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Recovering Period

recovering period - mushroom growth

Mycelium has to grow toward the surface where it develops pinheads. How do you achieve this? By not using the cooling!

Common mistakes:

You set the computer phase from mycelium growth to recovery period. For example, you set the air temperature to a minimum of 19oC. Heating quickly helps reach this temperature. The RH is set to 97-99%. Steam quickly helps reach this level.

But then the following happens: the compost becomes active and releases heat. Steam also introduces heat into the growing room. As the air temperature has been set to e.g. 19 oC, the air is automatically cooled. The moisture in the air condenses onto the cooling block and forms drier air. All this creates an unnatural climate in the growing room – it feels cold. The mycelium grows slowly to the surface of the casing soil, or fails to grow at all.

To an optimal climate in four steps

How can you improve the situation? Don’t use heating and steam! Take the following steps:

  • After the last watering, set the air temperature to e.g. 19oC. The compost activity will ensure this temperature is reached.
  • Do not add humidity through steam. The evaporation from the casing soil will keep the air moist enough. Keep the RH between 94-99%.
  • And, quite importantly: wet the floors and wall every hour. This water evaporates and adds moisture to the air. As heat is necessary to evaporate this water, the air cools.
  • Set the fan to its maximum position. This will create a lot of air movement. This reduces in turn the activity in the compost and the cooling temperature is not as low as plenty of air is sent through the climate unit. This is basically the same principle as the cooling in your car. As long as you are driving the cooling works well, but if you get stuck in a traffic jam it is less effective. That’s also how it works in the growing room. The more air is passing through the climate unit, the easier the temperature falls.

With this method you need no cooling or hardly any at. You will notice that the inlet temperature stays 3 to 5oC higher and that the room climate feels warm and moist. And what you feel is just what the mycelium “feels” as well!

Champignon Blog | Mark den Ouden

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