Growing Mushrooms (forum)

Steven starts with ...
Hi

I just wanted to ask if anyone knows anything about growing Porcini mushrooms. Ive recently been in Europe and have developed a love for them and would love to grow them as they are quite expensive but dont know if i can.

I have started growing portobello mushrooms as they have a similar flavor. I collected the spores from store bought mushrooms and the fungus seems to have started growing.

If anyone has any information it would be of great help.

Thanks

Steven
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Time: 17th December 2008 9:55pm

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About the Author Steven
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Ellen says...
I used to work on a mushroom farm, I know mushroom grow best in dark rooms, and they're temperature controlled .

Time: 17th December 2008 11:59pm

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About the Author Ellen
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Adam says...
As far as I know, Porcini grow mycorrhizal association with certain types of trees. In other words you can't grown them like saproxylic fungi (which grow on dead trees etc).

Its the same situation with truffles, where hazel/oak trees are first established, then innoculated, then if you are luck you get truffles. I'm not aware that anybody has this setup with porcini, they are most likely wild gathered still.

Time: 19th December 2008 10:47am

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About the Author Adam
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Steven says...
Thanks alot for you information Adam and Ellen.

I was afraid you'd need to inoculate them with the roots of certain trees. Ill keep researching though and see how they can be inoculated and how long it takes to get fruit (i think a long time though)

I'm growing portobello which i grew from spores i collected though. they seem to be growing well so far. i can see mold forming inside the jars.

Regards

Steven

Time: 22nd December 2008 5:31pm

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edil says...
hello sir i'm relly interested to grow that portobello in our country i hpoe u can help me to my research,


thanks

edil


Time: 18th August 2010 8:07pm

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About the Author edil
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Steven says...
Hi Edil

Portobello are a variety of button mushrooms they are also called swiss brown. they are probably the second most common mushroom you can buy because they can be easily cultivated. Have a look around on google and im sure you will be able to find someone selling spores or mycellium.

Regards

Steven

Time: 19th August 2010 12:39pm

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micarle says...
Have a look on the Corroborree forum! They have a section on mushrooms, lots of Edible one's for sale and trade ie. Shitake, Enoki, Shemeji, Oyster and some others. Dowels, Spawn material and plate's available. hope this helps.. Mitch

Time: 19th August 2010 1:08pm

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stodd says...
Steven - I am VERY interested also, how did you go with the porcini?

Time: 9th August 2011 11:37am

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About the Author stodd
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Steven says...
Hi Stodd how are you.

Porcini (Boletus Edulis) are mycorrhizal fungi so they form a symbiotic relationship with the roots of certain species of trees i.e. they grow on the roots of these trees (conifers and oaks are the main species). so if you want to grow them you need to innoculate a tree with the fungi and then grow that tree in the right conditions. from what i know they grow in similar climates to milk caps and fly agaric.

Ive innoculated a hazelnut, chestnut and pine nut with dried porcini i bought from the deli (i soaked them overnight then blended the mixture and drenched the roots with this solution) however its still too soon to tell if it was successful as the tree has to grow to a mature size before it will fruit.

I hope this helps you.


Steven

Time: 9th August 2011 7:34pm

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Original Post was last edited: 9th August 2011 7:36pm

About the Author Steven
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Maja says...
Hi Steven,

It has been a while but have you ever succeeded with growing ur own porcini? I know that in Europe people grow porcini just in their garage, by using a cardboard and the sawdust inoculated with porcini mushroom spores. I just find impossible to buy the sawdust inoculated with porcini spores in Australia. I heard there are some certification difficulties which is why they are not easily sold. Do you have any knowledge about that?





Time: 3rd January 2012 1:31pm

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About the Author Maja
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Speedy says...
That's coz it doesnt exist.
Porcini, Cepe (Boletus edulis) is Mycorrhizal.
that is it only grows on the roots of certain species of trees....oaks, pines, beech, chestnut etc.

It may have been Shiitake or oyster mushrooms if growing on inoculated sawdust, but they need light to do well
or, it could've been portabello if grown on compost.
They will grow in dark/low light conditions.

There is a company in Spain that sells inoculum (pellets) for porcini and they say it's best to put under oaks that are at least 20yrs old for best chance of results.
But thats still no guarantee that it will work... so many unknowns, so many variables with ectomycorrhizal mushrooms.

Time: 3rd January 2012 4:24pm

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About the Author Speedy
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Jantina says...
Hey Speedy do you know if Polyporus sulphureus is in Oz? apparently it's common name is chicken of the woods because it tastes like chicken. It grows best on stumps (doesn't say what sort) or partially buried logs.

Time: 3rd January 2012 6:51pm

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Maja says...
Hi Speedy, It may not exist in Au but it certainly exists in the world. My family in Europe have been growing porcini at home for many years. I am just not keen on smuggling the spores through the customs. There are many instructions all over the internet on how to grow porcini at home from the inoculated sawdust. I also have friends in Italy who do exactly that:
http://www.howtogrowmushrooms.org/how-to-grow-porcini-mushrooms/


Time: 3rd January 2012 9:17pm

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Speedy says...
Janita, Laetiporus sulphureus (syn. Polyporus sulphureus) grows on Eucalypt wood in Aust forests.
In Europe and Nth America I think they grow on Oak and other hardwoods..
I've not found it or eaten it so cant confirm the chicken flavour, but many references mention it.



