The substrate is the food. If this is wrong, nothing later can save it — not expensive spawn, not a beautiful growing house.
3 lessons · 4 min
Wood is almost entirely cellulose and lignin. This is the tough material that holds a tree upright. Very few living things can dissolve it — and the oyster mushroom is one of them.
That is the secret of mushroom growing: you are giving it a food almost nothing else can eat. So even when your hygiene is not perfect, the mushroom still has the advantage.
Not all sawdust is the same. As a general rule, hardwood sawdust is better. Avoid sawdust from resinous or aromatic woods such as pine and eucalyptus — they contain compounds that hold back mycelial growth.
Avoid sawdust from treated lumber as well. There are chemicals in it you would not want to eat.
Is it fresh? Sawdust that has sat in a pile for a long time may already carry mould.
Is it clean? No soil, gravel, oil or rubbish mixed in.
Is it dry? Sawdust that arrives wet has probably already started breaking down the wrong way.
And where it is bought, what a sack costs, and how many bags it makes.
The whole explanation as a PDF you can print and carry out to the farm — and the full course with it, for one payment.
One payment. No subscription.
Mushy Deli