Monmouth Mushroom Project

Welcome to the Monmouth Mushroom (Mycology) Project.

Funded by a grant ($300) form the Monmouth College, Global Food Security Studies (GFSS) Program. The grant was written and submitted by Sujith Santhosh in the Spring 2016 with advising from Bradley E. Sturgeon (Chemistry Department).

Mushroom Growing Procedure

A mushroom is called a "fruiting body" and can be produced in two ways: 1) through the propagation of the "spores", or 2) through the propagation of tissue extract. The use of tissue will be discussed here. There are three distinct steps in this process:

Step 1: Agar preparation and sterile culture

a) Prepare sterile potato dextrose agar (PDA) in test tube slants.

b) Transfer mushroom tissue into sterile PDA slant.

c) Observe mycelium growth from sterile culture after ~ 1 week.

Step 2: Sterile transfer to grain spawn

a) Prepare sterile/pasteurized grain media in quart or pint canning jars.

b) Transfer small mycelium/agar material to the grain media.

c) Observe the expansive mycelium growth throughout the grain spawn after ~1 week.

Step 3: Transfer to final substrate and induction of fruiting

a) Prepare sterile/pasteurized straw substrate.

b) Transfer mycelium rich grain spawn to the straw substrate.

c) Allow time for expansive mycelium growth.

d) Provide small aeration holes which will promote fruiting.

References:

Getting Started with Mushroom Cultivation