SUBSTRATE OPTIONS

In the below sections I will be looking at substrates that are suitable for the Pleurotus (oyster mushroom) varieties and the Ganoderma Lingzhi (Reishi or Lingzhi Mushroom) varieties. Hardwood Woodchip/Sawdust

Hardwood is the most obvious material to use as it is the natural substrate for the white rot mushrooms in question. According to Freshcap Mushrooms (Freshcap Mushrooms, 2019) gourmet mushrooms do not grow well on softwoods, so it is important to make sure that any sawdust used is from a hardwood. They also recommend adding a nitrogen supplement such as bran to add more nutrients to the substrate. As I would be growing mushrooms for the mycelium composite rather than for the

fruiting bodies, I don’t think this would be as necessary. Coffee grounds could potentially be used as a supplement with the advantage of coming from a waste stream. Figure 5 highlights some of the best hardwood varieties for different mushrooms. Some possible waste stream sources for this substrate are offcuts from timber yards, sawdust from workshops and joinery studios, and discarded timber from the construction industry.

Mango Sawdust

Mango sawdust was found by (Mehta, Jandaik, & Gupta, 2014) to be the most efficient producing larger and earlier yields. They also note that the best grain spawn base was wheat bran rather than rice bran.

Above

Figure 26. Tree species chart. Reprinted from Substrates, by Field & Forest, 2018, Retrieved from https://www.fieldforest.net/substrates.asp

Coffee Grounds

Coffee is made up of lignocellulosic Biomass. (Ballesteros, Teixeira, & Mussatto, 2014) As white rot mushrooms can degrade both lignin and cellulose, it can be supposed that coffee grounds become a great candidate for a substrate. What make it an even more attractive substrate candidate is the abundance of spent coffee grounds as a waste stream. (Machado, RodriguezAs study by (Jandaik, Singh, & Sharma, 2013) tested different substrates, four forestry by-products and three agricultural residues (paddy straw, wheat straw, and soybean waste), on the Ganoderma lucidum (Higher Basidiomycetes)and found that the agricultural substrates where more efficient for mushroom yeilds. Field & Forest, 2018 and (Mushroom Appreciation, 2019) recommend different straws and other agricultural waste like cereal straws such as wheat and rye and cottonseed hull. While not as woody as trees all these substrates have plenty of Lignin and Cellulose for the Shredded paper and cardboard where used by many small-scale DIY growers of mushrooms, especially the Oyster Jasso, Teixeira, & Mussatto, 2012). And not just in Melbourne. After petroleum, coffee is the second highest traded commodity worldwide. The Oyster mushroom would be the best mushroom variety for this substrate as it is fast growing and adaptable, (Field & Forest, 2018) but because of the lignocellulosic nature of coffee you could

Straw and woody agricultural waste

potentially grow any mushroom on it. fungi to feed off, especially fast growing fungi like Oyster Mushrooms. Many sources also recommend breaking the straw into 1-4cm pieces. Another potential candidate for a substrate in this category is sugarcane bagasse, which in one report was found to have comparable results for growing fungal cultures to that of cornmeal agar and dextrose sugar (Sidana, & Farooq, 2014). Sugarcare Bagasse was also found to be one of most suitable substrates for the cultivation of Oyster Mushrooms. (Hoa,

Shreded Paper/Cardboard

Wang, & Wang, 2015). Mushroom Varieties. Some interesting options were toilet paper rolls, shredded newspaper and carboard.