[ti:How to Grow Mushrooms Indoors]
[al:Health & Lifestyle]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2023-12-11]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Mushrooms are not only tasty. 
[00:03.84]They are also filled with healthy nutrients, like calcium and potassium, and vitamins, like D and B.
[00:14.67]Some people not only enjoy eating mushrooms.
[00:18.61]They also like to collect them in the wild.
[00:22.39]But that is not for everyone.
[00:25.73]While some people are knowledgeable enough to collect mushrooms in the woods and eat them, many people are not. 
[00:35.58]Eating the wrong mushroom can make you sick or even ... dead.
[00:42.40]Therefore, buying them is the easier and safer choice. 
[00:48.01]However, there is another one: You can grow mushrooms yourself inside your own home.
[00:57.45]In a recent article for The Associated Press, plant expert Jessica Damiano explains there are two ways to do this.
[01:08.21]You can buy a set of materials from a garden store called a "grow kit" or you can put them together yourself.
[01:19.07]Grow kits are a great way for beginners to try growing mushrooms.
[01:25.78]These grow kits include partly-grown mushroom starters, called "spawn." 
[01:33.04]The spawn is set in soil and is contained in its own grow box. 
[01:39.51]You put the spawn in water overnight.
[01:43.14]Then you return it to the box and open it to fresh air. 
[01:48.11]Spray it with water two times a day.
[01:52.52]Within two or three weeks, you will be eating mushrooms with more on the way. 
[01:58.83]Damiano says it is a fun, easy activity. And people will likely ask you about it.
[02:07.21]If you are more serious about growing mushrooms and want a larger harvest, Damiano says it costs less to put the materials together yourself. It is easy, she says.
[02:25.12]For starters, you will need a wooden, metal, or plastic box or container.
[02:33.19]It needs to be about 15 centimeters deep and large enough to hold your harvest.
[02:41.08]You will also need a growing substance -- soil mixed with compost and other materials. 
[02:49.27]The materials depend on the mushrooms. 
[02:54.37]White button mushrooms grow better in a half-and-half mix of compost and well-rotted manure.
[03:03.85]Oyster mushrooms do well in oat or wheat straw.
[03:10.10]Shiitakes, another kind of mushroom, like sawdust.
[03:15.62]Finally, you will need fungal spores: Think of them as seeds.
[03:22.92]You can purchase these online or at specialty stores.
[03:28.95]Clean your hands well. 
[03:31.47]Avoid bringing bacteria, mold, or non-mushroom fungi into the box. 
[03:38.51]Fill the box with your growing substance (soil and materials) leaving about 25 millimeters at the top. 
[03:48.94]Put the spores evenly over the soil substance and gently wet it. 
[03:56.20]Spray it with water twice daily.
[03:59.10]Keep it wet but not too wet.
[04:03.25]To grow quickly and effectively, the spore-topped soil material should be kept away from direct sunlight.
[04:14.26]It should be kept at or close to 21 degrees Celsius.
[04:20.27]If you cannot keep a room in your home at that temperature, set the box or tray on a heating pad set to 21 degrees but no higher (warmer temperatures can kill the spores).
[04:37.01]A soil thermometer can help make sure the soil does not get too warm.
[04:45.08]Put a piece of cloth lightly over the top of the box to keep moisture in. 
[04:52.51]But do not seal it tightly.
[04:55.64]Soon, a white coating will form on the surface of the soil. 
[05:02.18]That is mycelium, a network of fungal threads from which your mushrooms will grow.
[05:11.20]When the soil is completely coated with mycelium, top it off with a bit more of the soil mixture. 
[05:20.16]Remove any heating elements. 
[05:23.77]And move the tray to a cooler spot - 12 to 15 degrees Celsius.
[05:31.14]Mushrooms usually grow, or "fruit," within a week or two.
[05:37.79]They nearly double in size daily until they are finished growing.
[05:43.62]Depending on the kind of mushroom, they will be ready to harvest, with their tops fully open.
[05:52.55]That will be in roughly three to four weeks. 
[05:57.56]Use a sharp, clean knife to cut them at soil level to avoid disrupting nearby growth.
[06:07.50]I'm Anna Matteo.