Mushroom Growing Media

A general growing medium for rice mushroom is rice stem or Jerami called in Indonesia. Otherwise this mushroom can grow in other media like cotton waste, sorghum, maize, tobacco, vegetable waste, Saw dust, coconut fiber, banana leaf and many others.

The production of mushroom cultivation on cotton waste can produce higher than rice mushroom, but this media is more expensive than general media like rice stem. Special room (in Indonesia called Kumbung) for cultivation this mushroom still used in Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippine.

As mushroom expert from Shanghai - China, button mushroom can absorb carbohydrate and minerals from decomposed grass. Grass especially from rice stem contains many of mineral salt (N, P, K and others) and as long as fermentation process, organic contain, carbohydrate and mineral can absorb in huge number.

After the grass or rice stem spoiled fast, then organic contains are available and ready to use by mushroom for their growth. Even many media can use for mushroom cultivation, but be considered on several factors for using and should intense to this: The product result should as good as using rice stem for cultivating this mushroom.

Medium raw material should be cheap, easy to get, and always available.

Rice stem treatment for outside room cultivation. If using rice stem, tie the stem for about 1.5 kg in each become one unit. Without open the tie, those dry tie is submerge into the water. As on literature water user for this purpose is not mix with other substance, but as practice in Cilamaya – Subang, the water is mixed with sodium carbonate about 1%, where is better, we must try ourselves for this one. After wet all rice stem, arrange in special base like the drawing below:

After the first layer piling of rice mushroom then pour with solution of brand mixture (bekatul), this mixture is made from 46 kg brand and 4 gallon water. This mixture is enough for about 183 kg dry rice stem. This procedure is repeated until the height of pile about 10 cm. Then this piling is pressed when arrange, cover it with plastic cover in order keep high humidity.

This process need 3 days to 4 days, depend on the weather. Temperature inside the piling will increase until 50⁰C in 24 hours. After 3 days the color of stem will change to brown, temperature will increase until 65⁰C. On this temperature contaminant organism should be died, especially Coprinus spore that come from the air. If the yellow liquid start out from the piling, means that fermentation done and ready to spread the media in the cultivation place.