What is mushroom spawn? Is it a seed or a root? Do you plant it or sow it, or how do you prepare it? These are some of the questions I hear. To the general public there seems to be some great mystery surrounding this spawn question; in fact, it appears to be the chief enigma connected with mushroom growing. Now, the truth is, there is no mystery at all about the matter. What practical mushroom growers call spawn, botanists’ term mycelium.
The spawn is the true mushroom plant and permeates the ground, manure, or other material in which it may be growing; and what we know as mushrooms is the fruit of the mushroom plant. The spawn is represented by a delicate white mold like network of whitish threads which traverse the soil or manure. Under favorable circumstances it grows and spreads rapidly, and in due time produces fruit, or mushrooms as we call them. The mushrooms bear myriads of spores which are analogous to seeds, and these spores become diffused in the atmosphere and fall upon the ground. It is reasonable to suppose that they are the origin of the spawn which produces the natural mushrooms in the fields, also the spawn we find in manure heaps.
But we never have been able to produce spawn artificially from spores, or in other words, mushrooms have never been grown by man, so far as I can find any authentic record, from “seed.” How, then, do we get the spawn? By propagation by division. We take the mushroom plant or spawn, as we call it, and break it up into pieces, and plant these pieces separately in a prepared bed of manure or other material, under conditions favorable for their growth, and we find that these pieces of spawn develop into vigorous plants that bear fruit (mushrooms) in about two months from planting time. When the spawn has borne its full crop of fruit it dies.
Well, then, if we cannot produce spawn from spores, and the spawn in the beds that have borne mushrooms has died out, how are we to get the spawn for our future crops? This is a question that may suggest itself to the inexperienced. By securing it when it is in its most rigorous condition, which is before it begins to show signs of forming mushrooms, and drying it, and keeping it dry till required for use. But in order to secure the spawn we need to take and keep with it the manure to which it adheres or in which it is spreading. In this way it can be kept in good condition for several years and without its vitality being perceptibly impaired. Keeping it dry merely suspends its growth; as soon as it is again submitted to favorable conditions of moisture and heat its pristine activity returns.
Mushroom spawn can be obtained at any seed store. Our seedsmen always keep it in stock, both the brick (English), and the flake (French) spawn. It is retailed in quantities of one pound or more, and as the article is perfectly dry it can be easily sent by mail in small quantities.
Author Resource:
Jackson Forrest is a mushroom growing enthusiast and runs the popular http://www.MushroomGrowingSecrets.com website where he offers the best-selling ebook "How to Grow Mushrooms for Fun and Profit". Get your copy today!
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