In
the last and most critical stage of successfully growing mushrooms,
there are three important factors you must control. Each of these
factors signal the mycelium that it is time to start the fruiting
process (the mushrooms come up).
- Introduction of
light. Your kits each handle this requirement differently. The
SoulFood Machine includes a clear curtain with a bio-filter that
lets light in. The Magic Greenhouse is made of
transparent plastic, and the aquarium kits require a top of
transparent glass or plastic to admit light.
- Temperature
drop. This is easily accomplished by simply turning off the
included heating units in each kit.
- Air exchange.
Until now this has been the most difficult part of the fruiting
process. Mushroom mycelium produces CO2 (carbon
dioxide). CO2 is heavier than air and stays on top of
the casing layer. Mushrooms will not grow through this layer of CO2,
which must be removed for your mushrooms to grow.
Prior to the
introduction of the Magic Air Exchange System this layer of CO2
was vented by opening the unit and fanning the CO2 out
by hand two or three times a day. This exposed the system to airborne
contaminants.
We had
experimented for years using a simple air pump to introduce the small
amount of required fresh air into the systems. Unfortunately, there
was no practical way to control the quality of this air. It was just
pushing in unfiltered air along with any airborne contaminants. We
experimented with our own filters and they either inhibited airflow or
were not effective at contaminant removal.
Recently, we found
a company that makes laboratory quality, inline air filters. These
filters are used in labs to provide air for sterile culture work. They
filter contaminant particles down to .20 microns. Our tests showed
this filter to be perfect for introducing pure air into Magic Kits for
CO2 displacement. |
