VOA健康报道2023--How to Grow Mushrooms Indoors

How to Grow Mushrooms Indoors

Mushrooms are not only tasty. They are also filled with healthy nutrients¹, like calcium² and potassium, and vitamins, like D and B.

Some people not only enjoy eating mushrooms. They also like to collect them in the wild. But that is not for everyone. While some people are knowledgeable³ enough to collect mushrooms in the woods and eat them, many people are not. Eating the wrong mushroom can make you sick or even ... dead.

Therefore, buying them is the easier and safer choice. However, there is another one: You can grow mushrooms yourself inside your own home.

In a recent article for The Associated Press, plant expert Jessica Damiano explains there are two ways to do this. You can buy a set of materials from a garden store called a "grow kit⁴" or you can put them together yourself.

Grow kits⁵

Grow kits are a great way for beginners to try growing mushrooms. These grow kits include partly-grown mushroom starters, called "spawn⁶." The spawn is set in soil and is contained in its own grow box. You put the spawn in water overnight. Then you return it to the box and open it to fresh air. Spray it with water two times a day.

Within two or three weeks, you will be eating mushrooms with more on the way. Damiano says it is a fun, easy activity. And people will likely ask you about it.

Putting them together yourself

If you are more serious about growing mushrooms and want a larger harvest, Damiano says it costs less to put the materials together yourself. It is easy, she says.

For starters, you will need a wooden, metal, or plastic box or container. It needs to be about 15 centimeters deep and large enough to hold your harvest.

You will also need a growing substance -- soil mixed with compost and other materials. The materials depend on the mushrooms. White button mushrooms grow better in a half-and-half mix of compost and well-rotted manure⁷. Oyster⁸ mushrooms do well in oat or wheat straw. Shiitakes, another kind of mushroom, like sawdust.

Finally, you will need fungal spores¹⁰: Think of them as seeds. You can purchase these online or at specialty¹¹ stores.

Clean your hands well. Avoid bringing bacteria, mold, or non-mushroom fungi¹² into the box. Fill the box with your growing substance (soil and materials) leaving about 25 millimeters at the top. Put the spores evenly over the soil substance and gently wet it. Spray it with water twice daily. Keep it wet but not too wet.

To grow quickly and effectively, the spore⁹-topped soil material should be kept away from direct sunlight. It should be kept at or close to 21 degrees Celsius¹³. If you cannot keep a room in your home at that temperature, set the box or tray on a heating pad set to 21 degrees but no higher (warmer temperatures can kill the spores). A soil thermometer can help make sure the soil does not get too warm.

Put a piece of cloth lightly over the top of the box to keep moisture in. But do not seal it tightly.

Soon, a white coating will form on the surface of the soil. That is mycelium, a network of fungal threads from which your mushrooms will grow.

When the soil is completely coated with mycelium, top it off with a bit more of the soil mixture. Remove any heating elements. And move the tray to a cooler spot – 12 to 15 degrees Celsius.

Mushrooms usually grow, or "fruit," within a week or two. They nearly double in size daily until they are finished growing. Depending on the kind of mushroom, they will be ready to harvest, with their tops fully¹⁴ open. That will be in roughly three to four weeks. Use a sharp, clean knife to cut them at soil level to avoid disrupting nearby growth.

Words in This Story

spray – v. to scatter¹⁵ or apply lightly and in small amounts

well-rotted – v. to decay due to the action of fungi or bacteria to high degree

manure – n. bodily waste from birds and animals in stables and barnyards with or without litter

fungal – adj. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of fungi

spores – n. a primitive¹⁶ usually unicellular often environmentally resistant¹⁷ dormant¹⁸ or reproductive body produced by plants, fungi, and some microorganisms and capable of development into a new individual either directly or after fusion¹⁹ with another spore

mold – n. a superficial often woolly growth produced especially on damp or decaying organic matter or on living organisms by a fungus²⁰

pad – n. a thin flat mat or cushion

moisture – n. liquid diffused or condensed in relatively small quantity

1 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

3 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

4 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

5 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

6 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

7 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

8 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

9 spore   

n.(无花植物借以繁殖的)孢子，芽胞

参考例句：

• A spore can quickly spread and form a mould.一个孢子能迅速蔓延并形成霉。
• The cation penetrates the spore.这种阳离子能透入孢子。

10 spores   

n.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的名词复数 )v.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• Spores form a lipid membrane during the process of reproducing. 孢于在生殖过程中形成类脂膜。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器

11 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

12 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

13 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

16 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

17 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

18 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

19 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

20 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。