Brazilian Button Mushroom — an edible mushroom used fresh (boiled for about 15 minutes), pickled. Grows: on rich, humus-rich soil, in parks, gardens, vegetable plots, rarely in forests, in grass, along streets, on lawns, on garbage piles, not often. Cultivated in some countries. Cap diameter 4-10 cm, initially spherical, flattened, with rolled edges, retains this shape for a long time, then convex, cushion-shaped, with a depressed center and rolled edges, thick, smooth, matte, dirty-white, ochre-white, sometimes brownish.
Gills: frequent, thin, weakly attached or free, initially dirty-pink, then brown and brownish-brown. Stem: short, 3-5 cm long and 1-3 cm in diameter, cylindrical, straight, often narrowed at the base, dense, fibrous, solid, uniformly colored with the cap. Ring — double, upper and lower, attached to a single thick ring with rolled edges (remnants of common and partial veil). Flesh: thick, dense, fleshy, white, slightly pinkish when cut, with pleasant mushroom aroma.
When cultivating button mushrooms, the following compost compositions are used: Variant 1. Fresh, unspoiled, dry straw — 12 kg, fresh poultry manure — 8 kg, preparation time — 24-26 days. Variant 2. Fresh, unspoiled, dry straw — 12 kg, fresh horse manure — 8 kg, preparation time — 22-24 days. Variant 3. Fresh, unspoiled, dry straw — 12 kg, fresh cow manure — 8 kg, preparation time — 23-25 days. Compost preparation: layering straw and manure to form a pile (bur). After stacking, the pile is watered daily, without letting it dry out, no need to form a swamp. Shake the pile 4-5 times during the entire substrate preparation period, so that the outer layers end up inside and the inner layers outside.
The sign of ready compost is the absence of ammonia odor. Ready compost is laid in rows (open ground) in a layer of at least 10 cm, in boxes and polyethylene bags — in a layer of at least 20 cm. Variant 4 (no preparation required). 20 kg of ready compost (manure, aged over a year, without ammonia odor) of any kind except swine. Planting norm: Planting depth 5-7 cm.
Inoculation is performed by sprinkling mycelium into holes spaced 15-18 cm apart. During the mycelium colonization period, the bed is protected from drying out with straw or burlap. After mycelium spread (12-15 days), the beds (compost surface) are covered with a topsoil layer (soil mixed with peat in a 1:1 ratio or just garden soil), 2 cm thick (6-7 kg).
Fruit formation: Optimal temperature range 16-29°C, day-night or 4 hours daily lighting in enclosed spaces, favorable air humidity should be no less than 85% (watering by drip if necessary). First mushrooms appear approximately after 20-30 days. Fruit formation occurs in waves and lasts for 6 weeks, with 7-10 day intervals between waves.
Yield: 18 kg per three waves. Consumption norm: one package is intended for 20 kg of compost. Cultivation of button mushrooms on a homestead plot. On open plots, button mushrooms grow in shady areas, in partial shade under trees, shrubs, raspberry bushes, on strawberry beds, on shaded sides behind utility buildings and fences, where they are not exposed to direct sunlight. Soil on S=2.5-3 m² must be tilled. During this process, weed plants and grass roots, if they do not harm other crops, should not be removed. Sow mycelium on the loosened surface. Then spread compost evenly in a layer of 5-7 cm.
The mushroom bed will begin to fruit after 2-2.5 months; during this time, no visible changes on the soil surface are noticeable. Fruit formation lasts from early spring to late autumn. Throughout this period, button mushrooms can be planted. The yield of cultivated button mushrooms is very high — up to 12 kg of mushrooms per square meter per month.
