If I want to work with mycelium and see how it grows and interacts with mediums then I might as well grow some myself-so I did.
Oyster mushrooms have one the easiest and fastest mycelium growth, so I picked some up from an Asian supermarket and after slicing them up with some soaked cardboard I left them to grow happily*.
Set up:
- Found some cardboard with corrugated insides
- Ripped it up
- Soaked it in water for 20 minutes
- Make layers between corrugated cardboard, slices of oyster mushroom and flat cardboard in a plastic box
Growing:
After four days hyphae had formed and were running down the corrugated cardboard. Seven days after the inoculation and the mycelium was growing happily, constructing a spongey circular around the original mushroom sample. Mould grew and spread between days seven and fourteen; probably due to the lack of sterile conditions under which I first inoculated the cardboard medium. Also, from checking on the mycelium growth without being cautious about sterile conditions meant bacteria would easily have flown in.
Positive outcomes:
- It’s easy when you know how
- Relatively simple process
- Could be done with different mushrooms to see a variety of mycelium strains
Negative outcomes:
- Need sterile conditions, could be difficult to do at home
- Oyster mushroom mycelium is feathery, so not very strong, to continue might be good to find another more dense and strong mycelium to grow
Next steps…
- Find a collection of mushrooms from around Edinburgh
- Grow their mycelium on different mediums and document growth
- Speak to professionals about the best way to go about my project
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*using the instructions from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWXZfaEjQbQ