Mushroom sticks "White Steppe" are a popular large-fruited mushroom with a pleasant bread-like aroma. Cap diameter 5-15cm, convex, expands with age. Stipe thick, 5-10cm long. Flesh dense, meaty.
Grown on deciduous logs in home conditions and on private plots. Fruit production occurs in waves, 3-4 years on soft wood and 5-7 years on hard wood.
Contents of the package are sufficient for inoculating a log no longer than 20-25cm and diameter 15cm. Yield is up to 30% of wood mass. Used in home cooking, preserved, salted, and dried.
Cultivation of "White Steppe"
Only deciduous logs, free of rot signs, cut 1-4 months before inoculation, 30-40cm long, 15-30cm in diameter. Dry logs must be soaked in water for 2-3 days. Then place them in a well-ventilated shaded area for several days. In the prepared log, drill holes in a checkerboard pattern, 4-5cm deep, 9mm diameter, 10-15cm apart.
Wear sterile gloves, insert the "sticks", and cover holes with bark pieces, paraffin, moistened cotton, etc. Then wrap with polyethylene film, making small ventilation holes, and place in a dark, humid room for mycelium colonization. At t=20-25°С, the log colonizes within 2-3 months. When white mycelial growth appears at inoculation sites and log ends, remove the film and bury logs vertically into soil to one-third of their length. In outdoor conditions, select a shaded, wind-protected area. In indoor conditions, bury logs in pots or containers with soil.
Since fruiting requires high air humidity (60-85%), temperature (15-23°С), ventilation, and sufficient lighting (8-10 hours daily), unheated rooms suitable for cultivation can be used to create optimal conditions. Care involves spraying the planting site 2-3 times per week with a sprayer, and daily during the fruiting phase. The first harvest appears 2-4 months on soft wood and 6 months on hard wood.
