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Think growing mushrooms is complicated? Think again! In this video, you'll learn how to grow mushrooms in a simple cardboard box, even if you've never grown anything before.
This beginner-friendly method is affordable, requires very little equipment, and is a great way to produce fresh mushrooms at home. We'll walk you through each step, from preparing the cardboard to creating the right growing conditions and harvesting your first crop.
In this video, you'll learn:
How to grow mushrooms using a cardboard box
The best mushroom varieties for beginners
What materials you'll need to get started
How to keep your mushrooms healthy
Common mistakes to avoid for a successful harvest
Whether you're interested in home gardening, sustainable living, or simply want to try a fun DIY project, this easy mushroom-growing method is a great place to start.
👍 If you found this video helpful, LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and turn on notifications for more simple gardening, homesteading, and food-growing tips every week.
#Mushrooms #GrowMushrooms #Gardening #DIYGarden #HomeGarden #OrganicGardening #Homesteading #FoodGr
Think growing mushrooms is complicated? Think again! In this video, you'll learn how to grow mushrooms in a simple cardboard box, even if you've never grown anything before.
This beginner-friendly method is affordable, requires very little equipment, and is a great way to produce fresh mushrooms at home. We'll walk you through each step, from preparing the cardboard to creating the right growing conditions and harvesting your first crop.
In this video, you'll learn:
How to grow mushrooms using a cardboard box
The best mushroom varieties for beginners
What materials you'll need to get started
How to keep your mushrooms healthy
Common mistakes to avoid for a successful harvest
Whether you're interested in home gardening, sustainable living, or simply want to try a fun DIY project, this easy mushroom-growing method is a great place to start.
👍 If you found this video helpful, LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and turn on notifications for more simple gardening, homesteading, and food-growing tips every week.
#Mushrooms #GrowMushrooms #Gardening #DIYGarden #HomeGarden #OrganicGardening #Homesteading #FoodGr
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Here is a crop you can grow with no garden, no ground, no sunshine, and no fine weather.
00:07You can grow it in a dark corner of a cellar, in a shed, in a cubby under the stairs,
00:12in
00:13the coldest and gloomiest part of your house where not one green thing would ever survive.
00:19You can grow it in the dead of winter, when the ground outside is frozen hard as iron,
00:24and in six to eight weeks it will feed you and keep feeding you in flush after flush.
00:31I am talking about mushrooms.
00:34And I will tell you plainly, most folks think growing mushrooms is some difficult, fussy
00:40business needing special equipment and a scientist's care.
00:44It is not.
00:45The old people grew mushrooms in cellars and barn corners for generations with nothing but
00:52a box, some well-rotted manure, and patience.
00:56My grandfather kept a mushroom bed in the far corner of the root cellar, past the potato
01:01bins where it was darkest and coolest, and as a boy I thought it was the strangest thing
01:07on the whole farm.
01:09A wooden crate of old manure sitting in the dark, and out of it, every so often, my grandmother
01:15would come up the cellar steps with an apron full of mushrooms in the middle of February,
01:21when there was not a green thing growing for fifty miles in any direction.
01:27That struck me as very near magic, and in a way it is.
01:31Everything else on the place slept through the winter.
01:34That box did not.
01:37He used to say a cellar corner that grows nothing is a corner going to waste, and he was right,
01:43and I have kept a box going ever since.
01:46I am going to show you the whole of it today, start to finish, and you will need almost nothing
01:52you do not already have.
01:54My name is Elias Yoder, and I farm here in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania.
02:00And a mushroom is a curious and wonderful thing, unlike anything else you grow.
02:06It is not a plant at all.
02:08It has no leaves and no roots as a plant has them, and it needs no sunlight, for it does
02:14not eat the light the way a green plant does.
02:18It is its own kind of living thing altogether, neither plant nor animal, and what it does
02:24for its living is eat what is dead and rotting and turn it back into good, rich earth.
02:31Fungi are nature's great recyclers.
02:34That is their whole office in creation, to take what is died and break it down so it can
02:41feed what lives.
02:42And when you grow mushrooms, you are simply putting that ancient work to your own use,
02:48and taking a supper out of it besides.
02:51Before I go on, I will say this once and then leave it be.
02:54I gathered the whole of it, all these old ways of growing your own food, into a book.
