Content
- Cultivating chanterelles - The attempt of the impossible
- A significant edible mushroom
- The difficulty in growing chanterelles
- The hosts of the chanterelle
- Prepare the right soil
- The mycelium ensures the survival
- Tips & Tricks
Cultivating chanterelles - The attempt of the impossible
Many scientists and major agricultural companies have so far tried unsuccessfully to grow chanterelles commercially. Nevertheless, with the right preconditions and a dose of luck, you can succeed.
A significant edible mushroom
Especially in the autumn time the chanterelle mushroom from many restaurant cards and regional recipes is indispensable. If it used to be a food for poor people in the past, top chefs are always hatching new gourmet recipes with chanterelle content. Although the large amount of chanterelles on the market suggests a large-scale cultivation, in reality, the mushrooms, also referred to as egg sponges, all come from the collecting baskets of diligent mushroom pickers. Many mushrooms available in this country originate from the forests of countries such as:
The difficulty in growing chanterelles
The chanterelle as a typical forest mushroom is therefore so difficult to breed because he lives according to the system of mycorrhiza in a symbiosis with the root systems of various tree species. While the fungus improves root absorption capacity for water intake, the root system provides life energy that would otherwise be denied due to its lack of chlorophyll and lack of enzymes. For growing chanterelles on their own land it is therefore necessary to know these relevant factors for the growth of these fascinating mushrooms.
The hosts of the chanterelle
Chanterelles usually occur only on clear forest soils without a dense vegetation with shrubs and grasses. They are often found in mossy areas with a naturally increased soil moisture. Frequent sources of large quantities of chanterelles are the roots of:
Prepare the right soil
The boggy and slightly acidic soil is considered a prerequisite for the successful settlement of chanterelles. Since the growth of fungi is inevitably linked to the root systems of trees, cultivation can only take place at the edge of the forest, directly in the forest or in a tree planting. Because fungal cultures require near-to-ground root shoots, you should choose a sufficiently humid location with little incentive for deep rooting for your experiments.
The mycelium ensures the survival
Experienced collectors of chanterelles not only remember promising locations for the next season. They also leave the mycelium as the root of the mushrooms, because only from spore flight, only from a new fungus can develop. If you find such mycelia of chanterelles collecting in the forest, you can try their gentle transplanting on your own property. But for a preservation in the nature leave always also myceles at the actual location.
Tips & Tricks
In cultivated mushrooms such as mushrooms, straw bales are inoculated with certain amounts of mycelium or spores in order to locate the desired fungi on the particular growing substrate in a targeted manner. Chanterelles do not make it so easy for their keepers. However, spores can be distributed with the irrigation water on spruce and pine roots. Thus, in the presence of suitable conditions, chanterelle growth may occur.