A detailed and comprehensive guide for growing and using gourmet and medicinal mushrooms commercially or at home. “Absolutely the best book in the world on how to grow diverse and delicious mushrooms.”—David Arora, author of Mushrooms Demystified With precise growth parameters for thirty-one mushroom species, this bible of mushroom cultivation includes gardening tips, state-of-the-art production techniques, realistic advice for laboratory and growing room construction, tasty mushroom recipes, and an invaluable troubleshooting guide. More than 500 photographs, illustrations, and charts clearly identify each stage of cultivation, and a twenty-four-page color insert spotlights the intense beauty of various mushroom species. Whether you’re an ecologist, a chef, a forager, a pharmacologist, a commercial grower, or a home gardener—this indispensable handbook will get you started, help your garden succeed, and make your mycological landscapes the envy of the neighborhood.

"Offering clear and comprehensive instructions for low-tech growing for a range of budgets, interests, and scales, this book offers practical inspiration and a sense that "hey, I can do this!" –— DANIELLE STEVENSON, owner, DIY Fungi DIY Mushroom Cultivation is full of proven, reliable, low-cost techniques for home-scale cultivation that eliminate the need for a clean-air lab space to grow various mushrooms and their mycelium. Beautiful full-color photos and step-by-step instructions accompany a foundation of mushroom biology and ecology to support a holistic understanding of the practice. Growing techniques are applicable year-round, for any space from house to apartment, and for any climate, budget, or goal. Techniques include: Setting up a home growing space Inexpensive, simple DIY equipment Culture creation from mushroom tissue or spores Growing and using liquid cultures and grain spawn Growing mushrooms on waste streams Indoor fruiting Outdoor mushroom gardens and logs Harvesting, processing, tinctures, and cooking. Whether you hunt mushrooms or dream about growing and working with them but feel constrained by a small living space, DIY Mushroom Cultivation is the ideal guide for getting started in the fascinating and delicious world of fungiculture.

Mushrooms are the health food of the world. These are that fast growing basidiomycetous fungi which produce fleshy fruit bodies. They are rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals, so they are consumed as energy rich food. Mushroom has been attracting attention of mankind since ancient times and use of mushroom, as food is as old as human civilization. Mushrooms are superior to many vegetables and beans in their nutritive value. It is very rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Fresh mushrooms contain about 85% water and 3.2% protein. But dried mushrooms water content is low and protein level is high as 34 to 44% and the fat content is less than 0.3%. There are about 100 species of edible mushrooms all over the world. But only three of them are cultivated in India which are Agaricus bisporus, Volvariella volvacea and pleurotus sajor caju. Unfortunately, it is realized that mushrooms did not receive universal acceptance over the years since a number of naturally growing mushrooms are poisonous. Now the situation has been changed because the cultivated edible mushrooms are totally safe for human consumption. Mushroom cultivation fits in very well with sustainable farming and has several advantages: it uses agricultural waste products, a high production per surface area can be obtained, after picking; the spent substrate is still a good soil conditioner. They have less carbohydrate so they are believed to be suitable for diabetic patients. Fresh mushrooms have very limited life and hence they need to be consumed within few hours. But processing and canning increases their shelf life to few months. Osmotic dehydration is one of the important methods of processing mushroom which involves drying technology of mushroom. Mushrooms are very popular in most of the developed countries and they are becoming popular in many developing countries like India. Applications and market for mushrooms is growing rapidly in India because of their nice aroma, nutritious values, subtle flavour and many special tastes. Mushroom cultivation has been declared as a major thrust area by Government of India. Mushroom dish is a common item in all the big hotels. Mushroom production has increased many folds during the recent past. Mushrooms have found a definite place in the food consumption habits of common masses and there is a constant demand for it throughout the year. Some of the fundamentals of the book are nutritive value of edible mushrooms, medicinal value of mushrooms, advantages of mushrooms, symptoms of mushroom poisoning, morphology of common edible mushrooms, classification of fungi a brief survey, chemical composition, anti nutritional factors and shelf life of oyster mushroom , osmotic dehydration characteristics of button mushrooms, mushroom cultivation, cultivation of white button mushroom (agaricus bisporus), actors determining the amount of spawn needed, fungidues for mushroom diseases insectides for mushroom pets etc. The present book contains cultivation, processing, dehydration, preservation and canning of various species of mushrooms. It is resourceful book for agriculturists, researchers, agriculture universities, consultants etc. TAGS Button Mushroom Cultivation, Button Mushroom Production, Cultivation of Agaricus Bitorquis, cultivation of button mushroom and its processing, Cultivation of Oyster Mushrooms, Cultivation of Stropharia Rugoso Annulata, Cultivation of White Button Mushroom, Cultivation Technology of Paddy Straw Mushroom, Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms, Edible fungi (mushrooms), Food Processing Industry in India, Get started in small-scale food manufacturing, Growing Mushrooms: How to Grow Mushrooms, how to grow mushroom farm, how to grow oyster mushroom, How to Start a Food Production Business, How to Start a Mushroom Production Business, How to Start Food Processing Industry in India, How to Start Mushroom Cultivation, How to start mushroom farming business, How to Start Mushroom Packaging, How to Start Mushroom Processing, How to Start Mushroom Processing Industry in India, indian mushroom recipe, Most Profitable Food Processing Business Ideas, Most Profitable Mushroom Processing Business Ideas, Mushroom business profit, Mushroom Business: Profitable Small Scale Manufacturing, Mushroom cultivation business plan pdf, Mushroom farming for profit, Mushroom Farming: Profitable Business Opportunity, mushroom growing business plan, Mushroom packing materials, Mushroom Processing Industry in India, Mushroom Production Technology, Mushroom Production: Beginning Farmers, mushroom-based packaging, new small scale ideas in Mushroom processing industry, Nutritional Facts and Uses of Edible Mushrooms, oyster mushroom cultivation, Paddy Straw Mushroom Cultivation: Mushroom Farming, poison mushroom identification, production of paddy straw mushroom, Setting up your Mushroom cultivation and processing Business, Small Scale Mushroom Cultivation: Mushroom Business, Starting a Mushroom Farming Business, Starting a Mushroom Processing Business, types of edible mushroom, White Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) Production, White button mushroom on compost

The shiitake is a highly prized food, yet few are aware of its its important role in traditional Chinese medicine where it been used as a folk treatment for colds, measles, and bronchial inflammations. But recent studies also indicate its usefulness in lowering blood cholesterol, bolstering the immune system, and increasing the body's ability to ward off tumors, viral infections, and chronic fatigue.