23 chapters
4 hour read
Selected Chapters
23 chapters
PREFACE
PREFACE
Mushrooms and their extensive and profitable culture should concern every one. For home consumption they are a healthful and grateful food, and for market, when successfully grown, they become a most profitable crop. We can have in America the best market in the world for fresh mushrooms; the demand for them is increasing, and the supply has always been inadequate. The price for them here is more than double that paid in any other country, and we have no fear of foreign competition, for all atte
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
THOSE WHO SHOULD GROW MUSHROOMS. Market Gardeners. —The mushroom is a highly prized article of food which can be as easily grown as many other vegetable products of the soil—and with as much pleasure and profit. Below it is shown, in particular, that this peculiar plant is singularly well adapted to the conditions that surround many classes of persons, and by whom the mushroom might become a standard crop for home use, the city market, or both. It is directly in their line of business; is a wint
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
GROWING MUSHROOMS IN CELLARS. Underground Cellars. —Mushrooms require a uniform moderately low temperature and moist atmosphere, and will not thrive where draughts, or sudden fluctuations of temperature or moisture prevail. Therefore an underground cellar is the best of all structures in which to grow mushrooms. The cellar is everybody's mushroom house. Cellars are under dwellings, barns, and often under other out-buildings. These cellars are imperative for domestic purposes, for storing apples,
27 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
GROWING MUSHROOMS IN MUSHROOM HOUSES. A mushroom house is a building erected purposely for mushroom culture. It may be wholly or partly above ground, and built of wood, brick, or stone, and extend to any desired dimensions. But a few general principles should be borne in mind. Mushrooms in houses are a winter and not a summer crop, and they are impatient of sudden changes of temperature and of a hot or arid atmosphere. Therefore, build the houses where they will be warm and well-sheltered in win
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
GROWING MUSHROOMS IN SHEDS. Any one who has a snug, warm shed, may have a good mushroom house, but it is imperative that the floor should be dry, and the roof water-tight. Of course a close shed, as a tool-house or a carriage-house, is better than an open shed, but even a shed that is open on the south side, if closely walled on the other sides, can also be made of good use for mushroom beds. While open sheds are good enough for beds that yield their crop before Christmas, they are ill-adapted f
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
GROWING MUSHROOMS IN GREENHOUSES. Any one who has a greenhouse can grow mushrooms in it. And it does not matter what kind of greenhouse it is, whether a fruit house, a flower house, or a vegetable house, it is available for mushrooms. One of the advantages of raising mushrooms in a greenhouse is that they grow to perfection in parts of the greenhouse that are nearly worthless for other purposes; for instance, under the stages, where nothing else grows well, although rhubarb and asparagus might b
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
GROWING MUSHROOMS IN THE FIELDS. Under suitable conditions we can grow mushrooms easily and abundantly in the open fields, and the planting of the spawn is all the trouble they will cause us. During the late summer and fall months mushrooms often appear spontaneously and in great quantity in our open pastures, but in their natural condition they are an uncertain crop, as in one year they may occur in the greatest abundance, and in the next perhaps none can be found in the fields in which they ha
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
MANURE FOR MUSHROOM BEDS. In order to grow mushrooms successfully and profitably a supply of fresh horse manure is needed, and this should be the very best that is made, either at home or bought from other stables. The questions of manure and spawn are the most important that we have to deal with. Very few make their own spawn, as it is bought and accepted upon its good looks,—often rather deceptive,—but the manure business is entirely in our own hands, and success with it depends absolutely upo
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
PREPARATION OF THE MANURE. Get as good a quality of fresh horse manure as you can, and in sufficient quantity for the amount of bed or beds you wish to make. Next get it into suitable condition for making up into beds. This can be done out of doors or under cover of a shed, but preferably in the shed. Out of doors the manure is under the drying influence of sun and wind, and it is also liable to become over-wetted by rain, but under cover we have full control of its condition. All the manure for
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
MAKING UP THE MUSHROOM BEDS. The place in the cellar, shed, house, or elsewhere, where we intend to grow the mushrooms, should be in readiness as soon as the manure has been well prepared and is in proper condition for use. The bed or beds should be made up at once. The thickness of the beds depends a good deal upon circumstances, such as the quality of the manure,—whether it is plain horse manure, or manure and loam mixed together,—or whether the beds are to be made in heated or unheated buildi
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
MUSHROOM SPAWN. What is mushroom spawn? Is it a seed or a root? Do you plant it or sow it, or how do you prepare it? are some of the questions asked me now and again. To the general public there seems to be some great mystery surrounding this spawn question; in fact, it appears to be the chief enigma connected with mushroom-growing. Now, the truth is, there is no mystery at all about the matter. What practical mushroom growers call spawn, botanists term mycelium. The spawn is the true mushroom p
26 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
