How to Grow Mushrooms in FieldsPosted by ding pan on May 14th, 2018 Summary As a rule, wild mushrooms abound most in rich, old, well-drained, rolling pasture lands, and avoid dry, sandy, or wet places, or the neighborhood of trees and bushes. In attempting to cultivate them in open fields we should provide similar conditions. Then the chief requisite is good spawn, for without this we cannot raise mushrooms. Mr. Henshaw, of Staten Island, who has been very successful in growing Mushroom Packing Machine in the fields as well as indoors, writes to me as follows: "You ask me to give you my plan of growing mushrooms in the fields during the summer. It is very simple. About the end of June, or as soon as dry weather sets in, we remove the old beds from our mushroom house, and if there should be any live spawn in the bottom of our beds we put it in a wheelbarrow and take it to the field, where we plant it in the open places, but never under trees. In planting, we lift a sod and put a shovelful of the manure containing the spawn in the hole, then replace the sod and beat it down firm; this we do at distances of twelve feet apart. If we have no live spawn from our indoor beds we take the common brick spawn, and put about a quarter of a brick into each hole, returning and beating down the sod as already stated. This is all that is done. If there comes a dry time after the spawn is put in the pasture we are sure to have a good supply of mushrooms in the fall." A few years ago Carter & Co., seedsmen, London, sent this to one of the gardening periodicals: The following mode of growing mushrooms in meadows by one of our customers may be interesting to your readers: In March (May would be soon enough here) he begins to collect droppings from the stables. These, when enough have been gathered together, are taken into the meadow, where holes dug here and there about one foot" or eighteen inches square are filled with them, the soil removed being scattered over the surrounding Bottle Filling Production Line grass. When all the holes have been filled and made solid he then places two or three pieces of spawn about one inch square in each hole, treads all down firmly, replaces the turf and beats it tightly down. Under this system, in August and September mushrooms appear without fail in abundance and without any further care. The method is simple and the result certain. Therefore all who happen to have a meadow, paddock, or grass field, and are fond of mushrooms, should try the experiment. ... In the case in question fresh holes were spawned every year." Like it? Share it!More by this author |