When it is time to fruit a fungal culture, it is necessary that you control the amount of light, oxygen and humidity it receives. Changes in light, moisture and fresh air are what stimulate the mycelial mass to produce what we know as mushrooms. Each species has different requirements. Variation in these factors can control the shape of the fruit bodies. For example the CO2 levels will influence whether Reishi and Artists’ Conk mushrooms take their shelf-like, or “antler”, forms.
A Fruiting Chamber should allow you to do this, hopefully without damaging the surrounding building. In the past I have used a plastic germination tent on a plastic tarp. It was hard to clean, leaked condensation and was vulnerable to pests, like fungus gnats. After a bathroom renovation, I salvaged this shower stall to make a chamber that I hope will solve some of those problems. I will post an update when I have some fungi to fruit.
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- Fruiting chamber built from re-purposed shower stall
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- Florescent lighting outside the chamber keeps the moisture off the tubes and makes it easier to control the temperature inside.
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- This plastic shelving unit just happened to fit perfectly! Muffin fans move the air around and the perforations allow drainage and air circulation.
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- A household humidistat controls the humidifier and circulation fans.
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- A humidifier maintains the humidity. Use distilled to avoid mineral build-up on the wick.
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- A muffin fan on a timer is attached to the drain pipe allows CO2 to be periodically purged from the chamber. When condensation accumulates it can be drained by remving the plug.