03:01You can find it at EliasYoder.com.
03:05The book is the long version.
03:07If you want it, it is there.
03:09I will not mention it again.
03:11Let me tell you what you need, and it is a short list.
03:15First, a box.
03:17A stout cardboard box will do, though I would use two, one inside the other, for a single
03:24one goes soft as it takes up the damp.
03:26Better still is a wooden crate, or a shallow wooden box, which is what I use, lined with
03:33cardboard to keep the mix from falling out the cracks.
03:37Whatever you use, you want it a good six inches deep at the least, and deeper is fine.
03:43If you are using an old crate that has held something before, wash it well with hot, soapy
03:49water, and rinse it and let it dry before you start, so that no stray spore of some wild
03:56fungus is lurking in it to compete with your crop.
04:00Start clean.
04:02Second, and this is the heart of it, you need something rich and rotted for the mushrooms
04:07to feed on.
04:08The very best thing is well-rotted manure, good old cow manure that has aged and composted
04:15down until it is dark and crumbly and sweet-smelling.
04:19And I want to be plain about this, for it matters.
04:23It must be well-rotted.
04:25Do not use fresh manure.
04:28Fresh manure is far too strong and hot and full of things that will burn your mushrooms
04:34and ruin the whole business.
04:36Aged, rotted, mellow manure is what you want, the kind that has sat a good long while.
04:43If you cannot lay hands on good rotted manure, a quality all-purpose potting soil will serve,
04:50or a half-and-half mix of the two, and both do well.
04:55Third, you need mushroom spawn, and this is the one thing you will have to send away for.
05:02Spawn is the seed of the mushroom, if you like.
05:06What it actually is, when you look close at it, is grain, ordinary cereal grain, that
05:12has been run all through with the fine white threads of the mushroom, what folks call the
05:18mycelium, which is the root work of the fungus.
05:23That grain is just a carrier, a way to hand the living threads over to you so you can set
05:29them in your rich manure and let them go to work.
05:33You buy that spawn from a supplier, and it is the one purchase in this whole business.
05:39And last, a bit of newspaper to lay over the top, and something to mist water with.
05:46That is the whole of your outfit.
05:48Now, which mushrooms?
05:50Today, we are growing the common button mushroom, the very same one you buy at the store.
05:57And here is a thing worth knowing that surprised me.
06:01The little white button, the larger white mushroom, and the great flat portobello are all the very
06:08same mushroom.
06:10They are not different kinds at all.
06:12They are just the same mushroom picked at different ages, young, middling, and full grown.
06:20So when you grow buttons and let a few go on growing, you have portobello's.
06:25And the brown chestnut mushroom is a very near cousin of the same family, grown just the
06:32same way.
06:33All of them love good rotted manure.
06:37So let us begin.
06:38Take your rotted manure and get it to the right dampness.
06:43For this matters as much as anything.
06:46You want it damp all through, but not sodden.
06:50And here is the old test for it.
06:52The same squeeze test I have given you for soil before.
06:57Take up a good handful and squeeze it hard in your fist.
07:01You should see just a few drops of water come out between your fingers, a drip or two,
07:07no more.
07:08If water runs out in a stream, it is too wet and you must add dry material.
07:15If nothing at all comes out, it is too dry and wants more water.
07:20A few drops.
07:22That is your mark.
07:23Get your hands right in there and mix it up well, and do not fuss about the manure, for
07:29it is all good, clean, rotted stuff by now and your mushrooms will love it.
07:36Fill your lined box with that damp manure to about two-thirds of its depth and level it
07:42off nice and even.
07:44Now for the spawn.
07:46Take your grain spawn and break it up well with your hands, rolling it between your palms
07:52so the grains come apart from one another rather than staying in clumps.
07:57That way it spreads through the manure evenly and gets going faster all over.
08:04As to how much, more is better here.
08:07The more spawn you put in for the amount of manure, the quicker those white threads run
08:13all through it and the better your chance of success.
08:17For a fast-spreading crop leaves no room for any other stray mold to take hold.
08:24So be generous with it.
08:27Scatter your broken-up spawn over the surface and then mix it into the top few inches of
08:33the manure, working it through so it is well distributed.
08:37Then level it off again.
