Let's Grow Mushrooms!

Our 2 DVD video on mushroom cultivation gives clear, concise and easy to follow instructions to help you get started growing mushrooms while avoiding common mistakes. Chapters in the mushroom growing DVD include substrate preparation, agar and Petri dish work, master culture slants, straw pasteurization, mushroom cloning, spore printing, syringe making and much more. View free low-resolution samples of our RR Video DVD, which will help you learn how to start growing Oyster, Shiitake, Reishi, and many other gourmet and medicinal mushrooms!



Disk 1:

Brown Rice Flour:
Disk 1 begins with the easiest method of all to get started growing mushrooms. No pressure cooker is required. The only ingredients needed are brown rice, vermiculite, and �½ pint wide mouth mason jars. Full step-by-step instructions are included on mixing, sterilizing, terrarium building, and fruiting parameters to show you how to grow mushrooms. Click the image to the right for a low-resolution preview.

Grain Preparation:
This chapter takes you through the entire process of preparing rye grains for growing mushrooms. Includes complete easy to follow instructions on obtaining the perfect moisture content, plus lid preparation with several types of filters to provide gas exchange explained in detail. Full and complete instructions on how to properly sterilize your grains in a pressure cooker ensure success. Click on the image to the left for a low resolution preview.

Grain-to-Grain Transfers:
This chapter shows you how to turn one jar of rye or other grain spawn into ten more, exponentially expanding your mycelium for mushroom cultivation. Includes a detailed explanation of sterile procedure, and the appropriate hand positions, clothing, surgical masks, and other items necessary to achieve the highest success rate.

Rye Grass Seed:
An explanation and demonstration of the method this author uses to prepare rye grass seed for growing mushrooms. Rye grass seed is traditionally used with sclerotia producing species, but also makes an excellent medium for expansion of mycelium and for spawning to bulk substrates such as manure, straw, or sawdust-woodchips.

Straw Pasteurization:
Follow along as we prepare a batch of straw for growing mushrooms. Full instructions on chopping, pre-soaking with dish washing soap, and heat pasteurization. This batch of straw is the one used in the following chapter to build the laundry basket of Oyster mushrooms which graces the front cover of the DVD set. Click on the image to the right for a brief low-resolution preview of this chapter.

Straw Projects:
Follow along as Marc Keith prepares, and then inoculates the laundry basket of straw used to grow Oyster mushrooms that is pictured to the left and also on the cover of our 2 DVD set. Full step-by-step instructions are given and you'll also see a demonstration of straw log construction and fruiting. Click on the laundry basket picture to your left for a brief, low-resolution preview of this section.

Manure Substrates:
A detailed step-by-step procedure for preparing horse manure to grow mushrooms. Includes an easy to understand method for determining �field capacity� moisture content. Click on the image to the right for a brief low-resolution preview of this section.



Disk 2:

Agar-Petri Dishes:
This chapter takes you through the procedure of mixing up your agar, selecting a suitable container for sterilization and pouring, as well as how to provide a filter in the lid so that the agar doesn't get contaminated before you even get a chance to pour your Petri dishes. You'll learn more about sterile procedures, working with a laminar flow hood, and correct hand position to use when pouring your plates. Click the picture to your right to watch a short preview.

Strain Isolation:
In this chapter, the fun begins. You'll learn how to take a mushroom sporeprint, or a few drops from a spore syringe in order to generate many isolated strains, which you will then grow out through the fruiting stage to determine the ones that have the qualities you're seeking. The best strains will be transferred to master culture slants, as you'll learn to do in the next chapter. Click the picture to your left for a short low-resolution preview.

Master Culture Slants:
This chapter covers preparing, inoculating, and recovering mycelium from master culture slants in test tubes. This feature is for advanced growers who have isolated or cloned strains that they wish to store long-term under refrigeration. Cold storage allows you to grow mushrooms from your isolated strains, or clones from the wild for many years to come.

Cloning:
Follow along as Marc demonstrates how to take mushroom tissue from a fruit body and transfer it to agar in a Petri dish to grow out. Once isolated from contaminants, this mycelium can then be used to inoculate future projects and/or transferred to master culture slants for long-term storage. Click the picture to your left for a short, low-resolution sample clip.

Sporeprinting and Syringe Making:
A short demonstration of the procedure for taking sporeprints, and then using them to make spore syringes for the inoculation of grain spawn or brown rice flour cakes.

Sawdust-Woodchips:
Watch as Marc prepares a batch of supplemented hardwood sawdust and woodchips for growing mushrooms. The addition of wheat bran, gypsum, and Marc's own method of using tyvek sleeves in the filter patch spawn bags to prevent contaminants from entering is shown in detail.