The whole Mushrooms' Paradise blog

Abstract

My project will be to grow as many mushrooms as possible in a contained space. I also want to experiment and see if I can grow lettuce and radishes in the same environment.

Choice of crops

All the crops are chosen to maximize the amount of protein, fiber, vitamins and micro elements.

Mushrooms are selected because they are a superfood. They are full of vitamins, protein, fiber and antioxidants. Protein and vitamins make them a great choice for nutrition. They are also a good choice for health reasons. Antioxidants help to prevent cancer, beta glucan – soluble fiber  - helps to prevent diabetes by regulating blood sugar and lowering cholesterol. Mushrooms are packed with B vitamins that prevents heart diseases and depression. Copper is available for red blood cells, bones and nerves. Potassium is good for the heart, muscles and nerve functions.

Mushrooms are efficient to grow because of ratio of harvest per square foot. They also can grow on shelves stacked together, as they are not growing high.

Lettuce has good nutritional value, and is a source of fiber, vitamins and bioactive compounds. Lettuce has anti-inflammatory, cholesterol-lowering, and anti-diabetic properties.

Lettuce is very efficient to grow, you can harvest up to 5 times from one crown.

Radishes are highly effective crop, with a short time to harvest and both roots and leaves are edible.

They contain vitamin C, potassium, folate, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, vitamin K, calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorous, copper, manganese, and sodium.

They are a good source of protein and fiber, used as folk remedies to treat many conditions such as fever, sore throat, bile disorders, and inflammation. Fiber and antioxidants in radishes work to prevent cancer. Radishes juices work to prevent gastric ulcers and inflammation.

Setup

Environment

Enclosure will be indoors, with outside temperature 68-78F (20-26C), 1g gravity

Enclosure

1 m3 enclosure made inside of an up-cycled old fridge. As a back up plan (in case fridge enclosure will not work out) – separate plywood enclosure. Inside enclosure there will be the shelves with the containers for the crops. All the crops are low growing, so I can stack several shelves there.

Light

Mushrooms don’t need much light and dim light for 6 hours a day will be enough. Radishes and lettuce don’t need much light also, but still need more than mushrooms. Therefore I will put them on the shelves closest to the light source. The light will be turned on/off automatically by timer.

Medium

Mushrooms: For the medium I will use a mix of perlite and vermiculite. Initially I wanted to grow boletus mushrooms, but after some research I realized they need living tree roots to grow. So I decided to grow chicken of the woods and puffballs due to their nutritional value and shape that maximize volume. I will use liquid mycelium as well.

Lettuce and radishes: I will use the same medium but with liquid fertilizer provided. I will start growing these crops from seeds.

Irrigation

Irrigation will be done for top shelves only, for lettuce and radishes. Mushrooms don’t need irrigation as they take all necessary water from air. I will use soil humidity sensors to control water flow for irrigation.

Humidity

Humidity is critical for mushrooms. I will use humidity/temperature sensor to keep humidity around 80% all the time. There will be hot humidifier controlled by PI. Because enclosure from the fridge is sealed, temperature will be controlled by humidifier as well. As a back up plan, I can put a small heater into the enclosure, but I prefer to avoid it to save the space for the crops.

Power source

Outside 110V 1500W max power source. If outside source is not available – Jackery battery and a solar panel.

Air circulation

It will be done with an exhaust fan from an old computer and an intake with a filter.

Camera

To monitor crops growth and ideally make a time lapse.