The homeland of Shiitake mushroom (Shiitake) is Asian forests, but now it is grown in all corners of the world because this mushroom is incredibly interesting, has healing properties, is popular in pharmaceuticals, cosmetology and culinary, very tasty, real exotic delicacy. The name from Japanese translates as “A mushroom growing on a shea tree”, as we understand it, is a chestnut tree. It is also called the imperial mushroom - for consistency in the emperor’s menu and black forest mushroom - for the color obtained during drying.
Description of Shiitake Mushrooms
The mushroom has a hemispherical shape with a diameter of up to 20 cm dark brown in color with a coffee tint, after a lapse of time it burns out and brightens, changes shape to a flatter one. Feels like the surface of the fungus is velvety and dry, covered with white scales.
Young mushrooms with smooth edges, and adults are already tucked. The leg is straight, fibrous, lighter in color than the hat, up to 8 cm high, and up to 1.5 cm in diameter.Did you know? Shiitake was the first artificially grown mushroom in the twentieth century.
Shiitake plates are very thin, light, almost white. The weight of the mushroom reaches 100 g. It is very visually similar to champignon. The flesh of the creamy light color is rather fleshy, tastes good both raw and ready-made, has a pleasant aroma.Growing at home
At home, growing a shiitake is not at all difficult. This process takes place in only two directions: the extensive method and the intensive one.
Fruiting in the open air provokes a drop in air temperature from day to night. Harvested actively from spring to autumn. But if the cultivation takes place indoors, then the crop is harvested equally all year round. The process takes place on straw, sawdust, on substrates and hemp. It is quite effective to grow these mushrooms on your own, getting for yourself an excellent food product and even a very good profit.
Places to grow
The most appropriate and favorable place for growing is a greenhouse or basement. In the summer, it is better to sit in the open air on the soil, on stumps or sawn trees. They also sell ready-made mushroom blocks prepared for sowing. But you can make them yourself, so the substrate will probably be of high quality. It is convenient to move such mobile plantations in favorable conditions for growth, and it is very convenient to water.
Extensive Growing Method
An extensive method of cultivation involves sowing on pieces of wood and stumps, i.e. the method repeats the natural conditions for the growth of mushrooms. Popular trees for growing are oak, chestnut, beech, they are used after falling leaves.
Appeared moss is removed with a metal object. Shiitake mycelia are laid in specially stitched holes with a depth of up to 50 cm and a diameter of at least 8 mm and covered with wood corks. Top with wax. The temperature in the greenhouse or basement should be from + 20 ° C to + 26 ° C. In order for the mycelium to completely colonize a tree, it must be regularly moistened and humidity stabilized. Bars will bear fruit from two to five years, in the summer twice.
The main condition when choosing wood is the absence of rot and other infections. The moisture content of the tree is at least 35%. Lay the bars up to 1.5 m long on the fabric in the shade, most importantly - not on the ground.Intensive growing method
This method involves the use of loose plant substrates, such as: sawdust, straw, wood chips and more. Necessarily with the addition of nutrients. This method is the most productive and fastest, available all year round, but labor costs are much larger than with extensive cultivation.
Important! Shiitake, grown for mass sale in supermarkets, do not have enough nutrients for use in medicine and cosmetology due to growing from poor substrates. They are used only for food.
Sawdust as a substrate for sowing mycelium
When choosing wood sawdust, it is recommended to use solid varieties of trees, clean and with a fresh smell. You can not use sawdust of conifers due to the content of resins in them, inhibiting the growth of mycelium.
Blocks filled with sawdust mixed with chips are filled with mushroom mycelium and kept warm for 2 months. Then the blocks are moved to a cool and humid room. To accelerate the growth process, nutritive additives are added, namely bran of cereal crops, legume seeds, sources of organic nitrogen and carbohydrates. For about a month, a mixture of sawdust and additives will overgrow with mycelium, and only then, under conditions of constant moisture, it will bear fruit in 12 days with a frequency of once a month.
The particle size must be made 3 mm, so as not to be too small (not to interfere with gas exchange).
The use of straw as a substrate
The project of using straw as a substrate provides for the first priority heat treatment (pasteurization). Bags are packed tightly in boxes and watered with hot water for one day. After drying the bags, you can begin to sow the mycelium in the straw. For 10 kg of the mixture with straw, 500 g of mycelium should be accounted for. The bags are stirred in a warm and humid room. Straw should be very high quality, clean and without rot. Barley and oats are considered the best, because it is small and the mushrooms will sprout faster.
Layed in layers very tightly straw and mycelium. A hole is made in the bags for ventilation (then mushrooms will sprout in them). The room must be heated. You can not put it on the floor, only on stands or hang it for unhindered exit of gases. The temperature should not be lower than 20 ° C, but when the bags are covered with white coating, the temperature can be reduced to 15 ° C. A month later, the first crop will already appear.Did you know? Japan ranks second in the world in terms of life expectancy. According to the Japanese themselves, shiitake mushrooms provide such a high level.
Collection
You can determine the maturity of the fungus by the hat, how far its edges straightened and stopped bending. Already ripe shiitake are cut with a knife at the very beginning of the growth of the legs. Harvest is worth waiting at a monthly frequency at the same time.
Benefits and nutritional qualities
- Regular use of shiitake has the following effect:
- strengthens the immune system and rejuvenates the body;
- resists various forms of cancer;
- strengthens the nervous system;
- normalizes the gastrointestinal tract;
- heals ulcers and wounds;
- prevents a heart attack;
- restores strength after exertion and serious illness;
- removes cholesterol and toxins from the body, prolongs life;
- normalizes the fat balance of the skin, smoothes and rejuvenates it.
It is difficult to list all the useful qualities of this fungus, but it is most appreciated for its anticancer effect.
Shiitake is saturated with a huge amount of minerals and vitamins. It contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, B12, C and D, as well as micro and macro elements. A complete protein product rich in amino acids. It is believed that the largest concentrate of nutrients in the fungus is at the stage of cap growth of 5 cm and when it is almost not opened. It is also worth remembering that the mushroom retains all the beneficial properties without being subjected to heat treatment, i.e. drying the crop is the best way.
On the territory of our country, interest in this fungus has increased in the last 10 years, but the methods of cultivating shiitake have not been thoroughly studied, therefore, due to a lack of knowledge, there are only general instructions necessary for basic knowledge of the process of growing at home. For the same reason, this mushroom, unusually rich in useful substances, is still inferior in popularity to champignons and oyster mushrooms. But this, perhaps, is a privilege that gives minimal competition to manufacturers.Important! Without consulting a doctor, it is absolutely impossible to use a shiitake product for treatment. Self-medication with all kinds of extracts can aggravate the general state of health.
