycelium from one location to another (such as from agar in a petri dish to grain spawn in jam jars).

Petri Dish: A petri-dish is used for growing mushroom spores on agar media.

 

Mushroom Bags & Containers

Depending on the type of mushroom that you are trying to grow, and on the method that you are using, you will need some form of a container to grow from. Glass jars are used in some home production methods, and polypropylene bags are also used. Both are easy to sterilize and keep clean, which is of utmost importance when it comes to growing mushrooms.

Jars: Glass jam jars are used to grow some mushrooms and are also used to store types of grain spawn.

Polypropylene Bags: These bags are used because they can be sterilized in a pressure cooker at very high temperatures. They are used as the container for growing many kinds of mushrooms from.

 

Humidity & Temperature Control Equipment

Getting the right humidity in your mushroom grow room is extremely important, as is getting the right temperature. For most mushrooms to grow successfully you will need a humidity in the region of %80 or higher, which can be hard if you are growing mushrooms in the UK (humidity tends to be around %60, especially if growing indoors). Materials like Perlite can be used to help raise humidity, as well as various pieces of electronic equipment. The temperature must be right too, which for most species of mushroom is around 6 degrees C. If it is too cold or too hot then the mushrooms won't grow, or they will grow poorly.

Perlite: Perlite is a very helpful component when it comes to growing mushrooms - they are very good at retaining moisture which helps raise the humidity of the surrounding environment. Although it can be purchased at local garden centers in the UK, it will cost around £5 per 10 litres whereas on eBay it can be purchased for around £15 per 100 litres (including p&p!).

Humidifier: Although not everyone will need to buy a humidifer to grow mushrooms, some people will have problems raising humidity high enough, especially if you are growing in the UK. A humidifier can be a simple and reasonably cheap way of ensuring the humidity remains at the vital level for mushroom growth.

Hygrometer/Thermometer: A Hygrometer is essential because it gives you a precise reading of the humidity levels in the surrounding environment. Without one you won't know what your humidity levels are. This one also monitors the temperature, which is also very important.

This list of mushroom growing equipment is not definite and will be updated in the future if any other important equipment is unlisted. If you feel that there are any other pieces of growing equipment needed that we haven't included then feel free to contact us - grow (at) mushroom-growing.co.uk.

We have tried to list all of the relevant pieces of grow equipment from as few different sources as possible - mainly because it will be easier for you to order everything you need in one package from the chosen mushroom supplier. This will help you to save money on postage costs. So far we have only shown items that are available from our chosen mushroom supplier and from online auction site eBay. If you know of any other online mushroom shops that ship to the UK then again feel free to contact us using the address given above.

Once you've purchased all the mushroom growing equipment that you require you will be ready to order some mushroom spawn.

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