Curved Champignon — a tasty, edible mushroom, used similarly to the field mushroom, not inferior in taste: fresh (boiled for about 10 minutes) in first and second courses, pickled or marinated.
Grows: in coniferous forests (with spruce), on the litter, along roads singly or in small groups. Cap diameter 7-12 cm, egg-shaped in young mushrooms, convex or conical in mature ones, with a bump in the center, surface smooth or silky, turns yellow when pressed. Cap edge with remnants of veil. Gills: frequent, thin, free, initially light, then brown.
Stem: 6-10 cm long and 1-2 cm in diameter, cylindrical, straight, slightly widened at the base, fibrous, hollow with age, one-colored with the cap, turns yellow when pressed. Ring — wide, high-positioned, white. Flesh: thick, dense, fleshy, white or yellowish, with a noticeable anise aroma.
When cultivating champignons, 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: layer by layer, straw and manure form a pile (bur). After laying the pile, it is watered daily, without allowing it to dry out, no need to make 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 substrate is the disappearance of ammonia odor.
Ready compost is laid in rows (open ground) at a layer of no less than 10 cm, in boxes and polyethylene bags — at a layer of no less than 20 cm. Variant 4 (no preparation required). 20 kg of ready compost (manure, aged over a year, without ammonia odor) of any type except swine.
Planting norm: Planting depth 5-7 cm. Sowing is done by handfuls of 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 colonization (12-15 days), the beds (compost surface) are covered with a protective layer of soil (soil mixed with peat in a 1:1 ratio or just garden soil), 2 cm high (6-7 kg).
Fruit formation: Optimal temperature regime 16-29°C, lighting regime day-night or 4 hours per day in closed spaces, favorable air humidity should be no less than 85% (if necessary, water by drip). First mushrooms appear after approximately 20-30 days. Fruit formation occurs in waves and lasts for 6 weeks, with intervals between waves of 7-10 days.
Yield: 18 kg over three waves.
Consumption norm: one package is designed for 20 kg of compost. Cultivating champignons on a homestead plot. On open plots, champignons grow in shady areas, in partial shade — under trees, shrubs, in raspberry patches, on strawberry beds, on the shaded sides of buildings and fences, where they are not exposed to direct sunlight. Soil on S=2.5-3 m2 must be loosened. During this process, weeds and grass roots, if they do not harm other crops, should not be removed. Sow mycelium on the loosened surface. Then, evenly spread compost 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, champignons can be planted. The yield of cultivated champignons is very high — up to 12 kg of mushrooms per square meter per month.