SPAWNING THE BEDS. After the mushroom bed is made up it should, within a few days, warm to a temperature of 110° to 120°. Carefully observe this, and never spawn a bed when the heat is rising, or when it is warmer than 100°, but always when it is on the decline and under 90°. In this there is perfect safety. Have a ground thermometer and keep it plunged in the bed; by pulling it out and looking at it one can know exactly the temperature of the bed. Have a few straight, smooth stakes, like short
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
LOAM FOR THE BEDS. In growing mushrooms we need loam for casing the beds after they are spawned, topdressing the bearing beds when they first show signs of exhaustion, filling up the cavities in the surface of the beds caused by the removal of the mushroom stumps, and for mixing with manure to form the beds. The selection of soil depends a good deal on what kind of soil we have at hand, or can readily obtain. The best kind of loam for every purpose in connection with mushroom-growing is rich, fr
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
EARTHING OVER THE BEDS. This is an important operation in mushroom-growing, and the one for which loam is indispensable. It consists in covering the manure beds, after they have been spawned, with a coating, or casing as it is more commonly called, of loam. The spawn spreads in the manure and rises up into the casing, where most of the young mushrooms develop, and all find a firm foothold. The loam also contributes to their sustenance. And it protects the manure, hence the spawn, from sudden flu
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
TOPDRESSING WITH LOAM. In beds that are in full bearing or a little past their best we often find multitudes of very small or what we call "pinhead" mushrooms, that seem to be sitting right on the top of the loam, or clumps that have been raised a little above the surface by growing in bunches, or what we term "rocks"; now a topdressing of finely sifted fresh loam, about one-fourth to one-half inch thick, spread all over the bed, will help these mushrooms materially without doing any of them har
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
THE PROPER TEMPERATURE. The best temperature at which to keep the mushroom house or cellar is 55° to 57°. But much depends upon the method of growing the esculent; the construction of the house or cellar, and other circumstances. Mushrooms can be successfully grown in buildings in which the temperature may be as low as 20° or as high as 65°. By covering the beds well with hay or other protecting material they can be kept warm, even in sharp frosty weather, as the London market gardeners do with
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
WATERING MUSHROOM BEDS. If the beds get dry they should be watered, for mushrooms will not grow well in dry beds or in a dry atmosphere. Watering is an operation requiring much care. In properly-made beds the manure should remain moist enough from first to last, and whatever dryness is evident should be in the loam casing of the beds and the atmosphere. In all artificially heated mushroom houses the beds and atmosphere are apt to get too dry at one time or another; in underground houses or cella
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
GATHERING AND MARKETING MUSHROOMS. This is an important point in the cultivation of this esculent, and should be attended to with painstaking discretion. When mushrooms are fit to pick depends upon several conditions; for instance, whether for market or for home use, and if for the latter, whether they are wanted for soups or stews. For fresh and attractive appearance and best appreciation in the market, pick them when they are plump and fresh and just before the frill connecting the cap with th
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
RE-INVIGORATING OLD BEDS. There is a wide-spread impression among horticulturists that worn out beds which have ceased to bear may, by means of watering and certain stimulants and warming up again, be so re-invigorated as to start into full bearing, and yield a second and a good crop. I have given this question much painstaking and practical consideration, and have absolutely failed to revive a "dead" bed. I have not been able to do it myself, and any instance of its having been done has never c
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
INSECT AND OTHER ENEMIES. The mushroom grower has his full share of insects to contend with, and in order to overcome them one should acquaint himself with them, and know what they are, what they do, whence they came, and how to destroy them. One should study the diseases and mishaps of his crop and endeavor to know their cause. If we know the cause of failing health in plants, even in mushrooms, we can probably stop or devise a remedy for the disease or means to prevent its recurrence, and if w
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
GROWING MUSHROOMS IN RIDGES OUT OF DOORS AROUND LONDON. In the preface to Kitchen and Market Gardening (London) is the following: "Mr. W. Falconer and Mr. C. W. Shaw made, in connection with the London Garden , what we believe to be the first attempt at long and systematic observation of the best culture as it is in London market gardens." This is mentioned to indicate that the writer speaks on this subject from experience. And although it is now seventeen years since I became disconnected with
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
MUSHROOM GROWING IN THE PARIS CAVES. In caves and subterranean passages underneath the city of Paris and its environs, thousands of tons of mushrooms are artificially produced every year. These underground caves and tunnels are abandoned quarries from which white building stone and plaster have been excavated, and as the veins of stone permeated through the bowels of the earth, 40 to 125 feet deep, so were they quarried, and the blocks brought to the surface through vertical shafts. It is these
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
COOKING MUSHROOMS. Fresh mushrooms, well cooked and well served, are one of the most delicious of all vegetables. If we grow our own mushrooms we can gather them in their finest form, cook them as we please, and enjoy them in their most delightful condition. If we are dependent upon the fields we should be careful to gather only such mushrooms as are young, plump, and fresh, and reject all that are old or discolored, or betray any signs of the presence of disease or insects. And in the case of s
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter