Growing Mushrooms
Episode: #14 14/07/07
Presenter: Mellissa King
In the kitchen, mushrooms have a delicious, earthy flavour that adds depth, texture and taste to your cooking. They are very versatile, fantastic fried in a pan with butter and garlic and served alongside scrambled eggs for brunch, used raw in salads or thickly sliced added to stir fries and stews. At home, they are very easy to grow.
The most common mushroom species is the white button-like variety that you see a lot in the shops, but more exotic species with unique shapes, flavours and textures are being grown here in Australia.
Portabella Mushrooms sometimes called Swiss browns are a large mushroom with a dark brown thick cap that gives them a meaty flavour. Their rich, firm texture makes them excellent for grilling or barbequing. You can pick them mature with the gills exposed or get in there early and harvest them as buttons. At this stage they are called “crimini” and can be used in much the same way as common white button mushrooms.
Growing mushrooms at home is not as difficult as you might think and incredibly rewarding. The simplest way is to use a ready-grow-kit. The kits contains a growing box, mushroom compost – which has already been inoculated with the white coloured mushroom mycelium (a mouldy looking fungus) and casing material which is peat moss.
Portabellas and white button mushrooms can be easily grown in a cool place away from direct sunlight like a wardrobe, garage or laundry is good.
Lift the compost looks brown in the box, close the kit and leave it for a week until its frosty white or mouldy looking. Then evenly spread the casing over the compost, leaving it loose and fluffy. Make sure you leave the kit open to let the air in.
A simple spray of water every day or so is all that is needed, and before you know it you will have fresh flavoursome mushrooms appearing. You should start to see a bit of action in 7-10 days and the first mushrooms can be ready to harvest in just 3 weeks time. They continue to pop up in flushes every week or so for the next month or two.
You can pick the mushrooms at different stages depending on what you are using them for. Harvest them early as buttons or wait until they are big and flat, keeping in mind that they are fast growing and can double their size within 24 hours. Check them regularly to make sure they do not over-mature. When it is harvest time do it by hand with a twisting motion and try not to disturb the compost beneath because more mushrooms will grow.
Mushrooms are not only tasty, they are healthy too. They contain more protein and vitamin B12 than any other vegetable, plus they are low in calories, fat and salt, and a great source of minerals and vitamins. And they are easy to grow, so why not give it a go!
Presenter: Mellissa King
In the kitchen, mushrooms have a delicious, earthy flavour that adds depth, texture and taste to your cooking. They are very versatile, fantastic fried in a pan with butter and garlic and served alongside scrambled eggs for brunch, used raw in salads or thickly sliced added to stir fries and stews. At home, they are very easy to grow.
The most common mushroom species is the white button-like variety that you see a lot in the shops, but more exotic species with unique shapes, flavours and textures are being grown here in Australia.
Portabella Mushrooms sometimes called Swiss browns are a large mushroom with a dark brown thick cap that gives them a meaty flavour. Their rich, firm texture makes them excellent for grilling or barbequing. You can pick them mature with the gills exposed or get in there early and harvest them as buttons. At this stage they are called “crimini” and can be used in much the same way as common white button mushrooms.
Growing mushrooms at home is not as difficult as you might think and incredibly rewarding. The simplest way is to use a ready-grow-kit. The kits contains a growing box, mushroom compost – which has already been inoculated with the white coloured mushroom mycelium (a mouldy looking fungus) and casing material which is peat moss.
Portabellas and white button mushrooms can be easily grown in a cool place away from direct sunlight like a wardrobe, garage or laundry is good.
Lift the compost looks brown in the box, close the kit and leave it for a week until its frosty white or mouldy looking. Then evenly spread the casing over the compost, leaving it loose and fluffy. Make sure you leave the kit open to let the air in.
A simple spray of water every day or so is all that is needed, and before you know it you will have fresh flavoursome mushrooms appearing. You should start to see a bit of action in 7-10 days and the first mushrooms can be ready to harvest in just 3 weeks time. They continue to pop up in flushes every week or so for the next month or two.
You can pick the mushrooms at different stages depending on what you are using them for. Harvest them early as buttons or wait until they are big and flat, keeping in mind that they are fast growing and can double their size within 24 hours. Check them regularly to make sure they do not over-mature. When it is harvest time do it by hand with a twisting motion and try not to disturb the compost beneath because more mushrooms will grow.
Mushrooms are not only tasty, they are healthy too. They contain more protein and vitamin B12 than any other vegetable, plus they are low in calories, fat and salt, and a great source of minerals and vitamins. And they are easy to grow, so why not give it a go!
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