How to Grow Bella Mushrooms

Bella or crimini mushrooms, the immature form of a portobello mushroom, belong to the Agaricus bisporus mushroom species. Used widely in gourmet cooking and as a meat substitute in vegetarian cooking, you may be interested in growing these yourself. According to the Mushroom Council, mushrooms grow quite differently from other vegetables; they have no chlorophyll for obtaining energy from the sun and so must obtain all of their nourishment from their growing medium, usually a rich compost. They also differ in that they are grown from spawn, not seed. This spawn must be collected in a controlled laboratory in almost sterile conditions. Thus it is more difficult to find and more costly than your average vegetable seed, but quite simple to grow once you have the appropriate spawn. The easiest way to obtain spawn is to use a mushroom-growing kit.

Things You'll Need

Portobello mushroom-growing kit

Instructions

From A Kit
- 1
  Purchase a portobello-mushroom-growing kit. These can be obtained from many online gardening supply vendors or specialty mushroom-supply companies. The cost is typically in the range of $40 to $50 and should yield around four pounds of mushrooms, depending on which kit you purchase.
- 2
  Follow kit set-up directions. These will vary somewhat with each kit. They typically simply require putting the growing medium, which has already been inoculated with mushroom mycelium, in the provided container, keeping it moist and in a dark, somewhat warm environment.
- 3
  Maintain appropriate growing conditions as indicated in your growing kit; usually this simply entails maintaining moisture and temperature at appropriate levels and monitoring for mushroom growth.
- 4
  Harvest mushrooms when they reach desired size. For bella mushrooms, harvest before they reach mature, portobello mushroom size of four to six inches.

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How to Grow Bella Mushrooms

Things You'll Need

Instructions

From A Kit