Showing you that after the Mushroom Growing inside Marl Caves, other methods got tried.
This picture taken in the South of Sweden, long time ago in 1959 during an excursion of the ISMS Congress that Pieter did attend in Copenhagen, Denmark.
This method of cultivation is now obsolete.
AMAZING yield in the open air at that time.
Photo is part of husband Pieter's publication of Modern Mushroom Growing
Photo is part of husband Pieter's publication of Modern Mushroom Growing
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The first mushroom mycelium was probably found in places like meadows and paths, leading to mills, where there was plenty of horse manure, places where mushrooms were growing freely.
If a bed was grown through with mycelium, there was sufficient 'spawn' available for the next growing cycle.
With this home-made 'spawn' many diseases were, of course, carried over and it was therefore a big improvement when French botanist, educator, mycologist, scientist Louis Matruchot succeeded in 1894 in growing 'pure cultures' from tissue and spores of mushrooms.
Also American Constantine J. Alexopoulos did a lot of work.
Mushrooms will be FOREVER fascinating!
Surprises me that mushroom were grown out in the open. I always thought they needed shade.
ReplyDeleteHope you guys are being careful..and staying healthy.Janey
Dearest Janey,
DeleteThey don't need light and can grow in the dark, they don't have chlorophyl but they live saprophytic.
Hugs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeleteherzlichen Dank und liebe Grüße
Elisabeth
Liebe Elisabeth,
DeleteImmer gerne.
Lieber Gruß,
Mariette
Open-air... sounds so interesting! As long as I know that it's not easy growing mushroom in open area. Needs special micro climate.
ReplyDeleteDearest Endah,
DeleteWell, it was done but if you want to grow mushrooms commercially, you better grow them indoors in a controlled environment!
Hugs,
Mariette
Dearest MAriette,
ReplyDeleteI've never seen Open-Air-Mzshroom-Growing! I only have seen it those big shelters ...
really interesting, thank you!
Wishing you and Pieter a lovely weekend!
Love and hugs, Claudia xo
Dearest Claudia,
DeleteThat was done a long time ago but it for sure is not profitable anymore.
Yes, the big indoor mushroom farms are the norm since then.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello dear Mariette!
ReplyDeleteSo interesting post and so much to learn of the open-air Mushroom growing!
As i was reading your post,I notice the name,Constantine Alexopoulos,he must be a Greek-American citizen!
Thank you for sharing all those informations! Have a happy weekend and a lovely July! Take care! Stay safe! Hugs!
Dimi...
Dearest Dimi,
DeleteYes, it is quite interesting to see how mushroom cultivation has evolved over the years!
No doubt, Constantine J. Alexopoulos was of Greek descent!
Hugs,
Mariette
Is it no longer possible to grow mushrooms outdoors? I once saw a Danish program on TV. Mushrooms were grown in black waste sacks. The bags hung with strings tied with wooden twigs. There was something to chew inside the sacks, and a fungal mycelium. The fungi grew from the openings made in the sacks to the surface. Pretty weird ;-)
ReplyDeleteDearest Anne,
DeleteOf course it is, they also grow in the wild and that is quite possible.
But not for commercial growing for profit. Lots of mushroom varieties can be grown on a substrate and inside pressed blocks or in bags. With the commercially bought spawn they get the mycelium growing and produce mushrooms. You more than likely have seen the Pleurotus spp. and yes, they cut out openings where the clusters then appear. Very clever. You can see such Pleurotus here at a previous post, also with cut out openings:
https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/03/from-regensburg-germany-to-bordeaux-in.html
Hugs,
Mariette
Incredible - And To Think This Was Innovated Thinking For Its Time Period - Excellent Post
ReplyDeleteCheers
Dearest Padre,
DeleteYes, each era had its trials and daring people trying to grow some food for commercial sale.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, I suppose it makes sense to try to grow mushrooms in open air, since so many are encountered in nature that way. Incidentally, when you go to Wikipedia's Main Page, there is always an article of the day featured. Just recently, is was about the mycologist Meinhard Michael Moser, so I was reading a little about his work. I was wondering if you and Pieter have heard of him. He died not so long ago in 2002.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Dearest Jim,
DeleteAs for the Austrian mycologist, he was working with the non-edible, the toxic ones. We were always working in the field of the edible ones.
Well, in nature it happens spontaneously once a year in the fall, when leaves and other things start decomposing. Mushrooms can handle those parts for breaking down totally. It was discovered by mills where horses waited and left their droppings, that on those mounds, mushrooms were growing. That's how it all started and later with the horse manure compost and now also with synthetic compost + supplements. We've come a long way and for commercial growing a profit needs to be made, so we need more than one cycle annually...
Hugs,
Mariette
Hi Mariette. This was very interesting to read. I never thought of mushroom growing in the open air. Well, as mushrooms grow in the open air in the natural world, it may make sense :-) But I guess it was not suitable and so it is obsolete now. With trial and error, better methods are found.
ReplyDeleteHappy holiday weekend, Mariette. Stay safe xo
Dearest Tamago,
DeleteExactly, nobody can make a living from growing mushrooms commercially that way. We need more than one annual season. So, the invented ways to 'trick' mother nature by simulating 'autumn' and thus triggering the growth of the fruit bodies. The substrate they also create more perfectly to the needs of the mushroom and by making it selective so no other 'competitor' molds start growing.
Happy 4th of July to you both!
Hugs,
Mariette
Bien condimentados, están mu apetitosos.
ReplyDeleteBesos
Querida Antónia,
DeleteSe hizo en ese entonces, pero ya no es suficiente para tener un rendimiento anual. Sólo imitan el otoño en interiores por tener más ciclos de cultivo.
Abrazos,
Mariette
I found this interesting
ReplyDeleteDearest Jo-Anne,
DeleteIt sure is an interesting part of the history on mushroom cultivation.
Hugs,
Mariette
Very interesting and very informative! I didn't know that mushrooms could be cultivated in the open air! Thank you, dearest Mariette and Pieter for giving us so many details on the mushrooms!
ReplyDeleteMany hugs!
Dearest Marie-Anne,
DeleteOf course that can be done, that's how they appear in the woods as well, in autumn and also in meadows you find the Agaricus bisporus.
But it is not good for commercial, for profit growing.
Hugs,
Mariette