Growing oysters mushrooms without plastic bags

Question

Background

I have mostly found oysters mushrooms are being grown in plastic bags. I have grown it myself too (more than 15 years ago). I vaguely remember that during my training the instructor also stated that oysters mushrooms could be grown on straw beds. Revisiting the idea of growing mushroom now in 2021, I am a bit hesitant to use plastic bags. I tried googling options but did not find any satisfactory pointers. It is highly possible I am not using the appropriate keywords, thus I am here.

Questions

1. Can oysters mushrooms be grown in perforated earthen containers mimicking plastic bags?
2. What is the process of growing oysters mushrooms on straw bed?
3. What are other processes/ways of growing oysters mushrooms in eco friendly way?

PS: The climatic conditions of my place is tropical, Eastern India, in case that can impact the answers.

Any pointers would be helpful.

Thanks!

Answer 1

There’s absolutely no need to use plastic bags for oyster mushrooms. The most common methods are

• Straw bales and
• (Hardwood) logs

For the former, the basic principle is to soak/drench the straw bale, let the excess run off, then inoculate. Keep the bale humid, ideally in the shade, and wait. Make sure that the bale is tied up well, lest it disintegrates too quickly.

Logs need longer to get grown through before the fruiting bodies appear, but they will usually produce longer. Note that oyster mushrooms are saprobiontic, so growing them on logs - beech is very common - mimics their natural habitat.

Both methods are very eco-friendly and don’t require plastic.

Other eco-friendly methods grow mushrooms on spent coffee grounds and wood pellets/chips or sawdust. Details of how to proceed can be found all over the Internet, that would be too broad for one post here. Many instructions place the spawn and substrate in plastic bags for convenience reasons, but it’s also possible to (re-)use plastic buckets with extra holes and I’d bet you could use the clay pots you mentioned.

There’s only one topic where you should do some research before starting, and that’s the preferred temperature range of oyster mushrooms. Most sources I found at a cursory search list 55°-60° F (12°-15°C) as preferred range, with an upper limit up to 85° F / 30°C. That may require some creativity in the tropics.

Answer 2

Realistically Oyster mushrooms require high humidity and lots of fresh air. This means they need to be grow outdoors if you don't have a grow room with an exhaust and fresh air exchange.

Common techniques which do not require plastic bags (especially for Oyster mushrooms) are straw beds and logs, however the most common method is Growing in Oyster mushroom in buckets or Bucket Tek.

The example above even has a great eco friendly technique for avoiding bugs. The buckets can be washed out and re-used every time.

Can they be grow in earthen containers? yes most likely if you pasteurize the straw then fruit the mushrooms from the top using a casing layer.

What is the process of growing oysters mushrooms on straw bed? Pasteurize wheat straw at 140f then drain of the excess water. Lay out the straw in an area you want to grow. Cover the straw with grain spawn. Lay out more straw on top. You must then cover this area with a plastic sheet to contain humidity.

What are other processes/ways of growing oysters mushrooms in eco friendly way? Oyster mushrooms buckets are eco-friendly in my opinion as discussed above.