Introduction: How to Start Your Very Own Garden Giant Mushroom Patch!

We bought a mushroom growing kit from Fungi Perfecti which included The Garden Giant Mushroom Patch, The Elm Oyster Mushroom Patch, and The Shitake Mushroom Plugs.

This Instructable will talk about how to pick out a good location for your mushroom patch and what are the necessary steps needed to start it. This mushroom kit is easy to start and anyone can do it!

Step 1: Materials

You will need:
- 12 gallons to a truckload of woodchips (we used about 4 wheelbarrows)
- One Garden Giant Mushroom Patch Kit
- Purchasable from http://www.fungi.com/kits/outdoor.html
- Access to an abundance of water - you must water your patch for 10 minutes after you're done preparing it
- Tools
- A metal rake to spread the woodchips
- A shovel to scoop the woodchips

Step 2: Picking Out a Spot

The place where you put your Garden Giant Mushroom Patch should be:

1.) Not exposed to direct sunlight
2.) Not windy
3.) Naturally humid
4.) Has a ready access to water
5.) Has an abundant supply of non-aromatic, diciduous and/ or conifer chips
6.) Is frequently visited - So you don't forget about it!

We picked out a place that was secluded, shady, and very moist.

Step 3: Clearing and Preparing Your Bed

Once you found yourself a nice place to plant your Garden Giant Mushroom Patch, use a nice and sturdy metal rake to clear it of any unwanted undecomposed organic debris such as twigs, straw, uncomposted yard waste, etc. We lined our bed with rotten logs do distinguish a nice border.

Then, go ahead and dump a 1-2 inch layer of moistened wood chips on your bed.

Step 4: Adding the Inoculated Woodchips

On top of the 1-2 inch layer of moistened woodchips, add your bag of inoculated woodchips and spread them around.

Then, cover the inoculated woodchips with another 1-2 inch layer of moistened woodchips and mix the three layers vigorously.

Step 5: Watering Your Bed

Now just sprinkle your mushroom bed with water for 10 minutes and you're done!

Wait three months and check your bed by carefully digging down into the bed of wood chips to check for dampness and mycelium activity. If the chips are dry, then moisten the bed thoroughly and every few days, particularly during dry, hot weather, lightly water the bed. When the woodchips have become thoroughly run through with white, ropy mycelium, your bed is nearly ready to produce its first crop.

Begin watering your bed for at least 30 minutes a day with a sprinkler, preferably 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. You should start to see mushroom within 2 weeks.

We'll soon update this instructable to report our results since this is our first time too.



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