Edible mushroom cultivation can become an excellent hobby. You and your children will have a lot of fun setting up a place for the fungi to grow (container, log), and then watching them appear one after another. Today, there are several types of edible mushrooms that can be cultivated at home. These include: Enoki, Shiitake, and Oyster mushrooms. The first two names make it easy to tell where these originated from – they came to us from Asia (China, Thailand). However, they can perfectly grow far outside their natural habitat, such as in any country and any home at room temperature.
There are excellent books and guides that can teach you how to cultivate any of the aforementioned species, and many others. All you need is mycelium (a white mold from which the mushrooms grow), and a log or composted manure. The compost or the log need to be inoculated with mycelia, kept moist, and placed at a certain temperature for a few weeks. The mushrooms will start to appear, either individually or in clusters. When the capacity of mycelium exhausts itself, you will need to dispose of it. If it’s compost, you can use it in your garden as fertilizer, or mix it in your compost pile.
When it comes to edible mushroom cultivation, there is one important aspect to note. Mushrooms produce spores for reproduction, and these can travel through the air carried by the wind. The spores are harmless to humans, unless you are allergic to them. What you need to protect from these, are your furniture, walls, and floors. Simply place a sheet of paper under the planter box or log, and keep it away from walls and furniture.