Reishi(Gamoderma Lucidum) is a slow growing, very hard, beautiful multicoloured Red mushroom that is often confused for many different similar Ganoderma species. When growing Reishi you need patience, it will take the samw time as other gourmet mushrooms to colonise a bag but much longer to fruit. I encourage you to leave bags to colonise in the dark at the right temps and lower humidity(if you are able to control all those parameters). This is because you want to cause fruiting by giving the Reishi(this applies to all mushrooms) all its fruiting conditions when it is ready, this will usually cause much more even and faster pinning, where as if you colonise in the light and at fruiting temos and humidity then you might have difficukty getting your blocks to fruit, getting your blocks to fruit evenly and even contam issues. Reishi will only form a conk structure in high enough oxygen enviroments and will.follow the light. So if you are growing in bags, let the Reishi top fruit until ut starts trying to grow out the filter patch, then cut the top of the bag off, exposing it to higher humidities and fresh air, now there are strains that do not even form a conk, like Reishi antler but the same protocols are recommended, I have found that because Reishi takes so long, if you have it in high humidity itll form mold on the mycelium and you wont get the result you are looking for. So with that said rather have you humidity for Reishi set lower than what it would be for most gourmets mushrooms and reduce the aur exchange and let the mushroom grow for a month+ before harvesting, unless there are aigns of molds starting, then harvest imediately and get rid of the mushroom block(add it to compost or to the garden). Pleaae feel free to ask questions and add suggestions!😁

Running a business alone could be tough… Everyone needs a team at some point of your life I learned it a hard way! 2021(That COVID Year!!!) After Graduating from Agri-University There were No Internships, No new Jobs, No Research Project I started learning online skills (Graphics, Digital Marketing) I tried to pitch several businesses for my service Unfortunately, No one responded (To be honest, I was not that good at that time😒) Oct 2021 I planned to start my own Mushroom Business🔥 Why was it the best business for me? - I had prior experience as I grew them in the University’s lab - I was passionate about growing micro-organisms and Organic Food - There was demand of Fresh mushrooms because most of them were imported in canned form Growing them in the city was impossible due to the lockdown So i planned to start in the village But growing in the village was a real challenge due to: -Unhygienic conditions -Lack of my presence over there -Transportation and Supply Chain issues But I had no other option There was a team of 3-5 kids who helped me in that(and after testing several things we were successful) I traveled 60 km twice a week to make sure everything stayed smooth The profit margin was great, More than 50%(in the Winter season) But it was just a seasonal cultivation Dec2021 It became profitable💲 Not just money, People started noticing me Got some great referrals My Network started increasing Feb 2022 I was invited to a University Conference I also went to the Farmer’s Market and some local events It was cool to travel, connect with like-minded people and share my knowledge March 2022 I lost everything During my absence, a disease in that mushroom room destroyed the whole crop My Business depended entirely on me I failed because of -No Sustainability -No Systems -No Team I was completely burnt out and lost hope Due to all those travelling, there was no savings left to support me That why i decided to Quit and jump in the Digital world I don’t know i was right or wrong

For those who have researched cordyceps cultivation you know there are a few different methods. The easiest is in a jar that has rice in it and has been pressure cooked(sterilised). If you are a beginner dont confuse yourself with complicated hydration/nutrition recipes, just use plane rice(white or brown but cheaper the better). You are going to rinse the rice until the water you are rinsing it with is clear(it is important to get rid of the excess startch) then boil the rice to the point just before it would be ready to eat and make sure there is a enough water to make "dry rice" not sticky rice. Once it has reached this point (easy way to navigate this is if the rice packet says boil for 20min instead boil for 15min±) then strain the hot water of and place & spread out the rice on a towel to cool down. Once you are able to confortably handle it then olace the rice in your jars. Make the rice even and about 3cm thick. Close the jars(hopefully you have made jars with breathable lids and a silicone innoculation point) and pressure cook at 15psi for 2hrs. When the pressure cooking is over leave the pressure cooker to depressurize and let the jars cool in the pressure cooker. Once everything has reach a comfortable temp(about 3-4hrs after the pressure cooker has finished) take the jars out and plave them in your sterile glove box/SAB or laminar. Let it cool to room temp. Sterilize the jar, the worling area, your hand and the tools with 70% ipa and then innoculate your jars generously(minimum of half a syringe of LC per jar). Noe you leave it in complete darkness to incubate for a few weeks check on it once a week to see how it is doing and once ALL your jars are fully colonised change the temps to fruiting temps and expose them to light. This change will make them start fruiting and 1month after the first pins form you can harvest. Any questions or suggestions welcome!

I am planning on doing some oyster mushroom mulch and if in lucky enough to find morels this coming season, i will make a spore slurry with those and try them as well. Has anyone else tried outdoor cultivation?