Before her passing, my mother took upon the hobby of photographing certain types of mushrooms, only capturing a handful of types. If she could see this book, she would definitely be most impressed. While harvesting, the cap must be twisted off gently. For this, it is held gently with the forefingers, pressed against the soil and then twisted off. The base of the stalk wherein mycelial threads and soil particles cling must be chopped off. Some farmers harvest button mushrooms by chopping them at the soil level. Average Yield

The first step for growing mushrooms is composting which is done in the open. Compost yard for button mushroom cultivation is prepared on clean, raised platforms made of concrete. They must be raised so that the run-off water does not get accumulated at the heap. Although the composting is done in the open, they must be covered to protect from rain. Compost prepared is of two types, viz. natural and synthetic compost. The compost is prepared in trays of dimensions 100 X 50 X 15 cm. Synthetic Compost for Mushroom Farming The Cantharellus cibarius is a common and popular mushroom in Europe. It is edible and highly palatable. It is very rarely infested by worms or larvae, has a unique appearance, and when rotting, the decomposed parts are easily distinguishable and separable from those that are edible.Mushroom farming in India is one of the most profitable agribusiness that can be started with minimum investment and space. Mushroom farming in India is growing steadily as an alternative source of income. Here is the complete guidance on paddy straw mushroom, oyster mushroom and button mushroom cultivation in India. Yet as amazing as mushrooms are, they are just the above-ground extensions of the fungi below. The fungal world is a wild and fascinating place, and has shaped our environment in ways that we are only beginning to understand. The eight books below explore the Fungi Kingdom, sketch out its relationship to the human world, and reveal its paramount significance to life on this zany planet. Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The average production of button mushroom is 3-4 Kg per tray. In favorable conditions the yield can go upto 6 Kgs as well. Storage

Each mushroom named in the book has identifying features, notes, and their edibility. This should not be taken as the ultimate guide to whether you should consume them, as there are variables in some of them. Even touching certain ones may cause health concerns. Horse dung, wheat straw, poultry manure and gypsum are the ingredients. Wheat straw must be chopped finely. Horse dung must not be mixed with that of other animals. In addition, it must be preferably freshly collected and not exposed to rain. Once the ingredients are mixed, they are uniformly spread on the composting yard. Water is sprinkled on the spread surface to wet the straws sufficiently. It is heaped and turned like that for synthetic manure. Owing to fermentation, the temperature of the heap increases and it gives an odor due to ammonia escaping. This is an indication that the compost has opened. The heap is turned every 3 days and sprinkled with water. During the 3rd and 4th turning, 25 Kg gypsum to per ton of compost is added. 10mL malathion to 5L water is sprayed in to the heap during the final turning. Filling the Compost into Trays Although this book is mostly about wild mushrooming, cultivated species provide thebenefit of availability and certainty about identity. Wild-foraged species can be substitutedfor commercial species found in your local supermarket, in many of the recipes. In India, the mushroom of this variety is grown on paddy straw. Well dried, long straws are tied together in bundles of 8-10 cm in diameter. They are then cut to uniform length of 70-80 cm and soaked in water for 12-16 hours. Excess water is then allowed to drain off later. Preparing the Bed

Scleroderma citrinum and immature Amanitas may resemble immature puffballs. The puffballs can be identified by cutting one in half and looking for a dark reticulated gleba or the articulated, nonhomogeneous structures of a gilled mushroom, respectively. Little brown mushrooms [ edit ] Inocybe lacera is a typical 'little brown mushroom', and is easily identifiable only by distinctive microscopic features.