08:39And then you tuck it in.
08:41Take some newspaper, wet it thoroughly so it is sodden, and lay it right over the top
08:47of the whole box, tucking it down at the sides.
08:51That damp paper does one job and does it well.
08:55It slows the water from drying away and keeps everything underneath snug and evenly moist,
09:03which is what those threads want above all.
09:06Then mark your box with the date and the kind of mushroom, so you know what you have and
09:13when you started.
09:14Now the box goes somewhere dark and airy.
09:18Remember, this crop wants no light at all, which is why a cellar or a shed or a dark cupboard
09:25suits it perfectly.
09:26But it does want air moving, so do not shut it up air tight.
09:32And it wants a mild warmth, a comfortable indoor sort of warmth.
09:37Too hot and you will harm the threads.
09:41Too cold and they will simply stall and sit there doing nothing.
09:45A cool room in the house, a cellar that stays mild, that is the place.
09:51Somewhere between a chilly room and a comfortable one, and out of the light.
09:56Then you wait, and you check it every couple of days.
10:00If the surface looks at all dry, give it a light misting.
10:04Just a spray, no more.
10:06And I want to stress that, nicely moist, never sopping.
10:11Overwatering is the commonest way folks ruin this.
10:14A light misting every couple of days is plenty.
10:18In about ten days to a fortnight, you will see the first fine white threads spreading
10:24through the mix, like the finest cobweb running through the dark manure.
10:29That is the sign that it is taken and all is well, and it is a fine thing to see.
10:34Then, over another week or so, those threads spread and thicken until the whole surface
10:41of your manure has gone near white with them, run through and through.
10:46When you see that, the first stage is done, and you are ready for the last step.
10:51And that last step is the trick that makes the whole thing work, so pay attention here.
10:57Those white threads, left alone in the dark forever, would just go on spreading and never
11:03give you a single mushroom.
11:05They have to be told it is time to fruit, and the way you tell them is by laying on
11:11what
11:11growers call a casing layer, a covering of a different material over the top.
11:17When those threads come up into that new covering and find it, something in them changes, and
11:23instead of just spreading, they begin to make mushrooms.
11:26That covering is the signal.
11:29Without it, you will get white threads and no supper.
11:33Now what to use for the casing?
11:36What you need is something that holds moisture well, but stays light and open so the air can
11:42move through it.
11:43The old growers used a light soil for this.
11:46What I use is a mix of good, sifted leaf mold, which is just fallen leaves rotted down soft,
11:54together with a bit of sifted light loam and some coarse sand to keep it open.
12:00Sifted, spent compost, if it is fine and light, does well too.
12:05What you are after is a covering that stays damp and does not pack down hard.
12:11Mix your casing material and dampen it to that same moisture, damp but not dripping.
12:17Then lay that casing right over the whole white surface, about an inch deep, spread even.
12:23And back it goes to a dark, airy place, only now you want it a touch cooler than before,
12:29the cool end of a comfortable room.
12:32And now you watch close.
12:34From this point on, look at it every day and mist it as needed, for now you want
12:40it damp and the air around it humid.
12:43This is the stretch where care pays.
12:46Keep that casing layer moist and never let it dry out.
12:50Let me tell you the few troubles that come up and what they mean so you are not left guessing.
12:56If after two or three weeks you see no white threads at all, the commonest causes are that
13:02the place is too cold and everything has stalled, or that the mix was too wet and sour and the
13:08spawn drowned in it, or that the manure was not well enough rotted and was still too strong.
13:14Move it somewhere milder and check your dampness.
13:18If you see a green or a black or a slimy growth appearing rather than clean white threads, that
13:25is a stray mold that got in and beat your mushrooms to the food, and the usual cause is a
13:31dirty box
13:32or a mix kept far too wet.
13:35Scrape out a small patch if you catch it early, but if it is spread, best to empty it out
13:40and
13:40start clean, washing everything well.
13:44And if the white threads run beautifully but no mushrooms ever come, then either you have
13:49not put on the casing layer, or the casing has been allowed to dry out, or the place is
13:55too warm for fruiting.
13:56It is nearly always one of those three, and every one of them is easily set right.
14:03And then one day you will see them, little pale buttons pushing up through the casing,
14:08and they grow astonishingly fast once they start.
14:12It is one of the great pleasures of growing your own food, and I do not think it ever gets
14:17old.
14:18Now the harvest, and there is a right way.
14:21I like to take them when they are fully formed, but still closed underneath, before the cap opens
14:27out and the gills show.
14:29That is a mushroom at its best.
14:32And here is the important part, do not cut them off.
14:36If you cut a mushroom, you leave a stump behind in the bed, and that stump sits there and rots,
14:42and the rot can spread into the crop still coming.
14:46So you take hold of the mushroom down at its base, and you gently twist and pull it up whole,
14:52root and all.
14:54Twist and pull, never cut.
14:57Then take a little of the surrounding casing material, and cover over the small hole it
15:02left so that spot stays moist and does not dry out.
15:06And here is the good news that most folks do not expect.
15:11That box is not finished after one picking, not by a long way.
15:16Mushrooms come in what growers call flushes, waves of them, and after one wave finishes,
15:23another will come on.
15:25They do not all come at once, and they will not carpet the whole box in one go.
15:30They come up here and there, so keep going over the box, taking each one as it reaches its size,
15:37and keep misting faithfully, and that box will keep giving you flush after flush for weeks.
15:44Just keep picking and keep it damp. And when at last it runs out of steam and gives no more,
15:51do not throw that spent manure away, for it is now some of the finest stuff you will ever put
15:57on a garden.
15:58All that rotted manure, worked all through by those threads,
16:03has been broken down into a rich and beautiful material, and you empty it out onto your compost heap,
16:10or straight onto your garden beds, where it will feed your vegetables.
16:14And there is the whole circle of it, closed up neat. The manure from the animal fed the mushroom.
16:21The mushroom fed you, and what is left over goes back to feed the garden that feeds you again.
16:28Nothing is wasted anywhere along the line. That is how the old farms worked, every single thing
16:37feeding into the next, and it is a way of living I wish more folks understood.
16:42Let me say a plain word about who profits from you not knowing this, and it is no dark scheme.
16:50Mushrooms are dear at the store, some of the dearest food by weight in the whole market,
16:56and the growing of them has been made to seem a mysterious and technical business
17:01best left to specialists. There is money in that mystery. There is no money at all in a man learning
17:08that a wooden box, a barrow of old rotted manure, a dark cellar corner, and one purchase of spawn,
17:16will give him mushrooms for weeks. Nobody earns a wage teaching you that.
17:23So the knowing of it slipped away into the specialist trade, and the ordinary body came
17:28to believe it was beyond him, when his own great-grandmother very likely grew them in the cellar.
17:35It is not hidden. It is only not taught, because the teaching profits no one but you.
17:42The money runs toward the store and away from the cellar, and it always has.
17:48So there is the whole of it. Line a stout box. Fill it with well-rotted manure,
17:55damped to where a squeeze gives you a few drops. Break up your spawn, and mix it through the top
18:01few
18:02inches. Cover it with wet newspaper, and set it somewhere dark, airy, and mildly warm. Mist it lightly
18:11every couple of days. When the white threads have run all through and gone near white on top,
18:17lay on an inch of damp casing to tell it to fruit, and move it somewhere a touch cooler.
18:24Then mist daily, and watch. Twist and pull your mushrooms at their best. Cover the holes,
18:31and keep going for flush after flush. And when it is spent, give it to your garden.
18:38Tell me down in the comments what county you garden in, and whether you have ever grown mushrooms
18:44before, or whether this is your first. And if there is a mushroom you have always wanted to grow,
18:50or if your own family grew them in a cellar the old way, put that down there,
18:55for I would dearly like to hear it. Next time out here, I want to show you how to build
19:00a proper
19:01compost pile the old way, layer upon layer, for that spent mushroom manure I just spoke of
19:08is bound straight for the pile, and the pile is the beating heart of every single thing I grow.
19:15It is past time I showed you how to build one right. But for now, remember this. There is food
19:21to be had
19:22in the dark corners of your house, in the dead of winter, out of what another creature left behind.
19:28Nothing on a well-run place is ever truly waste. It is only food that has not yet found its
19:35next mouth.
19:36The people who built this country with their hands knew that, and we are only just starting to remember.
19:42...
19:42...
19:42...
19:42...
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