Wood chips serve as an excellent substrate for growing various types of mushrooms, offering a sustainable and cost-effective option for home cultivators and commercial growers alike. The process involves inoculating the wood chips with mushroom spawn, which then colonize and decompose the wood material, producing fruiting bodies.
Wood chips provide a rich source of nutrients for saprotrophic fungi, particularly for species such as wine cap, woodblewitt and oyster mushrooms. In most areas they are readily available, often sourced from tree suregeons and other landscaping operations. When selecting wood chips, it’s best to get for hardwood varieties like oak, maple, or beech, but depending on the specis of fungi they can be some flexibility with the content of softwood (conifer).
The method of using wood chips as a substrate typically involves layering them in a container or creating a bed outdoors. The wood chips are then moistened and inoculated with mushroom spawn, either by mixing the spawn thoroughly throughout the substrate or by layering it between the wood chips. Once inoculated, the substrate is kept in a cool, dark environment with proper humidity levels to encourage mycelial growth.
Over time, the mycelium colonizes the wood chips, breaking them down and forming a network of white threads known as the mycelial network. When conditions are optimal, such as consistent moisture and proper ventilation, the mushrooms begin to fruit, emerging from the surface of the wood chips. Harvesting can be done by gently twisting or cutting the mushrooms at the base when they reach maturity.
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