Time: 5th January 2012 1:40am

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About the Author Speedy
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Speedy says...
Hi Maja,
I'm still very sceptical.
If the instructions on that website are correct, maybe they konw something that most mycologists don't. :-)
One thing missing in the info is the mention of scientific names.
maybe they're calling something 'porcini' that is not Boletus edulis , B.aereus, B.reticulatus, B.pinophilus etc.

I wish it was that easy to grow them,
but Boletus spp. really do need to grow on the roots of a living tree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis

Where in Europe are your family from?

Time: 5th January 2012 1:42am

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Jantina says...
Thanks Speedy, now to track them down for a taste test.
By the way we had a lady from Europe stay here and she introduced us to a couple of edible fungi, something she called saffron mushroom (grows in pine forests and we are surrounded)which tasted great, and a small mushroom she just called Boletus which I did not like as much. It had a spongy look under the cap.

Time: 5th January 2012 1:44pm

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Maja says...
Not so scientific if you follow wikipidia. Academics fail students for that ;-) Small-gardening websites are not usually that scientific but in simple language for everyone to use. There are other instructions as well, bot not necessary in English.

They grow them in Poland. They own glass houses as they farm other veggies in, but the porcini is just for cooking needs. You won

Time: 6th January 2012 1:13pm

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au0rey says...
Ooo yummy mushrooms...nice thread! Would be nice to grow my own mushrooms too!

Just wondering if you mushroom experts know what mushrooms these are? Found them in the garden but not going to eat them...saw in the news two persons died in NSW? eating death cap mushrooms.

Thanks!
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Time: 7th January 2012 11:56am

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Diana says...
They do not look safe. Good move not eating mushrooms out of the garden, AuOrey. The people who just died in Canberra ate death cap mushrooms that looked like an edible variety in China. That's a common problem in Australia- very few are not poisonous, and it's hard to tell often. Some that grow in southern Australian pine forests are apparently edible, but I would only trust a real expert.

Time: 9th January 2012 12:19am

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au0rey says...
Thanks Diana. These mushrooms die off very easily. My dog which eats practically anything (incuding yukky possum droppings) doesnt even get near them..ok i think I got the message. :)


Time: 10th January 2012 11:35am

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About the Author au0rey
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Speedy says...
Janita, Saffron milk-caps are Lactarius deliciosus, they grow exclusively under pine in Aust.
The 'Boletus' would be a Slippery Jack , a Bolete (has spongey spore surface under the cap) , however not a Boletus sp. but either Suillus luteus (has a remnant ring on the stem) or more common Suillus granulatus.


Maja, I'm not just grabbing this info from Wikipedia, that said, most of the info in that article is as accurate if not better than many books I've read on the subject.
Nothing wrong with simple language but
scientific names are very important when it comes to fungi if considering eating them even for beginner growers, (and absolutely essential for wild mushroom pickers)
Imagine mistaking Amanita phalloides for Volvariella volvacea...
It cost two people their lives and one person's liver for that simple mistake just recently as I'm sure you're aware.

It also helps to know exactly what your growing in order to provide it with as close to optimal conditions as possible, substrate composition, what it's life cycle is, changes in temperature you may need to subject it to, light levels etc.

I did a bit of a search of 'How to grow Porcini' and came up with several of the same recipe/method (ie. soak cardboard, separate layers, blah blah...) looks like it's the same one been copied many times , some as part of an advert thing to try and get people to buy ebooks etc.
I doubt that whoever wrote the instructions have ever attempted it.

Current knowledge is that most(all) Boletes are mycorrhizal.
I have read somewhere in the past that Xerocomus badius (Boletus badius) may be able to grow without growing on tree roots...that was only one reference though, out of many books that I've been through.


Pics would be great if you could somehow get some.



Time: 11th January 2012 1:54am

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ringelstrumpf says...
I am interested in mushrooms but I never got into it. One question regarding wild mushrooms: A friend of mine collects wild mushrooms, those which have the sponge like structure underneath (Steinpilze), they are regarded in Europe as very safe to collect as there is only one poisonous in this class. (Hopefully they are safe here too). How did these European mushrooms made it to Australia? Have they been here before the white invasion or did immigrants bring them? Did the aorigines collect mushrooms?

BTW I would not eat any mushrooms of Turkey, Eastern Europe or Austria they have still high radioactive levels.

Time: 11th January 2012 10:03pm

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Mike says...
There are many similar species in Australia to edible mushrooms of europe,n america and asia as well as species introduced from those places.The spores are tiny,long lived and easy to transport.Unless a mycologist identifies it as the edible one usually the exotic I would not try it.Many natives are reputedly toxic and it is likely many are edible but no one eats them.I used to get 2 kinds of small agarics with pink and brown gills from the cemetary in Cairns after being shown by old timers.They warned there were incidents with wrong ones picked in the past.Friend used to pick gold tops and blue meany agarics on the Atherton Tablelands and it was never worth the trip.

Time: 12th January 2012 7:56pm

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Jantina says...
Thanks again Speedy, have you ever personally tasted "chicken of the woods" ?

Time: 13th January 2012 12:03am

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ringelstrumpf says...
Mike, do I understand it right, that there are European mushrooms here willingsly or unwillingly imported by spores and very similar native mushrooms which might not be edible but looks very similar? And didn't the aborigines ate mushrooms?

Time: 16th January 2012 10:44pm

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Mike says...
I'm sure the aboriginal people ate some of them but perhaps that knowledge is now not as sharp as is needed to avoid errors of ID.Yes that is right that baddies and good ones can look alike and good foreign ones that may be 'feral' can look just like potentially poisonous native ones.People from overseas have to be careful when they think the mushies are th same type as back home.

Time: 17th January 2012 12:00am

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